Brimscombe Energy / BG-Demo – Check In
Callcompleted
Brimscombe Energy · 26 Jan 2026 14:15
Check-in on 26 Jan 2026: around thirty-five active a day against one hundred and eighty seats. Siân Pritchard wants a team breakdown and a measurable value case before any renewal quote or wider senior conversation.
What was said
What this says
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Check-in on 26 Jan 2026: around thirty-five active a day against one hundred and eighty seats. Siân Pritchard wants a team breakdown and a measurable value case before any renewal quote or wider senior conversation.
What happened: Siân and Daniel Okafor spoke one to one. Daniel said around thirty-five people are active on an average day against one hundred and eighty Enterprise seats, roughly a quarter fewer than the quarter before.
Customer view: Siân says the teams that use it are getting value, but she cannot say the whole company works from one view. Her instinct is habit rather than a product failure, and she wants to measure before claiming it.
Commercial: Daniel put the term end at 9 Jan 2027 at £120k a year, with invoices in line and paid on time. Siân asked whether she might want fewer seats and does not want a renewal quote before her own picture is straight.
Watch: Daniel said the platform looks healthy, and the two recent tickets were how-to questions answered inside the Enterprise response time. No date was agreed for the follow-up.
Themes
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Theme
seat usage and value case
Importance
renewal
Sentiment
mixed
Voice
champion
Who was there
BG-Demo
CRMmade from
Them
CRMmade from
Follow-up
Next steps
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Daniel Okafor to send the breakdown of seats against activity by team, plus a summary of repeated questions, by the end of the week.
- Siân Pritchard to talk to the collections and complaints team leads and check whether complaint deadline data can be lined up with brain use.
- Daniel Okafor to keep Tom Ashdown informed and make clear no renewal quote should reach Siân before she has her own picture.
Risks
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Around thirty-five daily active users against one hundred and eighty Enterprise seats, roughly a quarter fewer than the quarter before.
- Siân cannot yet defend the spend to the person who signs it off, and the evidence does not show who that is.
- Seat count may be challenged at renewal if the long tail of users does not return.
Opportunities
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- An on-site training day add-on or shorter remote sessions built on real team questions, once the team leads have been heard.
- Complaint response times against deadlines could give a measurable value case for the teams that use the brain.
- An executive sponsor conversation with someone senior at the customer once the numbers are in hand.
Transcript
Daniel OkaforHello Siân, can you hear me alright? Thank you for making the time this afternoon. I think it's just the two of us today, is that right, or is anyone else still joining?
Siân PritchardHi Daniel. Yes, I can hear you fine. Just us. I did ask a colleague from the collections side, but she's tied up with a customer call, so you've got me.- Daniel OkaforThat's absolutely fine. How's your week been? Is it still as grey as it looks on the forecast down your way?
- Siân PritchardGrey and damp, nothing dramatic. Busy, though. Shall I start with what the teams asked the brain this week? It's how I like to open these.
- Daniel OkaforPlease do. I always like hearing that.
- Siân PritchardSo the key-account team asked it for every site, on any multi-site customer, where a contract is coming up for renewal and there's an open complaint at the same time. That used to be a morning's work across three systems. Collections asked for customers with a promise to pay logged on a call but nothing showing on the bills since. And complaints did what they always do, pulling the calls and the bills together so the answer meets the regulator's rules. So it's being used, and when it's used it's good. Which makes the other thing I want to talk about a bit uncomfortable.
- Daniel OkaforI appreciate you saying that, Siân, and I think I know where you're heading, because I've been looking at the usage on our side too. Do you want to say it, or shall I?
- Siân PritchardYou go. I'd rather hear what you've got, and then I'll tell you what I think.
- Daniel OkaforRight. So over the last quarter the number of people using the brain on a typical day has come down. It's roughly a quarter fewer than the quarter before. On an average day we're seeing around thirty-five people active, and you have a hundred and eighty seats on Enterprise. I don't want to dress that up. It's lower than I'd want it to be, and lower than I think you'd want it to be.
- Siân PritchardNo, it isn't. Thirty-five against a hundred and eighty. I saw the dip on the admin page and I didn't say anything straight away, because I wanted to understand it first. What does the record say about where it's come from?
- Daniel OkaforFair question. From the activity, it isn't one person or one team switching off. It's spread. A few of the heavier users are still there and still asking good questions, but the long tail has thinned. People who were logging in weekly are now logging in occasionally, or not at all.
- Siân PritchardMm. That fits what I'm hearing, to be honest. Not complaints, just a sort of drifting. Somebody asks me, how do I find that again, and I realise they haven't opened it in a while.
- Daniel OkaforCan I ask, when you say drifting, do you think it's habit, or is it that people tried it and it didn't answer what they needed?
- Siân PritchardI honestly don't know, and I don't want to guess in front of you and then have it repeated as a fact. My instinct is habit. A lot of people were given access at the start because their team was in scope, and they were never really asked to change how they work. Some have gone back to the spreadsheet they trust. But let's measure it before we claim it.
- Daniel OkaforI think that's the right way to go about it. I'd rather look at it properly with you than hand you a theory.
- Siân PritchardGood. Because I'll be straight with you, Daniel. At that sort of number, I can't stand up and say the whole company is working from one view. I speak about this at events. One customer, one view. I can say it about the teams that use it. I can't say it about all hundred and eighty.
- Daniel OkaforUnderstood. And I'd rather you could say it honestly about the teams that do, than overclaim. Just to close the loop on something you'll want to know: the platform side looks healthy. Nightly refresh has been landing on time, the connectors are all loading, and records are still coming in. So this isn't the brain going stale. It's about who is walking up to it.
- Siân PritchardThat's useful, because I'd half wondered whether people had hit something broken and given up. What about tickets? I think we raised a couple recently.
- Daniel OkaforTwo in the last month, and neither was high priority. Both were how-to questions, as I read them, and both were answered well inside the Enterprise response time. Nothing sitting open that should worry you.
- Siân PritchardRight. So two tickets from a hundred and eighty people. Which could be health, or could be silence.
- Daniel OkaforIt could, and I'll be honest, with usage where it is I'd lean a little towards silence. Fewer people, fewer questions. It's the reason I wanted this call to be a proper conversation and not just a tick through the agenda.
- Siân PritchardI appreciate that. Now, the other thing. You'll know the contract comes up at the start of January. I've got the figure in my head, a hundred and twenty thousand five hundred a year. And I'll need to show that is money well spent.
- Daniel OkaforYes. It runs to 9 Jan 2027, at £120,500 a year, and the invoices are all in line with the order form and paid on time, so there's no commercial wrinkle on our side. But I hear you. The question isn't whether it's been billed correctly, it's whether it's been worth it.
- Siân PritchardExactly. And I'm not going to go around the person who signs off the spend. They'll want to see a case, and I want to be able to put one in front of them that I can defend line by line.
- Daniel OkaforOf course. And that's a good instinct. So let me suggest how we might build that case, and you tell me if it's sensible. First, I can pull a breakdown by team: who has a seat, who has been active, and how that has moved over the last few quarters. Not just the headline, but which teams are holding up and which have fallen away.
- Siân PritchardYes, please. Key accounts, collections and complaints are the three I care about most. If those three are holding, I can say something. If they're not, I need to know that before anyone else tells me.
- Daniel OkaforI'll cut it that way. Second, the questions themselves. I can show you the kinds of things people have been asking over the year, and which of them were repeated, because repeated questions are usually where a real habit sits. Then you can see whether the use is shallow or whether it's doing real work for the people who do use it.
- Siân PritchardI like that. Because there's a version of this where thirty-five people are each getting a lot of value, and a hundred and forty-odd have simply never needed it. That's a different problem from the one where everyone tried it and shrugged.
- Daniel OkaforRight, and they point at different fixes. If it's the first, perhaps the right answer is looking again at how many seats you really need, or putting the seats where the work is. If it's the second, it's about training and about the questions people are bringing.
- Siân PritchardHang on, are you telling me I might want fewer seats?
- Daniel OkaforI'm telling you I'd rather you had the right number than the biggest number. I'm not proposing anything today. I just think that if I wasn't honest about that possibility, you'd be right not to trust the rest of what I say.
- Siân PritchardHm. Well, I'd rather hear it now than in December. Thank you. That's not a comfortable thing to say to a customer, I know.
- Daniel OkaforIt's a conversation I'd have with any customer I was proud of. Can I ask about the teams that have slipped? Who would you say owned the day to day for them? Is there a lead in each one who'd have a view on why?
- Siân PritchardThere are team leads, yes. In collections and in complaints I know the leads well and they'll talk to me plainly. Key accounts is a bit more spread out. I'd have to ask around.
- Daniel OkaforThat would be really valuable. Even a short chat each, just: what do you open it for, what do you do instead, what would make you reach for it more? Ten minutes, nothing formal. I'd happily sit in on any of them if it helps, or I can leave it to you.
- Siân PritchardI think they'll be franker with me alone first, and then I'll bring you what I hear. Is that alright?
- Daniel OkaforThat's more than alright. You know them, and I don't. And we can always bring in some hands-on sessions afterwards, once we know what's actually missing.
- Siân PritchardOn that, would a training session help, do you think? We did a big walkthrough at the start, and I know it was good, but that was a long time ago, and plenty of people who use it now weren't in the room.
- Daniel OkaforI think it could, particularly if it's built around the real questions their teams ask, rather than a tour of features. There's an on-site training day available as an add-on, and there's also the lighter option of me running a couple of shorter sessions remotely. I'd suggest we decide which once we've heard from the team leads.
- Siân PritchardSensible. I don't want to commit to spending more before I know it's the answer. Let's measure it before we claim it, as I keep saying.
- Daniel OkaforI'd never push you to spend before it's clear it's needed, Siân. Another thing worth raising: on Enterprise there's an executive sponsor on our side. It might be useful to have that conversation with someone more senior in your business too, so the value of the work is visible beyond your team. Would that be welcome, or is it too early?
- Siân PritchardNot too early, but I'd want to do it with numbers in hand, not before. If we sit someone senior down and all I can say is that usage is down, that's not the conversation I want. Give me the breakdown first and then we'll see.
- Daniel OkaforThat seems right to me. Numbers first, then the wider conversation. I'll also keep Tom Ashdown in the loop on our side, since he looks after the commercial relationship and he'll want to be ready well before January.
- Siân PritchardFine. I've no issue with Tom being across it. I'd just rather he didn't come to me with a renewal quote before I've got my own picture straight.
- Daniel OkaforUnderstood, and I'll make sure he knows that. The formal renewal notice will come to you in good time, and nothing lands as a surprise. I'll make that clear to him.
- Siân PritchardThank you. Now can I ask you something a bit different? Setting this aside for a moment. When you look at other customers like us, regulated, a lot of people with access, does this pattern look familiar? Or are we unusual?
- Daniel OkaforIt's familiar, yes. The first year or so is about getting the data right and the first few teams really leaning in. The second year is where it either becomes how people work, or it quietly becomes a tool for a handful. Where it goes depends a lot on whether someone owns it inside the business, and you do, which is a big advantage.
- Siân PritchardHm. That's kind of you. Though it does mean if it slips, it's on me.
- Daniel OkaforI wouldn't put it that way. It's on both of us. That's why I'm asking how the team is finding it, and not only reading you a chart.
- Siân PritchardRight. Well. How are they finding it? Honestly? The ones who use it love it. Complaints in particular. They can answer a regulator query in a fraction of the time. I don't think that has changed.
- Daniel OkaforThat's worth writing down, actually. Is it something you could measure, the time to answer a complaint before and after? Because that's exactly the kind of evidence a renewal case is made of.
- Siân PritchardI think so. We track response against the deadlines anyway, because we have to. I'd have to see whether I can separate out the ones where they used the brain, but the deadline data exists. I'm not going to claim it till I've checked.
- Daniel OkaforOf course. And if there's a way I can help tag or pull that from the brain's side, say so. We can see which questions were asked and when, which might help you line them up against the complaints.
- Siân PritchardThat would help a lot, yes. Let me look at what I've got first and then I'll tell you exactly what I need.
- Daniel OkaforPerfect. Shall I just run back over what I think we've agreed, so we're both clear?
- Siân PritchardPlease.
- Daniel OkaforSo. I'll send you the breakdown by team: seats against activity, with key accounts, collections and complaints split out, and how it's moved across recent quarters. I'll add a summary of the kinds of questions people have been asking, and which are repeated. I'll come back to you with that by the end of the week.
- Siân PritchardGood. And on my side, I'll talk to the team leads, starting with collections and complaints, ask what they use it for and what they do instead, and I'll try to see whether the complaint deadline data can be lined up against the brain's use.
- Daniel OkaforYes. And once we've both got that, we sit down again, you and I, and decide whether it's training, seats, or something else entirely. Then, and only then, we think about who else needs to be in the room.
- Siân PritchardAgreed. Do we need a date for that?
- Daniel OkaforI'd rather not name one that depends on your diary and your leads' time, and I don't want to promise something I don't control. Let me send the breakdown, and when you've had a first round of conversations, tell me when suits and I'll make it work.
- Siân PritchardThat's fair. I'd rather it was real than neat.
- Daniel OkaforBefore we finish, is there anything else on your mind? Anything about the brain itself, a connector, a source, something that's been niggling?
- Siân PritchardNothing broken. One thing I'd like at some point is to see the sites and contracts view in front of the people on the sales side, because I think some of them don't realise it's there. But that's more about showing than building. It can wait for the training question.
- Daniel OkaforI'll note that, and we can fold it in. It's a good example, actually, of something that exists and isn't reaching people.
- Siân PritchardExactly. Well, that's me, Daniel. I'm glad we've said it out loud. I was dreading it a bit.
- Daniel OkaforI'm glad you did. Thank you for being so open about it, it makes it much easier to help. And thank you for your time today. How are you getting on with the rest of the afternoon?
- Siân PritchardBack to a pile of complaints, as it happens. Which at least I can now answer a bit faster. Speak soon, Daniel.
- Daniel OkaforSpeak soon, Siân. Best wishes.
- Siân PritchardDiolch. Bye for now.
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