Ten questions that make a robot salesperson sweat

October 1, 2026 · 3 min read

Robot sales calls are mostly pleasant and mostly one-sided. These ten questions turn the conversation around. None of them is rude, every one of them has a right answer, and the way a seller handles them tells you more than the demo does.

The short answer

Bring these ten questions to any robot conversation, including the one you have with the concierge on this site. A seller who answers them plainly is worth your time. A seller who changes the subject has told you what you needed to know.

1. Who performs the risk assessment, under which standard, and whose name is on it?

The right answer names a certified integrator and a standard: R15.06 or ISO 10218 for a stationary arm, ISO/TS 15066 for a collaborative application, R15.08 for a mobile robot. The wrong answers are the robot's maker, the dealer, or you.

2. What is this cell's rate at my peak, not my average?

Watch for the datasheet number. A real answer includes derates for the gripper, the real move distances and any speed reduction the risk assessment imposes, and leaves margin on top.

3. Which lines do you not sell, and would you tell me if one of them fit better?

This is the question a single-brand seller cannot answer well, and it is not their fault. It is also the question this company was built to answer with a yes.

4. How many of these exact applications has the integrator built, and may I call two of them?

Palletizing experience is not welding experience. Ask for the application, not the brand, and ask for references who have had the cell for a year.

5. What is in the quote, and what is not?

Gripper, fixtures, guarding, conveyors, the door opener, the dust extraction, the risk assessment, training, commissioning, a spare parts kit, the first year of software. The robot is often less than half of the number. A quote that is mostly robot is a quote with a second chapter.

6. What happens when a part is upside down?

The honest answers are: the vision system catches it, the fixture prevents it, or the cell stops and waits. The dishonest answer is that it never happens.

7. What does it cost to run per year?

Consumables, software plans, maintenance, the service contract, electricity, and compressed air, which the robot drinks like a Star Trek replicator drinks whatever a replicator drinks. A seller who has never been asked this will guess. Make them not guess.

8. Who services it, from where, and how fast?

Ask who carries the spare parts and who shows up. On this site the answer is specific per machine: the maker, the integrator or a named dealer line, never a promise of factory trained technicians we do not have.

9. Show me a job you turned down.

Every good integrator and every honest dealer has a story about a project they declined and why. If the seller has never said no, they have never been the one holding the risk.

10. If I do nothing, what should I fix first?

The best sellers will tell you about the fixture, the upstream station or the part presentation that would help whether or not you ever buy a robot. The ones who cannot imagine a world without the sale are not advisors. They are order forms with a pulse.

The bonus question

Ask the concierge on this site all ten. It is built to answer them, including number three, and it has an easier time than a human with number nine because saying no costs it nothing. If it dodges one, the transcript lands with people who will want to know why.

Related on this site

Ask about the risk assessment, the peak rate, the integrator's record and the lines they do not sell. A good seller answers all ten without flinching. The concierge on this site is built to pass the same test.

Put it to the test on your own job

Tell Joe what you are running and he will apply this to your numbers, including telling you when a robot is the wrong answer.

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