Delancey Haig / BB-Demo – Check In
Callcompleted
Delancey Haig: documents · 2025-08-18 15:15
Check-in with Saskia Mendes: about nine of 40 Growth seats active, down about a fifth on the previous quarter, after a director was caught out in a review. She expects her boss to ask what the money buys.
What was said
What this says
Current to 11 Oct 26Check-in with Saskia Mendes: about nine of 40 Growth seats active, down about a fifth on the previous quarter, after a director was caught out in a review. She expects her boss to ask what the money buys.
What happened: On the 18 Aug 2025 call Saskia Mendes described a director blindsided in a client review by a contractor invoice dispute he had not checked the brain for.
Customer view: She blames the habit of asking operations instead, and a blank box with no idea what to type. She said support has been fine and the problem is internal.
Commercial: Growth is £44,000 a year, matching the order form and invoices. Daniel Okafor gave 2 Jul 2026 as the contract end and 3 Jul 2026 as renewal, and said Priya owns the commercial conversation.
Watch: A v1 Growth customer moves to the v2 list at its first renewal from 1 Jul 2026, so +13.6% lands on a thin value case. New starters may never have been given access.
Themes
Current to 9 Oct 26Theme
Usage drift, value case
Importance
renewal
Sentiment
mixed
Voice
champion
Who was there
BB-Demo
CRMmade from
Them
CRMmade from
Follow-up
Next steps
Current to 9 Oct 26- Daniel Okafor to send Saskia a table of who has access and who is active, by team, by Friday.
- Daniel Okafor to check all sources are loading and test whether the brain would have caught the disputed invoice.
- Daniel Okafor to brief Priya this week and arrange an hour-long working session with a director.
Risks
Current to 9 Oct 26- Active use is about nine of 40 seats and falling, so the value case for the Growth renewal is thin.
- Directors still ask operations rather than the brain, and one was caught out in a client review.
- The renewal moves a v1 customer to the v2 list, and Daniel Okafor did not commit to what happens at renewal.
Opportunities
Current to 9 Oct 26- A dashboard built for client-account directors would use the Growth dashboards builder.
- A one-page question list and review invites linking to client pages could embed use before reviews.
- Adding the brain to the new starters form could switch on unused seats.
Transcript
Daniel Okafor NoneHello Saskia, thanks very much for making the time. Can you hear me all right?
Saskia Mendes NoneLoud and clear. Sorry, one second, I'm just shutting a door. Right. Hi Daniel.- Daniel Okafor NoneNo problem at all. I think it's just the two of us today. Is anyone else joining from your side?
- Saskia Mendes NoneJust me. Everyone else is on holiday or stuck in a client review. Honestly the office is half empty, it's August. Do you want a story from this week?
- Daniel Okafor NonePlease, go on.
- Saskia Mendes NoneSo one of our client-account directors went into a review on Tuesday, and the client brought up a dispute over a contractor invoice that he'd not heard about at all. He had to say he'd come back to them. Which is exactly the thing we bought the brain to stop happening. And I asked him afterwards, did you look before you went in? And he said no, he'd meant to.
- Daniel Okafor NoneMm. That's a difficult one, and I'm sorry to hear it. I suppose it's a good place to start, because it's partly why I wanted this check-in. Just to close the loop on how the team is finding it, really. How is it landing day to day?
- Saskia Mendes NoneHonestly? Not as well as it should be. I'm not going to dress it up, you'd see it in the numbers anyway.
- Daniel Okafor NoneI appreciate you saying that, and I do have the numbers in front of me. Would it help if I shared what I'm seeing, and then you tell me whether it matches what you feel on the ground?
- Saskia Mendes NoneYes, please. Go for it.
- Daniel Okafor NoneSo you have 40 licensed users on Growth. Over the last month, on average, around nine of them are active in any given period. And that's down by about a fifth compared with the previous quarter. So it's not a collapse, but it's a clear drift, and I'd rather talk about it now than in the spring.
- Saskia Mendes NoneNine. Right. Yeah. That's about what I'd have guessed, if I'm honest, maybe a touch lower on a bad week. It's the same handful of people. Me, a couple of the operations team, and then one or two directors who really like it.
- Daniel Okafor NoneThat fits what I see as well. The people who use it are using it properly. Their questions are good, they're building things. It's more that the circle hasn't widened.
- Saskia Mendes NoneRight, and the circle was the whole point. The directors need this. I didn't buy it so that operations could have a nicer search box.
- Daniel Okafor NoneNo, understood. And I remember the original conversation, you wanted each director to see a client whole. Vacancies, placements, invoices, complaints, all in one place before they walk in the room.
- Saskia Mendes NoneExactly that. And some of them do it. But then you get Tuesday.
- Daniel Okafor NoneCan I ask what you think is getting in the way? I've got a few guesses but I'd rather hear yours first.
- Saskia Mendes NoneOkay. Partly it's summer, I'll say that straight away, a lot of people are out. But I don't think that's most of it. I think the directors are busy and they are used to asking someone. They message operations, we pull it together, they get a summary. It's the old habit. Going and asking the brain themselves feels like another thing to learn.
- Daniel Okafor NoneThat makes a lot of sense. And I'd say it's very common, actually. The habit of asking a person is hard to shift, particularly when the person is quick and friendly.
- Saskia Mendes NoneHa. We're too helpful.
- Daniel Okafor NoneA little bit, maybe. But go on, what else?
- Saskia Mendes NoneThe other thing is they don't know what to ask. I had a director say to me, it's a blank box, what do I type? And I didn't have a good answer. I said, ask it about your client. And he said, what about my client? So.
- Daniel Okafor NoneYes. That's a really useful thing to hear. A blank box is a lot to ask of someone who's got ten minutes before a meeting.
- Saskia Mendes NoneCan we make it simpler? That's honestly my question. What's the version where a director opens one thing and sees their clients, and doesn't have to think?
- Daniel Okafor NoneI think there is one, and it's something your plan already includes. Growth has the dashboards builder, and I don't think your directors have been given anything built for them specifically. The dashboards your team have made so far, I believe they're more for operations.
- Saskia Mendes NoneThat's right. They're mine. I built them for my own team.
- Daniel Okafor NoneSo what if we built one view that's for a client-account director, and nothing else? One page, per client, with open vacancies, recent placements, invoices and any live complaints. And they open it before a review the way they'd open a diary.
- Saskia Mendes NoneHm. Yes. That's, yeah, that's what I wanted from the start. I think I'd got it in my head that we'd have to do something big.
- Daniel Okafor NoneNot big at all. We might do it in a single working session, you and me, with someone from your team who knows what a director actually looks at.
- Saskia Mendes NoneI could bring one of the directors. The one who likes it. He'd tell us straight if something's useless.
- Daniel Okafor NoneThat would be perfect. Honestly the best person to design it is one of the people who'll use it.
- Saskia Mendes NoneOkay. And what did the client actually say on Tuesday? Because I want to use that. I want to be able to say to the directors, look, this is what happened, and this is what the brain would have shown you.
- Daniel Okafor NoneThat's a good thought, and I'd be glad to help with it. If you can tell me which client and roughly when the invoice dispute started, I can look at what was in the system before the review. Then we'll know whether the brain would actually have caught it, or whether there's a gap on our side that I need to know about.
- Saskia Mendes NoneOh. I hadn't thought about the gap. Right. If it wouldn't have caught it, that's a different conversation.
- Daniel Okafor NoneIt is, and it's an important one. I'd rather find out now. If the contractor invoices from that client are coming through a source that isn't connected properly, we'd want to fix that before anyone relies on it.
- Saskia Mendes NoneOkay. I'll get you the detail after this. I think it's in my notes from the review.
- Daniel Okafor NoneThank you. While we're on connectors, are all the sources you set up at the start still doing what you expect? Anything changed on your side, a system moved, a new tool brought in?
- Saskia Mendes NoneNot that I know of. Nothing's been swapped out. I'd have told you. Although, I'm not in every conversation with IT, so I won't swear to it.
- Daniel Okafor NoneThat's fair. I'll look at the sources myself, then, and I'll come back to you. Just so we're sure nothing's gone quiet without anyone noticing.
- Saskia Mendes NoneGood. Because that's the other worry. If it's wrong once, they stop trusting it. Directors don't give you a second go.
- Daniel Okafor NoneNo, they don't. And that's a point I take seriously.
- Saskia Mendes NoneCan I ask you about the tickets? I saw we'd raised a couple recently and I honestly lost track.
- Daniel Okafor NoneYes, there were two in the last month. Neither was urgent, nothing that needed the priority route. They were the kind of questions you'd expect, someone working out how to do something rather than something being broken.
- Saskia Mendes NoneOkay, that sounds right. I think one was mine, actually. I was trying to share a page with a director and couldn't work out how.
- Daniel Okafor NoneThat's useful, because it connects to the same thing. If sharing something with a director takes a ticket, then it's not simple enough yet. That's on us to make clearer, not on you.
- Saskia Mendes NoneHa, I'll take that. Thank you.
- Daniel Okafor NoneAnd on the commercial side, just so you're not wondering, your invoices are all up to date, nothing outstanding on our records. So that side is tidy.
- Saskia Mendes NoneGood. Our finance team would have shouted if not. They're very good at shouting.
- Daniel Okafor NoneThat's what finance teams are for. Honestly, I wish more of them were.
- Saskia Mendes NoneDaniel, can I be direct about something?
- Daniel Okafor NoneOf course. Please.
- Saskia Mendes NoneMy boss is going to ask me what we're getting for the money. Not today, but at some point before the contract comes up. And at the moment, if he asked me, I'd have to say, a few of us love it and most people haven't touched it. That's not a good answer.
- Daniel Okafor NoneNo, and I'm glad you said it plainly. I'd rather you told me this in August than had me find out nearer the time. The contract runs to 2 Jul 2026, so there's a good stretch of time yet. But I'd like us to have a proper answer to that question well before then.
- Saskia Mendes NoneWhat would a proper answer look like? I mean, what do I show him?
- Daniel Okafor NoneI'd say two things. First, that more of the directors are using it, and using it before reviews rather than after. And second, one or two clear examples where it saved somebody from a surprise. A real story is worth more than a chart, I think.
- Saskia Mendes NoneRight. So Tuesday's story, but with a better ending next time.
- Daniel Okafor NoneExactly that. Same story, different ending.
- Saskia Mendes NoneOkay. I like that. I can sell that internally.
- Daniel Okafor NoneAnd if it helps, I'd be happy to look at who's active, team by team, so we can see where the gaps actually are. Rather than guessing. Right now I only have the overall picture.
- Saskia Mendes NoneYes. Please. I'd like to know which directors haven't logged in at all. I think I know, but I want to see it.
- Daniel Okafor NoneI can do that. I'll put it together simply, by team and by person, and I'll send it across. I'll come back to you by Friday with that.
- Saskia Mendes NoneGreat. And I'd rather it wasn't a long document. A table is fine. Short paragraphs.
- Daniel Okafor NoneA table and a few lines on what I think it means. That's what I'll do.
- Saskia Mendes NonePerfect. Now, the working session. When do you think? Because I don't want this to drift. If it's not in the diary it won't happen, I know myself.
- Daniel Okafor NoneThat's wise. Let me suggest we aim for the week after next, once more people are back from their holidays. Does that sound realistic, or are you away?
- Saskia Mendes NoneI'm here. A couple of the directors are away until the end of the month, but the one I'd bring is back by then, I think. I'll check with him tomorrow.
- Daniel Okafor NoneLovely. If you let me know once you've spoken to him, I'll find a slot that suits the two of you.
- Saskia Mendes NoneWill do. Can I ask something slightly different?
- Daniel Okafor NoneOf course.
- Saskia Mendes NoneIs this normal? I mean, the drop. Do other customers go through this, where it starts well and then people drift?
- Daniel Okafor NoneIt's more common than people admit. The first few months have a lot of energy, there's a launch, people are curious. Then ordinary work takes over, and unless the tool has become part of how someone prepares for something, it slips. The ones who keep it going tend to tie it to a specific moment in their week.
- Saskia Mendes NoneA specific moment. Like, before a client review.
- Daniel Okafor NoneExactly like that. If a director's habit is open the client page, then the review, you're most of the way there.
- Saskia Mendes NoneCould we put it in the review prep? Like, the review invite has a link in it. To their client page.
- Daniel Okafor NoneI think that's a great idea. If the link is sitting in the calendar invite, there's nothing to remember. We'd want to check what's easiest on your side, whether it's something your team can add to the template. I'm not certain of the mechanics, so I'd want to look at that with you rather than promise it today.
- Saskia Mendes NoneFine. That's fair. I'll find out how our review invites get made. I think operations does it, actually, which is me. So it might be easy.
- Daniel Okafor NoneWell then, you may be your own solution.
- Saskia Mendes NoneHa. Story of my life.
- Daniel Okafor NoneCan I ask about the others who use it regularly? You said a couple of the operations team. Are they happy with it? Is there anything they've said that's frustrated them?
- Saskia Mendes NoneThey're fine. They like it. One of them said the answers are sometimes too long. She just wants the line, not the paragraph. But that's a small thing.
- Daniel Okafor NoneIt's not that small, actually. If she's said it, others probably feel it. I'll make a note. Often it's about how the question is phrased, and we can show people a couple of ways to ask for the short version.
- Saskia Mendes NoneOh, that'd be useful. A cheat sheet. One page. What to type.
- Daniel Okafor NoneA one-page list of questions that directors tend to ask before a review. I think that answers the blank box problem as well.
- Saskia Mendes NoneYes. That's it. Honestly, if you did that and the director page, I'd be a lot happier.
- Daniel Okafor NoneThen let's do both. I'll draft the list of questions, and bring it to the working session so we can tidy it with your director. He'll know what he actually asks.
- Saskia Mendes NoneHe will. He'll also tell you it's too long.
- Daniel Okafor NoneGood. That's the best kind of feedback.
- Saskia Mendes NoneSo what else is on your list? I feel like I've been talking at you.
- Daniel Okafor NoneNot at all, this is what I hoped for. A couple of things. One is that there's the quarterly review that comes with Growth. We haven't fixed the next one yet, and I wonder whether it would be better to line it up with the working session, so that we're not asking people for too many hours.
- Saskia Mendes NoneYes. I'd much rather have one good meeting than two thin ones. Can the review be about the directors? I'd like them in the room, if they're around.
- Daniel Okafor NoneI think that would be the right shape. Less a report from me, more a conversation with the people who are meant to benefit. I'll draft an outline and send it ahead so you can tell me whether it's what you'd want.
- Saskia Mendes NoneLovely. And bring the examples. The Tuesday one, if we can.
- Daniel Okafor NoneIf the evidence is there, I'll bring it, and if it's not, I'll tell you plainly and we'll deal with whatever that means.
- Saskia Mendes NoneGood. I prefer that.
- Daniel Okafor NoneThe other thing I wanted to mention is the people side. You've had a few new starters this summer, I think? Were they set up with access, do you know?
- Saskia Mendes NoneHm. That's a good question. Some, I think. I'm honestly not sure all of them were. We have a form for new starters and the brain isn't on it. That might be a gap.
- Daniel Okafor NoneThat could account for a bit of it. You have 40 seats and a good number of them may simply never have been switched on for the people who joined recently.
- Saskia Mendes NoneOh, that's annoying. And embarrassing. I own that form. Okay. I'll add it. It's one line.
- Daniel Okafor NoneIt's a small fix and a common one, so please don't be hard on yourself. If you like, I can send you the list of who currently has access, and you can compare it against your starters.
- Saskia Mendes NoneYes, please. Put it in the same table, if that's easy.
- Daniel Okafor NoneIt is. One table. Who has access, who's been active, and who hasn't. Nothing more.
- Saskia Mendes NoneBrilliant. Right. Is there anything about price I should be worried about? Because my boss will ask that as well.
- Daniel Okafor NoneLet me be careful here, because I don't want to say anything I can't stand behind. You're on Growth at £44,000 a year. That's what the order form says, and that's what's been invoiced, so those two agree. The renewal is on 3 Jul 2026. I'm not the person who owns the commercial conversation, that's Priya, and I wouldn't want to guess at what happens at renewal on her behalf.
- Saskia Mendes NoneFair enough. Priya, right. I remember her from the start. Will she be at the review?
- Daniel Okafor NoneI'll ask her. I'd like her to hear what we've discussed today, honestly, so that nothing comes as a surprise to anyone. I'll update her this week.
- Saskia Mendes NoneGood. I'd rather the story was consistent. If I tell you something's not working I don't want to be telling her something different.
- Daniel Okafor NoneNo, quite right. I'll keep it factual. Usage is lower than we'd like, here are the reasons we think, and here's what we're doing about it. That's all.
- Saskia Mendes NoneThat's all it is. Okay.
- Saskia Mendes NoneCan I ask one more thing about the usage? The people who aren't using it. Is there anything you can see about what they've tried? Like, did they log in once and give up?
- Daniel Okafor NoneI can see that to a degree. Some people opened it early on, asked a question or two, and then stopped. I can't tell you why from the data, only that the pattern is there. It's a good thing to ask them directly, if you have the chance. Not as a challenge, just, what stopped you?
- Saskia Mendes NoneI could do that at the directors' meeting. Five minutes. What stopped you?
- Daniel Okafor NoneI think that would be really valuable. And I suspect the answers will be the ones you've already given me. Blank box, no time, someone else does it.
- Saskia Mendes NoneProbably. But it's different if they say it themselves. Then it's their problem to solve as well as mine.
- Daniel Okafor NoneThat's a good point.
- Saskia Mendes NoneRight. Let me think about who else should be in the working session. Not too many. Me, you, the director. Maybe one of the ops team, the one who wants shorter answers.
- Daniel Okafor NoneI like that. She'll keep us honest on the length. Four of us is a good size.
- Saskia Mendes NoneAnd how long? I can't give you a whole afternoon.
- Daniel Okafor NoneAn hour should do it, I think. We'd build the one page, try it on a real client, and see what's missing. If we need a second sitting, we'll book that separately and keep it short.
- Saskia Mendes NoneAn hour is fine. Done.
- Daniel Okafor NoneWonderful. Before I forget, how are you? Not the brain, you. I know it's been a busy summer.
- Saskia Mendes NoneHa. Tired. Thank you for asking. It's been a lot of covering for people who are away, and then the Tuesday thing on top. I'm okay. I'm looking forward to a long weekend, actually, I've got one coming up.
- Daniel Okafor NoneGood. Do something unrelated to work. I hope the weather holds.
- Saskia Mendes NoneFingers crossed. Anyway. Let me check I've got this right, because I'm going to write it down for my own sake.
- Daniel Okafor NonePlease do. I'll do the same and we can compare.
- Saskia Mendes NoneOkay. One. You send me the table by Friday, who has access, who's active, by team.
- Daniel Okafor NoneYes. And a few lines on what I think it shows.
- Saskia Mendes NoneTwo. You check all the sources are still loading properly, and you look at that client from Tuesday to see whether the brain would have caught the invoice dispute.
- Daniel Okafor NoneYes. I'll need the client name and roughly when it started, from you, and I'll come back to you once I've looked.
- Saskia Mendes NoneI'll send that today. Three. I ask the director if he'll join a working session the week after next, and I tell you once I know.
- Daniel Okafor NoneAnd I'll find a time that suits everyone. About an hour, with you, him and someone from your operations team.
- Saskia Mendes NoneFour. You draft a one-page list of questions, and a director view, and bring them to that session.
- Daniel Okafor NoneYes. A draft of each, so that we're editing rather than starting from nothing.
- Saskia Mendes NoneFive. I add the brain to the new starters form, and I look at putting the client page link into review invites.
- Daniel Okafor NoneYes, and if the invite one turns out to be fiddly, tell me and we'll think about it together.
- Saskia Mendes NoneAnd six. You tell Priya where we are.
- Daniel Okafor NoneI will, this week. Factual, and no surprises.
- Saskia Mendes NoneIs that everything?
- Daniel Okafor NoneThat's everything I have. There's the quarterly review we mentioned, which I'll fold in with the working session, so I'll send an outline of that as well. But I think that's six things and a seventh quietly in the background.
- Saskia Mendes NoneHa. A seventh. Brilliant. That's a lot more concrete than I was expecting when I joined.
- Daniel Okafor NoneI'm glad. I did want you to leave with something you could actually act on, not just a sympathetic ear.
- Saskia Mendes NoneThe sympathetic ear helped as well. Honestly. It's easy to feel like you're the only one whose rollout wobbled.
- Daniel Okafor NoneYou're not, and it's a very fixable wobble. The core of it is already working for the people who use it. We're just trying to get it into more hands.
- Saskia Mendes NoneYes. Okay. I feel better about it than I did half an hour ago.
- Daniel Okafor NoneThat's really good to hear. Is there anything you wanted to raise that we haven't touched? Anything on your mind about support, or the team on our side?
- Saskia Mendes NoneNo, I don't think so. Support's been fine. Quick, polite. The tickets were answered. It's not that. It's us, not you. Mostly.
- Daniel Okafor NoneMostly. I'll take mostly. We have our part in it too, particularly on making it simpler, as you said.
- Saskia Mendes NoneCan we make it simpler. That's my catchphrase, isn't it. Sorry.
- Daniel Okafor NoneNot at all. It's a good question to keep asking.
- Saskia Mendes NoneWell, then. I should go and tackle the pile of things I've been ignoring. I've got a stack of invoice queries from contractors that I promised to answer today. Never let a question go more than a day, that's the rule.
- Daniel Okafor NoneThat's a good rule. Then I won't keep you. Thank you for being so open about it, Saskia. It really does make it easier to help.
- Saskia Mendes NoneThanks for not being defensive. Some suppliers would have said, but the numbers are fine, look at the dashboard.
- Daniel Okafor NoneThe numbers aren't the point. Whether the directors walk in prepared is the point.
- Saskia Mendes NoneExactly. Okay. I'll send the client details this afternoon, and I'll talk to the director tomorrow.
- Daniel Okafor NoneLovely. And I'll get the table to you by Friday. Just to close the loop, if anything changes on your side before then, or you think of something else, drop me a line.
- Saskia Mendes NoneWill do. Oh, and Daniel. Before you go.
- Daniel Okafor NoneYes?
- Saskia Mendes NoneThe story. When we've got the better ending, I'd like to tell it to the whole directors' meeting. Would you be able to join and say a few words? Not a presentation. Just, here's what it did.
- Daniel Okafor NoneI'd be glad to. Let's see how the working session goes first, and if there's a good example by then, it would be a pleasure.
- Saskia Mendes NonePerfect. Thank you. Best of luck with the rest of your week.
- Daniel Okafor NoneAnd you. Enjoy the long weekend when it comes, and say hello to the team from me. Speak soon.
- Saskia Mendes NoneWill do. Speak soon. Bye, Daniel.
- Daniel Okafor NoneBye, Saskia. Take care.
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