Requesting a Quote
"Hi, I'm putting together real cost numbers for a project I'm building and want to make sure I'm working from an accurate estimate rather than a guess. Could you give me a quote for [specific thing], and let me know your typical lead time? Happy to share more detail if useful."
Requesting a Conversation
"Hi [name], I'm building something aimed at [the specific problem], and before I go further I want to make sure I actually understand what that's like day to day. Would you have 10 minutes to talk about how you currently deal with [problem]? I'm not selling anything, I just want to get this right before I build it."
Adapt the specifics, keep the honesty. Both scripts work because they say plainly what you're doing and why.