What was said
What this says
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Lewis Kerr walked Gemma Holt through the Growth proposal on 13 Nov 2025. She wants to sign by 12 Dec 2025 but cannot sign herself. The £62k is a total deal value, not an annual price, and no go-live date was given.
What happened: Lewis took Gemma through scope, price and timing for Growth, covering commercial insights and customer service across two sites. Gemma opened with a win from an account manager who used the demo on Harrowden's own data.
Customer view: Gemma is the champion and wants customer service added. She cannot sign alone and the budget holder has seen only the demo recording, so the case must explain what the brain replaces.
Commercial: The £62k total includes implementation and is not an annual price. Gemma asked about price movement and was told any concession would be in writing. The annual subscription figure was not stated on the call.
Watch: No go-live date was committed and the retailer review date is unknown. The order systems at the two sites are unconfirmed, and the draft order form needs legal review.
Themes
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Who was there
BG-Demo
Them
Follow-up
Next steps
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Lewis Kerr sends the proposal pack with price split, VAT position, user headroom and draft order form on 13 Nov 2025.
- Gemma Holt offers slots with the budget holder and confirms the site order systems and review date.
- Lewis Kerr gets the delivery team to confirm a timeline in writing.
Risks
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- The budget holder has not seen the proposal and will ask what the brain replaces and how many hours it saves.
- No go-live date is committed while the customer wants the brain ready for an early-year retailer review.
- Order systems at the two sites are unconfirmed, which is where scope usually goes wrong.
Opportunities
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Growth for commercial insights and customer service together, with extra users co-termed later if usage supports it.
- A one-page summary of the manual reconciliation could win the budget holder.
Transcript
- Lewis KerrAfternoon, Gemma. Can you hear me okay?
- Gemma HoltAfternoon, Lewis! Yes, loud and clear. Sorry, I'm finishing the last of a sandwich, it's been one of those days.
- Lewis KerrNo problem at all. Busy week?
- Gemma HoltBusy but good. Actually, I've got a win for you before we start. One of our account managers used what you showed us on our own data this week, the complaints sitting next to the orders for one of the supermarkets, and she spotted a pattern before the retailer raised it. She walked into the meeting already knowing the answer. She was made up.
- Lewis KerrThat's exactly the sort of thing it's for. Well done to her, and to you for putting it in front of her.
- Gemma HoltYeah, the account managers love it. That's why I'm pushing.
- Lewis KerrGood. Then let me do what I always do and confirm what you want to buy and by when, so I don't waste your half hour. As I have it, you want the Growth tier, for commercial insights and customer service together, and you'd like to be signed by Friday 12 December 2025. Is that still right?
- Gemma HoltThat's still the plan. We want it in place before Christmas, if we can, so the team can start in the new year with proper numbers.
- Lewis KerrUnderstood. Let me share the proposal so we're looking at the same thing. One second. Can you see it?
- Gemma HoltYep, I can see it. It's a bit small. Can you zoom in? Lovely.
- Lewis KerrRight. So at the top is the scope. Growth is built for several teams rather than one, so it covers commercial insights and customer service, and it includes the dashboards builder and the quarterly reviews with Amara, who will be your customer success manager. Then the sources we've scoped: your account data, the complaints from the helpdesk, and the orders. They all feed one view per retailer, which is what you said you wanted.
- Gemma HoltThat's it. And what about the two sites? We run them differently, so I'd like the brain to see both. I don't want one site ending up as an afterthought.
- Lewis KerrBoth sites are in scope as written. I'll make that explicit in the document so nobody reads it as one. Let me note that. And if the orders come from separate systems at each site, tell me and I'll check the source list against that, because that's where scope usually goes wrong.
- Gemma HoltI'll check with our IT contact and come back to you. I think it's the same system but I wouldn't swear to it.
- Lewis KerrThat's fine. Now, to put a number on it. The proposal total is £62,000, plus VAT. I want to be careful here: that's the total value of the deal, not an annual price. The written proposal separates the one-off implementation from the subscription, and I'll make sure that split is on the first page.
- Gemma HoltOkay, so what's the yearly bit? Because that's what the boss will ask me. He's going to say, what does it cost every year?
- Lewis KerrFair question, and I'd rather not quote it from memory on a call. I'll put the annual subscription, the implementation and the VAT position on one page and send it to you today. You can then say it with the document in your hand.
- Gemma HoltThat works. Honestly, I'd rather have it in writing too. Is there any movement on price, though? I have to ask.
- Lewis KerrYou do, and it's reasonable. Let me take that away. Anything I can do will go in the written proposal, not on this call, so there's one version of the truth and no one remembers it differently.
- Gemma HoltFair enough. Right, the thing I really want to ask. Can we get customer service on? What would it cost to add them?
- Lewis KerrCustomer service is already in the proposal as a team, because Growth is for several teams. The real question is how many people there would be. I'd rather count them than guess. How many in customer service would actually use it?
- Gemma HoltAt first, just the team leaders and a couple of the senior people. Then, if it works, the whole team. That's maybe a few more.
- Lewis KerrThen start with the team leaders. Growth includes a number of users that should comfortably cover insights plus those leaders, and I'll show the headroom in the proposal. If usage shows you need more, I can quote extra users, co-termed to your renewal, so everything lines up on one date. I won't suggest a bigger tier unless the usage supports it.
- Gemma HoltI like that. So no pressure to buy more on day one.
- Lewis KerrNone. It would be a poor start if I sold you things you weren't using.
- Gemma HoltOkay. Timing, then. How long until we're live? We've got the retailer review coming and I'd love the brain to be ready for it. That's what I keep saying to everyone.
- Lewis KerrI understand. The implementation plan is in the pack, with the phases and who does what. But I'm not going to give you a go-live date on this call, because I'd be committing our delivery team to something they haven't agreed. What I'll do is ask them to confirm a timeline in writing, so that the date in front of your boss is one we can stand behind.
- Gemma HoltFair. I'd rather have a date that's real than one that's nice.
- Lewis KerrExactly. Is there a hard date for that review, so I can tell them what they're working to?
- Gemma HoltIt's early in the new year, but I don't have the exact day yet. I'll find out and tell you. I'd rather not guess either.
- Lewis KerrPerfect. Moving on to who signs. You said last time you can't sign this yourself.
- Gemma HoltNo, I can't. I never buy anything without the person who signs the budget here. They've seen the demo recording but not the proposal. They'll want to know what it replaces and what we stop doing by hand. That's the whole conversation, really.
- Lewis KerrThen let me help with that. I'll include a one-page summary of the manual reconciliation you described, the account managers pulling complaints and orders together each week, and what it looks like once the brain does it. You can use it as is or rewrite it in your own words.
- Gemma HoltThat'd be great. Because honestly they'll ask how many hours, and I can't make that up on the spot.
- Lewis KerrThen don't. I'll leave a space for it in the summary and you can fill it in with the numbers you actually know, or tell me and I'll word it. I'd rather it was your figure than mine. Would it help if I joined a call with them? Ideally before the end of the month. That keeps Friday 12 December 2025 realistic without anyone rushing.
- Gemma HoltYes, that'd help. Let me find a slot in their diary and I'll come back to you tomorrow. They're pretty busy, so I might offer a couple of options.
- Lewis KerrDo. Two or three options is plenty. I'll fit around them.
- Gemma HoltIs there anything legal we need to know about? Contracts and so on. I don't want to hit a wall in December.
- Lewis KerrSensible to ask early. It's an order form under our master agreement, and I'll send the draft with the proposal, clearly marked as a draft. If your side has a legal reviewer, send it to them as soon as you can, because that's where time usually goes.
- Gemma HoltWe've got someone who does contracts. I'll flag it to her so she isn't surprised.
- Lewis KerrGood. Anything else in the proposal that looks wrong or unclear? Please say so now rather than after you've sent it upstairs.
- Gemma HoltOne thing. Where it says dashboards. Is that something I build or you build? Because I'm not sure I'll have time.
- Lewis KerrGood catch. The dashboards builder is a tool for your people to use, so it's yours to build with. Our team will set up the first views during implementation, and Amara will go through the rest in the quarterly reviews. I'll reword that line so it's clear what we do and what you do.
- Gemma HoltBrilliant, thank you. That's what I was worried about.
- Lewis KerrRight, so let me play it back. I send the proposal pack today, with the price split, the VAT position, the user headroom, the one-page summary and the draft order form. You take it to the person who signs and give me a few slots before the end of the month. You check with your IT contact about the order systems at the two sites and find out the date of the retailer review. And I get the delivery team to confirm a timeline in writing. Anything I've missed?
- Gemma HoltNo, I think that's all of it. It's a good list. Thanks, Lewis. Honestly, it's just nice when someone writes things down.
- Lewis KerrIt's the only way I know how to do it. I'll send that over today. Speak soon, Gemma.
- Gemma HoltCheers, Lewis. Speak tomorrow. Bye!