Brimscombe Energy / BB-Demo – Negotiation
Callcompleted
Brimscombe Energy · 2024-12-02 11:15
Negotiation call close to agreement. Graham Tovey has no objection if three things are in writing and Siân Pritchard is satisfied. Signature is targeted before the break, Fri 27 Dec 2024 at the latest.
What was said
What this says
Current to 13 Oct 26Negotiation call close to agreement. Graham Tovey has no objection if three things are in writing and Siân Pritchard is satisfied. Signature is targeted before the break, Fri 27 Dec 2024 at the latest.
What happened: Tom Ashdown and Owen Tallis took Graham Tovey and Siân Pritchard through the Enterprise terms on 2 Dec 2024. The deal as it sits is £145k in total with implementation included, and any movement is on the first term only.
Customer view: Siân's concerns were the regulator, data freshness for collections by 07:00, and the load on her team during the build. Graham will sign only once she is satisfied.
Commercial: Enterprise credits a freshness miss as well as downtime, and the customer wants that wording in the order form at no extra charge. Procurement and legal will review the order form and data terms before signature.
Watch: the security questionnaire return, which Siân will confirm by Wednesday, and the legal read she cannot control.
Themes
Current to 9 Oct 26Theme
Enterprise order form terms
Importance
neutral
Sentiment
positive
Voice
decision-maker
Who was there
BB-Demo
CRMmade from
Them
CRMmade from
Follow-up
Next steps
Current to 9 Oct 26- Tom Ashdown to send the security pack to Siân Pritchard the same day.
- Tom Ashdown to send the revised order form with freshness wording and the data terms by the end of that week.
- Siân Pritchard to confirm by Wednesday whether the questionnaire can be returned by the end of the following week.
Risks
Current to 9 Oct 26- The date could slip into January if the security review or the legal read is not back in time.
- Graham's sign-off depends on three written items: freshness wording, escalation route and data exit terms.
- A quiet connector failure would be felt by collections before BB-Demo raises it, unless the escalation route is agreed.
Opportunities
Current to 9 Oct 26- Enterprise freshness credit, written into the order form, answers Siân's main operational worry.
- Training the key accounts team on their own data could drive early adoption.
Transcript
Tom Ashdown NoneHello, can you hear me alright? Siân, I think you're on mute. No, there you go.
Siân Pritchard NoneMorning, Tom. Yes, I can hear you fine. Graham's just finishing another call, he said to make a start if he's a minute or two.- Tom Ashdown NoneNo drama. How's your week been so far? Mondays are funny, aren't they, everyone back at their desk with a list as long as your arm.
- Siân Pritchard NoneBusy, but in a good way. Since the demo, the collections team have kept sending me questions they'd want to put to the brain. I'm not claiming anything from that yet, mind. Let's measure it before we claim it.
- Tom Ashdown NoneFair enough, and that's the right way round. Oh, hang on, here's Owen. Owen, you're on mute.
Owen Tallis NoneSorry, there we go. Morning, both. Graham not on yet?
Graham Tovey NoneI'm here. Good morning, everyone, apologies for the delay. What's the headline?- Owen Tallis NoneHeadline is we're close. Where we stand against the date: we're aiming to have the order form signed by Friday 27 December 2024, and what's left is the commercial terms and your security questions. Tom, you've been closest to it, do you want to take them through?
- Tom Ashdown NoneYeah, course. So, Graham, Siân, where we've landed is Enterprise, the company-wide tier. That brings single sign-on and SCIM, and Graham, you'd be the executive sponsor on your side, with a named sponsor on ours. The deal as it sits is £145,000 in total, implementation included. I want to be really clear that isn't an annual figure, it's the whole deal. I'll confirm the annual part in writing rather than quote it from memory.
- Graham Tovey NoneUnderstood. Tell me early, not late: is that number going to move?
- Owen Tallis NoneNot upwards. If there's any movement at all, it's on the first term only, and let's not discount twice. So whatever we agree is what we work from, and it falls away at renewal. I'd rather say that now than have it land on you in a year.
- Graham Tovey NoneGood. That's the commercial point settled as far as I'm concerned, subject to Siân's view. I don't sign without it.
- Siân Pritchard NoneWhich I appreciate, Graham. So my questions aren't really about price. There are three things: the regulator, the freshness of the data for the collections team, and who in my team has to do what during the build.
- Tom Ashdown NoneGreat, let's take them in that order if that suits. Start with the regulator.
- Siân Pritchard NoneSo, complaint answers. We have to meet the regulator's rules on how we respond and how quickly, and I never let a deadline slip. What I need to know is, when a complaint comes in from a business customer, can the handler see the sites, the contract, the calls and the bills in one place? And can I show an auditor where each fact in the answer came from? What does the record say, and can I prove it?
- Tom Ashdown NoneYes. That's the point of it, really. It pulls your CRM, the call recorder, the helpdesk and the billing system into one layer, and every answer points back to the record it came from. And because it runs inside your own Snowflake account, the data doesn't leave your environment.
- Graham Tovey NoneWhat does the customer see?
- Siân Pritchard NoneNothing different, Graham, that's the idea. What changes is the speed and the consistency of what our people tell them. A customer ringing about a bill gets the same answer from key accounts as from collections. One customer, one view.
- Graham Tovey NoneAnd how does this hold up with Ofgem?
- Owen Tallis NoneThat's what the security review is for, and Enterprise includes our support for it. Our team works through your questionnaire alongside yours. I'd rather you hear that from the paperwork than from a promise on a call.
- Graham Tovey NoneFine. Siân, you'll own that with your people?
- Siân Pritchard NoneYes. A colleague in IT security will take the questionnaire, and someone from our legal team will want to read the data terms. I'll introduce them to Tom by email this week.
- Tom Ashdown NoneBrilliant. Leave that with me, I'll send the pack over today so they've got it before the introductions.
- Owen Tallis NoneWhat's the next dated step on that? Who gets it, and when does it come back?
- Tom Ashdown NonePack goes to Siân today. Siân, would your IT colleague manage to return the questionnaire by the end of next week? If not, say, and we'll plan around it.
- Siân Pritchard NoneLet me check with them. I think so, but I don't want to promise for someone else. I'll tell you by Wednesday.
- Owen Tallis NoneWednesday's fine. Put that down, Tom.
- Tom Ashdown NoneDone. I'm just writing it in the notes now. Sorry, it's a bit of a mess, I've got three things open.
- Graham Tovey NoneCan I ask one more on the regulator before we move on? If something goes wrong with a source, say the billing data stops loading, how would my people know?
- Tom Ashdown NoneGood question. Honestly, the dangerous one is the quiet one, where a source stops loading and nobody notices. So we watch the number of records coming in for each connector, and if it goes flat we'd expect to raise it with you before your teams find it. Usually that follows somebody changing a system at your end, so the sooner you tell us about changes, the better.
- Graham Tovey NoneThen I'd want that said plainly in the paperwork. Tell me early, not late.
- Owen Tallis NoneAgreed. We'll put the escalation route in writing, named person on our side, named person on yours.
- Siân Pritchard NoneThat would help me a lot. At the moment, if the billing extract fails, I find out when someone in collections rings me, and that's too late.
- Tom Ashdown NoneRight, no, that's what we're trying to avoid. Shall I move on to freshness? That's your second one.
- Siân Pritchard NonePlease. Collections start early. If the overnight refresh hasn't finished by seven, they're working from yesterday's picture, and then the whole point is lost. Somebody chases a customer who paid last night. I can't have that.
- Tom Ashdown NoneYeah. So the refresh is complete by 07:00 your local time on business days, on every tier. That's the standard. Where Enterprise differs is that you're credited if freshness is missed, not only if the service is down. Those are different things. The brain can be up and answering questions and still be on stale data.
- Graham Tovey NoneSo available is not the same as fresh.
- Tom Ashdown NoneExactly that, Graham. On the lower tiers you'd only be credited for availability. On Enterprise it covers both.
- Siân Pritchard NoneGood, that's what I wanted to hear. Can it be written into the order form, not just sit in the standard terms?
- Owen Tallis NoneIt can. An executed order form can set these out explicitly and that's what governs. Tom will mark it up. Let's make sure the wording says freshness by 07:00, business days, and names the credit.
- Tom Ashdown NoneLeave that with me. I'll put it in the revised draft.
- Graham Tovey NoneAnd the price doesn't change when you write that in?
- Owen Tallis NoneNo. It's already part of Enterprise. We're making it visible, not charging for it.
- Graham Tovey NoneGood.
- Siân Pritchard NoneSorry, I was just checking my notes. Third one, the build. I'll be the owner on our side, and I've a couple of analysts I can give time to it, but they've also got the day job. I need to know what you'll ask of them week to week.
- Tom Ashdown NoneFair. Honestly it's front-loaded. Early on we need someone who knows each source, who can grant access and say what the fields really mean. After that it's a short check-in and someone to confirm the answers look right against what they know. You'd be the person who says whether it's right, not the person doing the plumbing.
- Siân Pritchard NoneThat I can do. Which systems do you want first?
- Tom Ashdown NoneWhat would you say matters most for complaints and collections?
- Siân Pritchard NoneThe CRM, the call recorder and the billing system. Helpdesk after that. The rest can follow once we've seen it work.
- Tom Ashdown NoneThat's sensible, and I'd keep it to those. One thing worth saying: any connector we promise in the order form carries a commitment to be live within an agreed number of days. So I'd rather list the ones you're sure about and add more later than promise everything on day one.
- Owen Tallis NoneWe'd rather commit to fewer and deliver. It's better for you and better for us.
- Graham Tovey NoneI agree. Siân, you're content with those first three?
- Siân Pritchard NoneYes. And I'll say now, I expect the key accounts team to use it first, then collections, then complaints. I don't want to oversell what happens in the first weeks. Let's measure it before we claim it.
- Tom Ashdown NoneThat's how I'd want it. And on the number of people using it, Enterprise is built for company-wide use, so there's headroom. If you grow past it, we can add users, but I'd not worry about that now.
- Graham Tovey NoneWhat do I need to be doing as sponsor?
- Owen Tallis NoneMostly very little, which is how we like it. A short review with Siân and our CSM, Daniel Okafor, who'll look after the account after signature. Your job is to be the person who says if it isn't delivering what you were told.
- Graham Tovey NoneThat I can do. And Daniel will tell me when something's wrong, not after.
- Owen Tallis NoneThat's the expectation, yes.
- Siân Pritchard NoneTom, can I ask about the data. If we ever stopped using it, what happens? Graham will ask me, so I'd rather know.
- Tom Ashdown NoneGood one. It's built in your Snowflake account, so it's yours. We don't hold your data on our side. What you'd lose is the working layer we built and run for you. I'll set that out properly in writing, because it's the sort of thing I'd rather not paraphrase.
- Graham Tovey NonePlease do. I'd want our legal team to see it.
- Tom Ashdown NoneWill do. Both that and the order form changes go together, so they're not reading it in bits.
- Owen Tallis NoneRight. Can I pin down who signs? Graham, you, with Siân's view. Is there anyone else, procurement, legal?
- Graham Tovey NoneI sign. Our procurement team will want to review the order form and the master agreement first, and our legal team will read the data terms. That's the order. I won't sign until Siân has told me she's satisfied.
- Siân Pritchard NoneAnd I won't say that until the security answers are back. I'd rather be slow and right.
- Owen Tallis NoneUnderstood. So the dated steps. Tom sends the security pack today. Siân tells us by Wednesday whether the questionnaire can come back by the end of next week. Tom sends the revised order form with the freshness wording and the data terms by the end of this week. Then it's with your procurement and legal teams.
- Tom Ashdown NoneYep, that's what I have. End of this week for the order form, no problem.
- Graham Tovey NoneAnd the date you mentioned. The Friday after Christmas. I'd rather we signed before the break, frankly. If it slips into January, nobody is looking at it.
- Owen Tallis NoneThat's fair, and I'd rather not leave a deal on a hopeful date. Here's what I'd suggest. We keep Friday 27 December 2024 as the latest, but we aim to be done before the break. If the security review is not back in time, I'll tell you straight away and we'll reset the date, rather than let it drift.
- Graham Tovey NoneThat's what I'm asking for.
- Siân Pritchard NoneI think it's realistic if the answers come back in good time in December. It's the legal read I can't control. But I'll chase it.
- Tom Ashdown NoneThen I'll make that as easy as I can. Is it worth putting a short call in the diary for next week, just to check where everything is? Say twenty minutes, Siân and me, no need for the rest.
- Siân Pritchard NoneYes, let's get something in the diary. Midweek is best for me.
- Tom Ashdown NoneLovely. I'll send an invite this afternoon.
- Owen Tallis NoneAnything else we should settle while we're all here? Anything that would stop Graham signing?
- Graham Tovey NoneNothing stopping it. I want the three things in writing: the freshness wording, the escalation route, and what happens to the data if we leave. Provided those are there and Siân's content, I've no objection.
- Siân Pritchard NoneThe only other thing is the training for the teams once it's live. I'd like the key accounts team to see it on our own customers, not a demo, so they believe it.
- Tom Ashdown NoneAbsolutely, that's how we'd do it, on your data. Daniel will pick that up with you once the first sources are in. I'll make sure it's in the plan so it doesn't get lost.
- Siân Pritchard NoneGood. Then I'm comfortable with where we are.
- Graham Tovey NoneThen so am I, subject to the paperwork.
- Owen Tallis NoneRight. Let me read it back so we're all holding the same thing. Enterprise, the total for the deal being £145,000 with implementation included, annual part confirmed by Tom in writing. Freshness by 07:00 on business days, credited, written into the order form. Escalation route named on both sides. Data terms explained. Security questionnaire with Siân's IT colleague. Signature by Friday 27 December 2024 at the latest, and sooner if we can.
- Graham Tovey NoneThat's accurate.
- Siân Pritchard NoneYes. That's what I have as well.
- Tom Ashdown NoneCracking. I'll get the pack and the order form out, no drama. If anything shifts at your end, just shout and we'll sort it.
- Owen Tallis NoneAnd if it shifts at ours, you'll hear first. Thanks, both.
- Graham Tovey NoneThank you, all. Good call. Siân, speak later this week.
- Siân Pritchard NoneWill do, Graham. Diolch, everyone. Speak Wednesday, Tom.
- Tom Ashdown NoneCheers, Siân, cheers, Graham. Have a good week.
- Owen Tallis NoneBye for now.
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