What was said
What this says
Current to 11 Oct 26Marcus Bell's quarterly review for Hollins Tarrant on 4 Nov 2025 showed rising users and questions. Rob Ellery said he is happy to renew on Starter, subject to the renewal paperwork BB-Demo sends.
What happened: Marcus Bell took Rob Ellery and Jenna Price through the quarter. Active users were up by about a third, questions asked were up, and there were no tickets in the last month.
Customer view: Jenna said she would be lost without the brain and that a consultant dropped her spreadsheet on big clients. Rob said he is happy, subject to the paperwork.
Commercial: Marcus described the renewal as same tier, same users, same annual figure of £19,500, as far as he knew. Rob said plainly he does not want to pay for more, so there is no seat upsell now.
Watch: The renewal is agreed in principle only, and the paperwork had not yet been sent on the call. Usage is still a small group on fifteen licensed users.
Themes
Current to 9 Oct 26Who was there
BB-Demo
Them
Follow-up
Next steps
Current to 9 Oct 26- Marcus Bell to send both customer contacts a one-page usage summary from the call.
- BB-Demo to issue the renewal paperwork on the same tier and users.
- Marcus Bell to book thirty minutes with Jenna Price in early January for a pages tidy-up.
Risks
Current to 9 Oct 26- The managing director's agreement is conditional on renewal paperwork that had not yet been issued.
- Rob Ellery does not want to pay for more, so any price or seat change could reopen the decision.
Opportunities
Current to 9 Oct 26- Usage is broader than before, with questions spread across a handful of users, which supports a clean renewal.
Transcript
- Jenna Price NoneHello! Sorry, sorry, I'm late again. Rob's just coming, he's finishing a call.
- Marcus Bell NoneAfternoon, Jenna. No problem, it gives me a chance to get my screen set up. Have you had a decent week?
- Jenna Price NoneNot bad, actually. Quieter than it has been. The team's still stretched, but it's calmer.
- Rob Ellery NoneHello. Sorry. Right, how long's this one?
- Marcus Bell NoneHi Rob. About forty minutes, give or take. I'll try to keep it moving. I'm sharing my screen now, and I've pulled the numbers for the quarter. The short version is that it's good news, so I think you'll like it.
- Rob Ellery NoneGo on then, I could do with some.
- Marcus Bell NoneSo, first thing. Active users are up on the previous quarter, by about a third. It's still a small group, but more people are logging in and they're coming back more often. Questions asked are up as well, which is the measure I care about most.
- Jenna Price NoneOh, that's nice. I thought it was a bit busier. Two of the newer consultants have started using it after I showed them in a team meeting.
- Marcus Bell NoneThat fits what I'm seeing. And it isn't all one person, which is the thing I look out for. The questions are spread across a handful of users now.
- Rob Ellery NoneWhat are they actually asking it?
- Marcus Bell NoneMostly client account questions. Where a client stands, what's open in the placements pipeline, and whether there's an open ticket before somebody rings them. That's the stuff that used to mean three screens.
- Rob Ellery NoneRight. So it saves them time.
- Jenna Price NoneIt does. One of them told me she stopped keeping a spreadsheet on her biggest clients, which was my favourite bit.
- Marcus Bell NoneLove that. Now, health of the platform. No tickets in the last month, nightly refresh has been landing on time, and all the connectors are loading. The record counts are growing as they should.
- Jenna Price NoneYeah, I haven't had to chase anything.
- Marcus Bell NoneYou've got fifteen licensed users on Starter and you're comfortably inside that, so there's no pressure on seats. If more of the firm joins, we can talk about that later. There's no need now.
- Rob Ellery NoneGood, because I don't want to be paying for more.
- Marcus Bell NoneUnderstood. And I'll say that's not what this call is for.
- Rob Ellery NoneWhat about the renewal? Tom mentioned it. Is that going to change?
- Marcus Bell NoneSame tier, same users, same annual figure of nineteen and a half thousand, as far as I know. Tom will confirm that in writing, so I won't speak for him. I'd just say the usage case looks better than it did in the summer.
- Rob Ellery NoneThat's all I wanted to hear. Jenna, you're happy with it?
- Jenna Price NoneYes. I'd rather keep it than lose it. I'd be lost without it now, honestly.
- Rob Ellery NoneFine. Then I'm happy, subject to what Tom sends.
- Marcus Bell NonePerfect. So, next steps. I'll send you both the usage summary from today, one page. Tom will send the renewal paperwork. And Jenna, shall we book thirty minutes in the new year for a bit of a tidy-up on the pages?
- Jenna Price NoneYes, please. Early in January, once things settle.
- Marcus Bell NoneDone. Thanks both.
- Rob Ellery NoneThanks. Bye.