Brackwell Freight Ltd / B-Brain – Check In
Callcompleted
Brackwell Freight Ltd: documents · 2024-02-05 13:45
Liam Doherty reports usage spreading beyond him at Trafford Park, wants the other five depots on it, and asks about a customer-service inbox connector. Renewal on 1 Dec 2024 was mentioned as a good place to be.
What was said
What this says
Current to 10 Oct 26Liam Doherty reports usage spreading beyond him at Trafford Park, wants the other five depots on it, and asks about a customer-service inbox connector. Renewal on 1 Dec 2024 was mentioned as a good place to be.
What happened: Marcus Bell reviewed usage with Liam on 5 Feb 2024. Account managers at Trafford Park now use the brain each morning, and Liam cited one retail contract where an early warning let him ring the retailer first.
Customer view: Liam wants the other five depots using it and plans to start with two. He also needs something more solid than anecdotes for his managing director.
Commercial: Liam asked for the customer-service inbox as a connector. Starter has a hard connector limit, so Marcus will confirm the position by email and bring in Tom if it needs more than Starter.
Watch: only a handful of the 15 Starter users are active, so value is still thin. Marcus noted renewal is on 1 Dec 2024.
Themes
Current to 9 Oct 26Theme
Depot rollout and connector
Importance
neutral
Sentiment
positive
Voice
champion
Who was there
B-Brain
CRMmade from
Them
CRMmade from
Follow-up
Next steps
Current to 9 Oct 26- Marcus Bell to confirm the connector position by email and flag Tom if more than Starter is needed.
- Marcus Bell to send a one-page usage summary and the usage page link by the end of the week.
- Liam Doherty to pick two depots so Marcus can prepare a few real questions for each.
Risks
Current to 9 Oct 26- Only a handful of the 15 Starter users are active, so the value case rests on anecdotes.
- The customer-service inbox request may exceed the hard connector limit on Starter.
- The managing director is asking what the brain delivers and has no solid answer yet.
Opportunities
Current to 9 Oct 26- Bringing the other five depots on would deepen use ahead of the 1 Dec 2024 renewal.
- The inbox connector request could lead to a plan or add-on conversation with Tom.
Transcript
Marcus Bell NoneHello Liam, can you hear me alright?
Liam Doherty NoneYeah, loud and clear. Afternoon. Can you hear me? I've got the loading bay going next door, hang on, I'll shut the door.- Marcus Bell NoneNo, you're fine, honestly. Afternoon. Good weekend?
- Liam Doherty NoneQuiet one. Rained the whole time so I did a lot of nothing. You?
- Marcus Bell NoneSimilar. Took the kids to soft play, which is worse than rain if I'm honest. Right, I'll share my screen in a second and say what I'd like to cover, and you tell me what I've missed. Can you see that okay?
- Liam Doherty NoneYep, I can see it. Is that the usage page?
- Marcus Bell NoneIt is. So I've pulled the numbers, as I do, and there are really three things. One, how people are using the brain since you rolled it out to the depots. Two, anything that's been bothering you or the team, tickets, connectors, that kind of thing. And three, what you'd like to do next with it. Does that sound about right?
- Liam Doherty NoneLove that. Yeah, that's about right. I've got a list as well, but let's do yours first.
- Marcus Bell NonePerfect. So the headline is that usage has gone up properly since the last quarter. It's still a small group, so I don't want to oversell it, but the direction is really good. More questions being asked, more people logging in, and it's not just you any more.
- Liam Doherty NoneNo, it's not just me, which is a relief. A couple of the account managers at Trafford Park have started using it every morning. One of them said it's the first time she's seen the delivery exceptions and the call notes for a retailer in the same place.
- Marcus Bell NoneThat's exactly what it was bought for, isn't it. One view.
- Liam Doherty NoneOne view, that's the point. Before, she'd be flicking between the CRM, the helpdesk and whatever the call recorder had, and by the time she'd put it together the retailer had already rung to complain.
- Marcus Bell NoneRight. And is that what you're seeing in practice, that you spot the problem before they ring?
- Liam Doherty NoneSometimes. Not always yet. There was one retail contract last month where we saw the pattern, three or four exceptions in a week and a sour call, and we got ahead of it. Rang them first. That was a good one. I'd like that to be normal, not a one-off.
- Marcus Bell NoneMm. That's a really good example, actually. Do you mind if I use that, in general terms, when I talk to our team about how it's being used?
- Liam Doherty NoneCourse, yeah. Just don't name the retailer.
- Marcus Bell NoneWouldn't dream of it. Okay, so let me show you the trend. This line here is questions asked, week on week. You can see it was pretty flat when you went live, then it picks up once the account managers got their logins.
- Liam Doherty NoneYeah, that's about when I did the walkthrough with them. Thirty minutes in the canteen with a laptop and a lot of biscuits.
- Marcus Bell NoneBiscuits are underrated as a rollout tool. So, the thing I'd flag is headroom. You're licensed for fifteen users on Starter, and at the moment only a handful are actually active. That's not a problem, it just means there's plenty of room before you'd ever think about anything bigger.
- Liam Doherty NoneRight, so we've got loads of seats spare.
- Marcus Bell NoneLoads. Which is the polite way of saying you've paid for them and they're not being used yet.
- Liam Doherty NoneHa. Yeah. That's what I want to fix. Can we get the depots on it? That's the thing I keep coming back to. Trafford Park is using it, but the other five depots are barely touching it.
- Marcus Bell NoneOkay. Tell me a bit about why. Is it that they don't know, or they don't see the point, or it's access?
- Liam Doherty NoneMostly they don't know. And a couple of the depot managers are, how do I put this, not big on dashboards. They want somebody to tell them what to look at. So if I just send a link and say have a go, nothing happens.
- Marcus Bell NoneThat's pretty common, to be fair. What tends to work is not a big training day, it's one or two real questions that matter to that depot. Like, which of your retail accounts had the most exceptions this month. If they see their own accounts, they get it.
- Liam Doherty NoneYeah. Yeah, that makes sense. So less here's the tool, more here's your answer.
- Marcus Bell NoneExactly. I could do a short session with you, pick a few questions for each depot, and you or I could walk through them with the managers. Happy to jump on a call with them if that helps.
- Liam Doherty NoneI'd take that. Maybe not all at once. Do two depots first and see how it lands.
- Marcus Bell NoneSensible. Pick the two you think will be easiest and I'll prep something for each.
- Liam Doherty NoneOkay. I'll think about which. One's got a manager who's really keen, he's always asking me for numbers anyway. The other is, let's say, a bit more of a challenge, but if it works there it works everywhere.
- Marcus Bell NoneLove that. Good approach. Right, can I just check the second thing, any friction? Because I'm looking at the ticket list and it's actually empty for the last month. Which is great, but I always wonder whether that means everything's fine or nobody's using it enough to hit a problem.
- Liam Doherty NoneHonestly? Fine. Nothing's broken. The connectors have been sitting there doing their thing. If there was a problem I'd have raised it, you know me, I'd have chased it by now.
- Marcus Bell NoneYou would, yes. I've seen your chasers.
- Liam Doherty NonePolitely persistent. That's what I tell people.
- Marcus Bell NoneGood. Then I'll take quiet as quiet. The nightly refresh has been landing when it should, so the data the account managers see in the morning is current. Nothing there for me to worry about.
- Liam Doherty NoneGood. One thing I did want to ask about though, not a problem, more a wish. Can the brain pull in the customer-service inbox? Because a lot of the early warning is in emails, people grumbling before it becomes a ticket.
- Marcus Bell NoneRight, so, this is where I have to be careful. On Starter you've got a limit on connectors, it's a hard limit, so the question is how many you've used. Let me look. Give me a second.
- Liam Doherty NoneTake your time.
- Marcus Bell NoneOkay. So you're using most of them but not all. I think there's room for one more. I'd want to double-check exactly which and send you something in writing rather than say it off the cuff, because I don't want to promise something and then find it's not quite right.
- Liam Doherty NoneFair enough. That's what I'd want, a proper answer.
- Marcus Bell NoneI'll confirm it by email. And if it turns out it needs something more than Starter, I'll say that plainly and bring in Tom, who looks after the commercial side, so you're not getting a sales pitch from me.
- Liam Doherty NoneYeah, no, Tom's fine. I just want to know what's possible before I go and ask for anything.
- Marcus Bell NoneTotally. Let me put that on my list. Anything else on your list?
- Liam Doherty NoneYeah. Two more. One is reporting upwards. My managing director keeps asking what we're getting out of this, and I've been giving him anecdotes. I'd like something a bit more solid. Not a giant report. A page.
- Marcus Bell NoneThat I can do. A one-page usage summary, who's asking questions, how it's trended, a couple of the real examples like that retail contract. Would you want it monthly?
- Liam Doherty NoneMonthly would be great. Or even just whenever he asks, if it's quick.
- Marcus Bell NoneI'll set it up so it's easy to refresh. I'd rather it was something you can send in two minutes than something I have to produce every time.
- Liam Doherty NoneLove that. And the last one, which is a bit boring. Who do I go to if the person who normally helps isn't there? You're in Manchester, you're on holiday, who do I ping?
- Marcus Bell NoneFair question. Raise it through the helpdesk as usual and it'll be picked up whoever's in. I'll also put my cover in the email so you've got a name. Starter has its own response times, so the helpdesk is always the right front door.
- Liam Doherty NonePerfect. That's all I wanted, just to know the route.
- Marcus Bell NoneGood. Right, I'll just sum up so we both have the same list. One, you pick two depots and I prep a few real questions for each. Two, I confirm the connector position by email and flag Tom if needed. Three, I put together a one-page usage summary you can send up. Four, cover details for when I'm away. Did I miss anything?
- Liam Doherty NoneNo, that's it. Oh, actually, one thing. Can you send the usage page as a link as well as the summary? I want to show the account managers how they compare, not by name, just so it feels like momentum.
- Marcus Bell NoneYes, easy. I'll keep it anonymous. People respond to momentum, I think, more than they do to being told off.
- Liam Doherty NoneHa, true. Right. How long have we got? I've lost track.
- Marcus Bell NoneWe're about fifteen minutes in, and we've got the slot for thirty-five, so no rush. We can use the time if there's anything you want to look at on the screen.
- Liam Doherty NoneActually, yeah. Can you show me the bit where you see which accounts are being asked about most? I'd like to see whether the pattern's what I expect.
- Marcus Bell NoneSure. Give me a moment, it's a different view. There. So this is by account, and this is how many questions have come in about each one over the last few weeks.
- Liam Doherty NoneHang on, go back up. Yeah. See, that's interesting. The top two are the two big retail contracts, which is what I'd expect. But that third one, I didn't think anyone was looking at that.
- Marcus Bell NoneIs that one of the smaller contracts?
- Liam Doherty NoneSmaller, yeah, but a bit sensitive. Somebody in the team is obviously worried about it. Which is good. I'll ask who, because they might be seeing something I'm not.
- Marcus Bell NoneThat's a nice use of it, actually. Not what you were looking for, but you've spotted where people's attention is. If you want, I can show you who's asking about it. Only the people in your own team, obviously.
- Liam Doherty NonePlease. Yeah. That'd save me a conversation.
- Marcus Bell NoneOkay, so it's mostly one account manager, with a couple of questions from a second person. I won't read the names out on a recording, I'll put it in the summary I send you.
- Liam Doherty NoneGood call. Yeah, send it over. I can guess who it is anyway.
- Marcus Bell NoneRight. Is there anything you'd change about how the brain answers? Like, is it giving you answers you trust?
- Liam Doherty NoneMostly, yeah. I check the first few answers against the CRM when somebody new starts using it. If it matches, they trust it. If it doesn't match, we lose them. So far it's matched.
- Marcus Bell NoneThat's a smart habit. And if one doesn't match, tell me straight away rather than letting it sit. Usually it's a source that hasn't been refreshed or a field that's been used differently in two places.
- Liam Doherty NoneWill do. I'd rather tell you than have them decide it doesn't work.
- Marcus Bell NoneExactly. One last thing from my side, just so it's not a surprise later. The contract runs to the end of November, and renewal's on 1 Dec 2024. That's a long way off, I'm not raising it for any reason, but I'll come back to it properly well in advance and make sure we've got the usage story ready.
- Liam Doherty NoneYeah, no, that's fine. At this rate I'd say we're in a good place. I'd like more depots on it before then, that's all.
- Marcus Bell NoneThen the plan we just made is the right one. If the depots come on, the renewal conversation is pretty easy.
- Liam Doherty NoneRight. So I'll sort the two depots this week and send you a note.
- Marcus Bell NoneBrilliant. And I'll get the connector answer and the summary to you by the end of the week. Shall we book thirty minutes in a month or so to see how the depots went?
- Liam Doherty NoneYeah, do that. Put it in the diary and I'll accept it.
- Marcus Bell NoneWill do. Anything else, or shall I let you get back to the loading bay?
- Liam Doherty NoneNo, I think that's the lot. Thanks, Marcus, this was useful. Genuinely.
- Marcus Bell NoneGood, glad it was. Speak soon, Liam. Thanks.
- Liam Doherty NoneCheers, Marcus. Bye.
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