Hollins Tarrant / B-Brain – Discovery
Callcompleted
Hollins Tarrant: documents · 2023-10-03 15:30
Discovery call on 3 Oct 2023. Hollins Tarrant loses time because client history sits in the CRM, helpdesk and email. Rob Ellery is cost-sensitive and wants proof on their own data. Jenna Price is the sole systems owner and short of time.
What was said
What this says
Current to 10 Oct 26Discovery call on 3 Oct 2023. Hollins Tarrant loses time because client history sits in the CRM, helpdesk and email. Rob Ellery is cost-sensitive and wants proof on their own data. Jenna Price is the sole systems owner and short of time.
What happened: Tom Ashdown ran discovery with Rob Ellery and Jenna Price. Jenna described client history split across the CRM, the helpdesk and email, with consultants keeping private spreadsheets as a fourth place.
Customer view: Rob said he joined because Jenna asked him to, and that the firm is watching every subscription as hiring has slowed. Jenna pushed back that this is lost time, not a nice to have.
Commercial: Tom pointed to the Starter tier and a deal total, set-up included, of around twenty-five and a half thousand, to be confirmed in writing. Rob wants a demo on their own data and a one-page document before he signs anything.
Watch: Jenna covers operations, systems and compliance alone and doubted she has time for another system. Read-only CRM access depends on checking permissions with their outside support company.
Themes
Current to 9 Oct 26Theme
Discovery, fragmented client history
Importance
neutral
Sentiment
mixed
Voice
decision-maker
Who was there
B-Brain
CRMmade from
Them
CRMmade from
Follow-up
Next steps
Current to 9 Oct 26- Tom Ashdown to send an access note and a one-page document covering what it does, what it costs and who looks after it.
- Jenna Price to check read-only CRM permissions with the outside support company and reply by email.
- Tom Ashdown to book the demo once permissions are confirmed.
Risks
Current to 9 Oct 26- Rob Ellery is cutting subscriptions and will not buy anything he sees as nice to have.
- Jenna Price is the only systems owner and doubts she has time to support another system.
- CRM access depends on a permissions check with an outside support company.
Opportunities
Current to 9 Oct 26- A Starter tier brain would replace the CRM, helpdesk and email stitching that is costing consultants time.
- A demo on Hollins Tarrant's own data answers Rob's stated condition for signing.
Transcript
Tom Ashdown NoneHello, hello. Afternoon, both. How's your week been so far?
Jenna Price NoneHi, Tom. Sorry, sorry, I'm late, I know. We had a candidate issue come in right at the end of lunch. I'm here now.
Rob Ellery NoneIt's been a long week. The team's flat out. How long is this going to take, Tom?- Tom Ashdown NoneNo drama, Rob. We've booked the best part of three quarters of an hour, and I'll try to be shorter than that. Mostly I want to listen. I'd like to understand how you work and where it hurts, and then I'll tell you whether we can help. If we can't, I'll say.
- Rob Ellery NoneFair enough. To be straight with you, I'm here because Jenna asked me to be.
- Jenna Price NoneHe's being modest. He came to me first, really. We keep losing time. Let me explain it properly.
- Tom Ashdown NoneGo on, please.
- Jenna Price NoneSo, we place engineering and professional staff. Everything we know about a client lives in about three places. The CRM has the client accounts and the placements pipeline. The helpdesk has the client-facing tickets. And then there's email, which is where the real history lives. When a consultant rings a client, they have to look in all of them, and they don't, so they ring blind.
- Tom Ashdown NoneRight. And what happens when they ring blind?
- Rob Ellery NoneThey ask something the client has already answered. Or they chase a vacancy that's been filled. It looks sloppy. We're a small firm, we can't afford to look sloppy.
- Tom Ashdown NoneMm. How often does that actually happen, would you say? Roughly. I'm not after a number.
- Jenna Price NoneOften enough that the consultants have started keeping their own notes. Spreadsheets. Which makes it worse, because then there's a fourth place.
- Tom Ashdown NoneYes. I hear that a lot. The fourth place is always the one that's out of date by Friday.
- Rob Ellery NoneThat's about right.
- Tom Ashdown NoneSo who looks after the systems at the moment? Is there an IT person?
- Jenna Price NoneThat's me, mostly. Operations, systems, compliance. There's an outside support company for the laptops and that sort of thing, but the CRM and the helpdesk, that's me. And, honestly, I'm not sure I've the time to look after another thing.
- Tom Ashdown NoneThat's an important thing to say, Jenna, thank you. The way we work, the brain runs in a data platform account, we connect to the CRM and the helpdesk and the rest, and it keeps itself up to date overnight. Our team does the set-up. What it needs from you is somebody to say what's right and what's wrong in the first weeks. It shouldn't need babysitting.
- Jenna Price NoneRight. That's what I'd want to hear. Can we park the detail on that for now? I'd like to understand what it does first.
- Tom Ashdown NoneOf course. Simple version. Anyone at your firm can ask a question in plain words, such as what is the latest on this client, and the brain answers using what's in the CRM, the tickets, the emails and so on, and it shows where the answer came from.
- Rob Ellery NoneWhat would we be paying for, then? In plain terms.
- Tom Ashdown NoneTwo things. A one-off fee for the set-up, which is fixed, and then an annual subscription. For a firm your size we'd be talking about our Starter tier, which is for one team. I'll not quote a price from memory in front of you, because I'll get it wrong. The total for the deal, set-up included, is going to be somewhere around twenty-five and a half thousand, and I'll confirm exactly in writing.
- Rob Ellery NoneRight. That's not nothing.
- Tom Ashdown NoneNo, it's not. It's why I want to be sure it pays for itself. If it doesn't save your consultants time or help win fees, don't buy it.
- Rob Ellery NoneGood. Because we're watching every subscription at the moment. Hiring's slowed. I'm not in the mood for anything that's nice to have.
- Jenna Price NoneRob, to be fair, this is not nice to have. It's the lost time.
- Rob Ellery NoneThen show me it on our own data. That's what I'd want to see before I sign anything.
- Tom Ashdown NoneThat's exactly the next step. We do a demo on your own data, not a canned one. Jenna, I'd need you to help with access to the CRM, read-only, nothing that touches your live work. Could that be done in the next couple of weeks?
- Jenna Price NoneProbably. I'll need to check with our outside support company on the permissions. Sorry, I know that's vague. I'll find out and email you.
- Tom Ashdown NoneNo drama. Leave that with me to send you a short note of exactly what we need, so you're not guessing.
- Rob Ellery NoneAnd I'll want a short document, Tom. Not a manual. One page. What it does, what it costs, who looks after it.
- Tom Ashdown NoneOne page. Understood. I'll send it with the access note. Let's get something in the diary for the demo once Jenna's had a chance to check the permissions.
- Jenna Price NoneThanks, Tom. Sorry again about being late.
- Tom Ashdown NoneNot at all. Thanks both. Best, Tom. Speak soon.
- Rob Ellery NoneRight, cheers.
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