Maelbeek Assurances / BB-Demo – Negotiation
Callcompleted
Maelbeek Assurances: documents · 2025-12-22 13:15
Maelbeek's chief executive and operations director liked the product but hesitated over the upfront commitment. BB-Demo offered ten percent off the year-one subscription and promised a proposal, aiming for signature by mid-January.
What was said
What this says
Current to 11 Oct 26Maelbeek's chief executive and operations director liked the product but hesitated over the upfront commitment. BB-Demo offered ten percent off the year-one subscription and promised a proposal, aiming for signature by mid-January.
What happened: On 22 Dec 2025, Lewis Kerr and Owen Tallis negotiated with Elise Claes and Arnaud Janssens after the demo. The customer asked for a business case before committing.
Customer view: Elise named time lost reconciling client files, renewals and complaints across systems. Arnaud put it at four or five hours a day across the team.
Commercial: Owen offered ten percent off the subscription for year one only, then the standard Starter rate. The call left it unclear whether the discount also touches implementation.
Watch: The customer asked to think it over, so nothing was agreed. Lewis owes a proposal with numbers, and Arnaud's question about adding systems later is an expansion signal.
Themes
Current to 9 Oct 26Who was there
BB-Demo
Them
Follow-up
Next steps
Current to 9 Oct 26- Lewis Kerr to send a proposal with numbers, including the year-one discount and the standard Starter rate from year two.
- Lewis Kerr to build the business case around the hours lost to manual reconciliation.
- Lewis Kerr to confirm whether the discount covers implementation.
Risks
Current to 9 Oct 26- The customer is hesitating on the size of the upfront commitment and wants a business case.
- Owen Tallis said the team's adoption is the main risk, and the customer did not answer it directly.
- The January signature target slips if the proposal is slow.
Opportunities
Current to 9 Oct 26- Arnaud Janssens asked about adding more systems later, which points to extra connectors.
- The stated time cost gives a concrete value case for the proposal.
Transcript
Lewis Kerr NoneHi Elise, Arnaud, thanks for getting back to us so quickly. Following on from the demo before Christmas, you wanted to talk through the commercial bit. Owen's here, he's VP Sales, so we can discuss terms and what we might be able to do.
Owen Tallis NoneMorning. Lewis tells me the demo went well but pricing is the question. What's the concern?
Elise Claes NoneCommitting a significant amount upfront is the issue. We need to see the business case for it.
Arnaud Janssens NoneThe product looks good, but it's a material investment for us and we want to be sure it's the right move.- Owen Tallis NoneI get that. So what problem does the brain solve for you?
- Elise Claes NoneTime. We spend a lot of time manually reconciling client files, renewals and complaints across different systems.
- Owen Tallis NoneAnd how much time are we talking about each week?
- Arnaud Janssens NoneHonestly, several hours. Maybe four or five hours a day across the team when you add it up.
- Owen Tallis NoneRight. So you'd make it back fairly quickly if you use it. The risk is adoption. Do you think your team will actually use it?
- Elise Claes NoneThat's what we're weighing up. The tool looks good but the commitment is what we're hesitating on.
- Lewis Kerr NoneWhat if we worked with you on the pricing for year one to reduce the risk?
- Owen Tallis NoneWe could look at a discount on the subscription side. First year only, though, from year two we're back to standard terms.
- Elise Claes NoneAnd what would standard terms be?
- Lewis Kerr NoneThe subscription renews at our standard Starter rate. Implementation is one-off.
- Owen Tallis NoneSo if we do ten percent off the subscription for year one, plus the implementation, we can get you a better number. What does that feel like?
- Arnaud Janssens NoneThat would help. What about adding more systems later if we want to?
- Lewis Kerr NoneYou could add connectors as you grow. Start with the core and expand from there.
- Elise Claes NoneOkay, so you'd discount the first year and then standard pricing from renewal onwards?
- Owen Tallis NoneYes. And you'd get full support: implementation, training, quarterly check-ins.
- Arnaud Janssens NoneCan we think about it and come back?
- Lewis Kerr NoneAbsolutely. Let me get a proposal over with the numbers. We'd want to get you signed by mid-January to stay on track for February go-live.
- Owen Tallis NoneIf you need anything, you know where to find us.
- Elise Claes NoneCheers.
- Lewis Kerr NoneSpeak soon.