Ashwell Mercer Interiors / BG-Demo – Renewal
Callcompleted
Ashwell Mercer Interiors · 6 Jul 2026 15:45
Renewal call on 6 Jul 2026. Three or four people use the brain, mostly credit control. Valerie Okon says she is not saying they won't renew but needs a reason she can defend to the board. Growth and Starter options are coming.
What was said
What this says
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Renewal call on 6 Jul 2026. Three or four people use the brain, mostly credit control. Valerie Okon says she is not saying they won't renew but needs a reason she can defend to the board. Growth and Starter options are coming.
What happened: the call on 6 Jul 2026 was hosted by Marcus Bell, with Valerie Okon and Debbie Rowntree and Craig Ashwell joining late. Valerie again asked about the overdue invoice, and Debbie said it is approved and in their payment run.
Customer view: usage is three or four people a week, with Debbie asking most questions. Connectors are loading and there were no tickets, but Valerie read the silence as nobody bothering.
Commercial: Priya Raman said the contract on Growth runs to 22 Aug 2026 and the renewal price will follow in writing. She will offer Growth and Starter side by side, and Valerie cannot sign anything new without the board.
Watch: the credit side is the proven use, and Debbie said losing it would send her back to ringing project managers. The project managers remain the gap.
Themes
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Theme
Low usage, renewal options
Importance
renewal
Sentiment
mixed
Voice
decision-maker
Who was there
BG-Demo
CRMmade from
Them
CRMmade from
Follow-up
Next steps
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Marcus Bell to send the usage summary to Valerie and Craig Ashwell by the end of the week.
- Priya Raman to send renewal options for Growth and Starter early next week, ahead of Tuesday 21 July 2026.
- Craig Ashwell to sort the diary by Wednesday for a thirty-minute session with the project managers.
Risks
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Valerie Okon cannot take a higher renewal price to the board with only three or four active users.
- The project managers remain back on spreadsheets, so Growth is used by little more than credit control.
- The overdue invoice has no payment date and Valerie says cash is tight.
Opportunities
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Debbie Rowntree's daily use before client calls gives a concrete value story for the board.
- Getting the project managers onto the brain would use the three teams Growth was bought for.
Transcript
Marcus BellHello, can you hear me alright? I've got a little echo on my side.
Priya RamanLoud and clear, Marcus. Afternoon. It's just us two so far, I think.- Marcus BellAfternoon. Yeah, I can see Valerie in the lobby. I'll let her in.
Valerie OkonGood afternoon. Can you hear me?- Priya RamanWe can, Valerie, lovely to see you. How's the week been treating you?
- Valerie OkonBusy. It's always busy at the start of a month. Debbie is joining from her desk, she'll be a minute. Craig is stuck on a site call.
- Marcus BellNo problem at all. Hot enough for you out in Reading? It's been unbearable on the train up here.
- Valerie OkonIt has been warm. The office is fine. Site cabins are another matter.
Debbie RowntreeHello, sorry, sorry. Trying to find the right button. Hello, everyone.- Priya RamanHi Debbie, you're fine. Right, shall I start with a quick recap so we're all on the same page? Craig can catch up when he arrives.
- Valerie OkonBefore that, if I may. Can I ask about invoices? When we last spoke there was one showing as overdue on your side. What's outstanding with you?
- Priya RamanOf course. Marcus, you've seen the ledger more recently than me.
- Marcus BellYeah, there's one invoice showing as overdue on our statement. Just the one, nothing else open. I'm not chasing, I only want to make sure it isn't stuck because of something we've done, like a wrong purchase order or the wrong address on it.
- Debbie RowntreeI've got it in front of me. It's approved, it's sitting in our run. The details on it are right, so it isn't anything on your side.
- Valerie OkonWe'll pay on the agreed terms. I'm not going to give you a date this afternoon that I can't keep. Cash is tight until a couple of valuations come through.
- Priya RamanUnderstood, and thank you, that's all I needed. I only raise it so the renewal paperwork is clean when it goes through.
- Valerie OkonQuite.
- Priya RamanSo, the recap. Your contract on Growth runs to 22 Aug 2026, renewing the day after. Where we've got to is we're in negotiation, and I'd like to have the shape of it agreed by Tuesday 21 July 2026, to keep momentum and give you a proper margin before the end date.
- Priya RamanToday Marcus wants to walk you through how the brain has been used, because I think that's what you'll want in front of you before anyone talks about price.
- Valerie OkonThat is what I want, yes. I'd like to understand what we're paying forty-four thousand pounds a year for.
Craig AshwellSorry, sorry, I'm here. Site call overran. Have I missed anything?- Priya RamanNot a thing, Craig. Valerie's asked about the invoice, Marcus is about to share his screen.
- Craig AshwellRight. Good. Fine. Go on.
- Marcus BellOkay. Let me share my screen. Can you see that? It's a usage summary. I've pulled the numbers for the last quarter and the last month so we can see which way it's moving.
- Craig AshwellYep, we can see it.
- Marcus BellSo, you're licensed for forty users on Growth, which is the number in the order form. In the last month, on average, it's been three or four people actually using it in a given week. And that's lower than the quarter before. It's come down by a good chunk.
- Valerie OkonThree or four. Out of forty.
- Marcus BellYeah. I'm not going to dress that up. It's a small group.
- Valerie OkonI see.
- Craig AshwellHang on. Who's the three or four? Because I know I'm one of them.
- Marcus BellIt's you, it's Debbie, and then one or two people from the project side who dip in. Most of the questions asked are from credit control, so Debbie, yeah, you're doing the bulk of it.
- Debbie RowntreeI use it most mornings. Mainly to see where a client stands before I ring them. Open invoices, what's been agreed, and the last few calls. It saves me going round three people.
- Marcus BellThat's exactly the use we had in mind. And the connectors are all still loading, the nightly refresh is landing. It isn't a broken-source problem. It's more that fewer people are asking.
- Priya RamanAnd just to say, no tickets in the last month either, so nothing's been going wrong technically.
- Valerie OkonNo tickets could just mean nobody is bothering to use it.
- Marcus BellThat's fair, Valerie. Honestly, I read it the same way. Quiet isn't the same as happy.
- Craig AshwellRight, let me be straight, because this is partly on me. We brought the brain in so the project managers, commercial and credit all see the same client. The credit side has taken to it. The project managers haven't. They're back in their spreadsheets and I haven't pushed hard enough.
- Craig AshwellAnd the variations. That's what I care about. Where's the variation? If it isn't recorded before the work is done, we don't get paid for it. The whole point was getting those into one place next to the client's calls and the invoices.
- Marcus BellYeah. And that's where I think the headroom is. Variations and the client calls are exactly what the brain is good at, but it can only answer what's been put in front of it. The project teams are the missing piece.
- Craig AshwellWhich is why I want something short. Not a big training day. Half an hour with the project managers, on their own jobs.
- Marcus BellHappy to jump on a call with them. Thirty minutes, on a live project of theirs, and I'll show them how to ask what's been agreed on a client and what's still sitting unrecorded. Shall we book it for this month?
- Craig AshwellYes. Do it. I'll get the diary sorted.
- Valerie OkonCan I ask a plain question? If four people use it, why would we renew forty seats?
- Priya RamanThat's a reasonable question, and I'd rather answer it properly than sidestep it. Marcus, I'll take this one, if that's okay.
- Marcus BellPlease do. That's yours, Priya.
- Priya RamanSo, the forty is what Growth includes. It's a tier, not a per-seat price, so the cost doesn't fall just because fewer people log in. If the picture is genuinely four people and one team, then there's a conversation about whether Growth is the right tier at all, because Starter is built for one team with fewer connectors.
- Priya RamanBut, and I do want to be fair to you here, you bought Growth because you wanted three teams looking at the same client. If we can get the project side switched on, then you're using what you bought. I'd rather help you do that than sell you down a tier and have you in the same place in a year.
- Valerie OkonAnd the price at renewal. I assume it isn't forty-four.
- Priya RamanYou'll remember the note we sent to all customers in the new year about the updated price list. Because you signed on the earlier list, you've kept that price for the first term, and the renewal is the point where the new list applies. I don't want to throw a figure at you from memory on a call. I'll put it in writing, with the options side by side.
- Valerie OkonThen it will be higher.
- Priya RamanIt would be higher on the list, yes. I won't pretend otherwise. What I can do is show you what each option looks like, and anything I put on the table in writing will have a date on it.
- Valerie OkonI can't sign anything new without the board, you understand. And I can't take a higher number to them with four users on it.
- Craig AshwellValerie, I'd say give us the chance to fix the four. That's my job. If the project managers are in there by the time the board sees it, it's a different conversation.
- Valerie OkonCraig, I'm not against the product. I've seen what Debbie gets from it. I am against paying for something that sits on a shelf.
- Debbie RowntreeCan I add something? The credit side would feel it if it went. I look at every client before I make a call. I'd be back to ringing the project managers, who are on site and don't pick up.
- Valerie OkonNoted, Debbie. That's useful. That's the sort of thing I can say to the board.
- Marcus BellIf it helps, I can write that up. A one-page summary of what's been asked, by whom, and what it was used for. Not a sales document, just the facts, so you've got something to show the board.
- Valerie OkonYes, please. Short. And with the numbers as they are, not softened.
- Marcus BellUnderstood. I'll keep it plain.
- Priya RamanAnd from my side, a renewal proposal with the options. Staying on Growth, and moving to Starter, so you can see both. Then you can compare them honestly.
- Craig AshwellLet's get paid for what we've built, and let's use what we've bought. That's all I want out of this.
- Valerie OkonFine. Let me be clear on where I am. I'm not saying we won't renew. I'm saying I need a reason I can defend.
- Priya RamanCompletely fair, and that's what we'll give you. So, to pull it together. Marcus, usage summary to Valerie and Craig by the end of this week.
- Marcus BellYes. And I'll find thirty minutes with the project managers, once Craig has the diary sorted.
- Craig AshwellDiary by Wednesday. I'll chase them myself.
- Priya RamanI'll send the renewal options early next week, so you have them well ahead of Tuesday 21 July 2026. Valerie, you take it to the board when you're ready. Debbie, if you could confirm when that invoice drops into the run, even roughly, just let Marcus know.
- Debbie RowntreeWill do. I'll drop him a line once it's scheduled.
- Valerie OkonThank you, all. Is there anything else? I have another meeting.
- Marcus BellNothing from me. Thanks, everyone, and thanks for being straight with me about it.
- Priya RamanSpeak soon, all. Take care.
- Craig AshwellCheers.
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