What was said
What this says
Current to 10 Oct 26Liam Doherty reported that his leadership balked at the headline £44,000 and asked about staying on Starter. Tom Ashdown restated it as a deal total including implementation and promised a one-page split.
What happened: Liam rang Tom after taking the Growth proposal to a couple of colleagues. Their reaction to the headline number was the main issue.
Customer view: Liam says they heard forty-four and compared it to the nineteen and a half. One person asked about staying on Starter, and Liam answered that the team has hit the wall.
Commercial: Tom restated the £44,000 as a one-off plus subscription total, not an annual price. Whether Growth replaces the Starter term is still to be confirmed in writing.
Watch: Liam needs his finance director's agreement, and she is out for most of the following week. The pencilled signing date was 18 Nov 2024, and the evidence does not show the outcome.
Themes
Current to 9 Oct 26Who was there
BB-Demo
Them
Follow-up
Next steps
Current to 9 Oct 26- Tom Ashdown sends the one-page total, split and current Starter figure the next day, with Marcus copied.
- Tom confirms in writing how the Starter term is treated under Growth.
- Tom books a slot early the following week, before the signing date.
Risks
Current to 9 Oct 26- Leadership read the £44,000 as an annual price and went quiet.
- Approval depends on a finance director who is out the following week, against a tight signing date.
Opportunities
Current to 9 Oct 26- Liam is arguing the depots case internally and has a concrete example from the weekend.
- The earlier high-priority ticket was resolved, which supports the Growth support case.
Transcript
- Liam Doherty NoneTom! Afternoon. I'm in the car park, give me one second, I've got a signal that comes and goes.
- Tom Ashdown NoneNo rush, I'm not going anywhere. Afternoon, Liam. How's your week been?
- Liam Doherty NoneLong. Right, I'm at my desk now, that's better. A retailer had a bad run of delivery exceptions on Friday and I spent half the weekend trying to see what it looked like across the depots. Which is, to be fair, exactly the thing the brain is for, so it's a bit of a sales pitch for myself.
- Tom Ashdown NoneHa. Well, you're doing my job for me. Did it help?
- Liam Doherty NoneIt did, yeah. I could see the tickets and the calls together. But then I had to say to the account manager, sorry, you'll have to ask me because I'm one of the few who can use it. Which is the point I've been making upstairs.
- Tom Ashdown NoneRight. And that's what you wanted to chat about, the conversation with your leadership?
- Liam Doherty NoneYeah. So, I've been through the proposal with a couple of people. Okay. Now the number. I've told them it's forty-four thousand and I could see the face already. I didn't explain it well, I don't think. They heard forty-four and compared it to the nineteen and a half and went quiet.
- Tom Ashdown NoneYeah, that happens, and it's on me to make it clearer. So what I can tell you for certain is that forty-four thousand is the deal total, it includes the one-off implementation fee as well as the subscription. It's not an annual price. I'll get the split to you in writing so you've got it exact, I don't want to quote you the breakdown from memory.
- Liam Doherty NoneOkay. That's the bit I can use. So the forty-four isn't what we'd pay every year.
- Tom Ashdown NoneNo. The one-off part is one-off. That's why I'd like to put what you pay today next to it, the nineteen and a half, so the comparison's clear. Like for like, subscription against subscription.
- Liam Doherty NoneThat's the bit I wanted to ask. Does the nineteen and a half just stop? I don't want us paying for Starter and Growth on top of each other. Somebody asked me that and I couldn't answer.
- Tom Ashdown NoneIt's a good question, and I'll be straight with you. My understanding is Growth replaces Starter rather than sitting alongside it. But exactly how your current term's treated is something I'll confirm in the paperwork, rather than say something I've got slightly wrong.
- Liam Doherty NoneFine. Honestly that's better. I'd rather wait for the proper answer than get a confident one and have finance ring me.
- Tom Ashdown NoneLeave that with me. What else did they push on?
- Liam Doherty NoneMostly what they get for it. Somebody said, we've got the thing, it works, why more? So I told them about the depots. At the minute there are six of us who really use it. The depot account managers would be the people hearing first about an unhappy retailer, and they're not on it, because we're at the user and connector ceiling.
- Tom Ashdown NoneAnd that's the case. Growth gets you to forty users and eight connectors, so there's room to put the depot managers on and still add a source or two. Plus the dashboards builder, which is what most of the depot people would look at day to day.
- Liam Doherty NoneYeah, I did the dashboards line. They liked it. One view, that's the point. They get the idea that it's less about me and more about everyone seeing the same account.
- Tom Ashdown NoneLove that. Was there anyone sceptical, or was it mainly the number?
- Liam Doherty NoneMainly the number, honestly. One person asked whether we could just stay on Starter and be careful. And I said, we can, but we've been careful for a year and we've hit the wall. We've had to turn people away.
- Tom Ashdown NoneThat's fair. I'd never push you to a tier you don't need. If it were just a couple more people we could look at that differently, but you've told me it's the depots, which is a different order of thing.
- Liam Doherty NoneRight. It is. Can we get the depots on it, is basically the whole question.
- Tom Ashdown NoneAnd the answer is yes, with Growth. Let me ask you about timing, because I know it's been on your mind. Your current term finishes on 30 Nov 2024 and renews on 1 Dec 2024. What we've pencilled in is signing on Monday 18 November 2024, so it all lines up.
- Liam Doherty NoneYep, that's the date I've been giving people. It's tight but it's doable. I need to get it past our finance director first, and she's out for most of next week.
- Tom Ashdown NoneRight. Then the one-pager matters more. If she's reading it cold, she needs the total, the split, and what you pay now, all on one sheet.
- Liam Doherty NoneThat's exactly it. A one-pager with the total, the split and the nineteen and a half alongside, and I'll check how the Starter bit's handled so I can answer her before she asks.
- Tom Ashdown NoneDone. I'll get that out to you tomorrow, and I'll have Hannah add a short note on connectors so you've got the technical side too. Do you want Marcus copied in? He looks after you on the adoption side.
- Liam Doherty NoneYes, copy Marcus. He knows how many of us are on it, he'll probably have better numbers than I do.
- Tom Ashdown NoneWill do. Anything else you need from me before you go back to them?
- Liam Doherty NoneI don't think so. Just that. Oh, and if they ask about support, if something breaks in the busy period?
- Tom Ashdown NoneResponse times are tighter on Growth than Starter. I won't quote you the exact figure off the top of my head, but it'll be in the pack. You had that one high-priority ticket last month and it was sorted, so you've seen it work.
- Liam Doherty NoneYeah, I'll use that. Right then. I'm feeling better about it than I was an hour ago.
- Tom Ashdown NoneGood. So, to sum up. I send you the one page tomorrow with the total, the split and the nineteen and a half next to it, and confirm how the Starter term's handled. You take it to your finance director when she's back. And let's get something in the diary for early next week so we've got a slot before the signing date.
- Liam Doherty NonePerfect. Put something in. Thanks, Tom.
- Tom Ashdown NoneNo drama. Cheers, Liam. Speak soon.
- Liam Doherty NoneCheers, Tom.