Marlstone Legal / BG-Demo – Proposal
Callcompleted
Marlstone Legal · 10 Feb 2025 12:30
Emma Croft and Elliot Kirkby accepted the Growth scope but probed the £52k first-year total and what happens to price in year two. Tom Ashdown confirmed the first-year discount ends at renewal.
What was said
What this says
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Emma Croft and Elliot Kirkby accepted the Growth scope but probed the £52k first-year total and what happens to price in year two. Tom Ashdown confirmed the first-year discount ends at renewal.
What happened: Emma Croft and Elliot Kirkby went through the Growth proposal with Tom Ashdown on 10 Feb 2025. Elliot said the scope and eight weeks made sense; every question was on price and terms.
Customer view: Emma asked for the £52k first-year total to be broken down, then asked whether year two is higher. Both are watching what the price becomes after the first term.
Commercial: Tom said the £40k annual subscription is discounted for the first year and returns to the list price at renewal. He added that adding users or connectors would change it.
Watch: Emma asked what happens if the first months go badly, and Tom offered no exit after 90 days. Quarterly billing was not confirmed and Tom took it to finance.
Themes
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Who was there
BG-Demo
Them
Follow-up
Next steps
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Tom Ashdown to confirm the quarterly billing option with finance.
- Tom Ashdown to move to the order form and arrange an introduction to Esther.
Risks
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Emma asked what happens if the first months go badly and was given no exit, so early value matters for the first renewal.
- Year-two price rising to list is now understood by the customer and could be contested at renewal.
Opportunities
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Adding users or connectors was raised as something that changes price, which points to later Growth expansion.
Transcript
Tom AshdownHi Emma, Elliot, thanks for making the time. How are you both?
Emma CroftGood, yeah. So Elliot's feedback on the demo was really positive. But we've got questions about the proposal.- Tom AshdownGreat. Fire away.
Elliot KirkbyThe scope looks right, Salesforce, the call recorder, Outlook, the billing system. Eight weeks makes sense. But I want to talk through the pricing.- Tom AshdownYeah, of course. What's the question?
- Emma CroftThe total is £51,600 for the first year. Can you break that down?
- Tom AshdownYeah, sure. That's £12,000 for implementation: eight weeks, connectors, training: and £39,600 for the annual subscription.
- Elliot KirkbyIs the £39,600 the standard price or discounted?
- Tom AshdownWe've discounted the annual for the first year because you're in from the start, that's standard practice with new customers. The discount ends at renewal, so year two it goes back to the list price.
- Emma CroftSo year two it's higher?
- Tom AshdownYes. Year two onwards, assuming nothing changes, it's the list price unless we've upgraded you. If you add users or connectors, that changes it.
- Elliot KirkbyIs the implementation fixed at £12,000?
- Tom AshdownIt is, yeah. For Growth, eight weeks. Covers the connectors, data work, training. If something comes up outside the scope, like you need a fifth system, we'd talk about that separately. But what's in the proposal is fixed.
- Emma CroftWhat happens if you don't deliver in eight weeks?
- Tom AshdownWe're committing to eight weeks. If something unexpected comes up, like a system's down, we'd keep you in the loop and adjust. But it's fixed in the order form.
- Elliot KirkbyHow does billing work?
- Tom AshdownAnnual in advance, so you'd pay £39,600 upfront each year in March. Implementation fee is due when you sign.
- Emma CroftIs there flexibility on payment terms?
- Tom AshdownAnnual in advance is standard, but I can check on quarterly billing, still paid upfront, just split four ways. Let me confirm with our finance team.
- Elliot KirkbyAnd the contract term, is it locked at a year?
- Tom AshdownIt is. One year from signature, then auto-renewal. You get 90 days' notice before renewal, so you know if you want to exit or make changes.
- Emma CroftWhat if things don't go well in the first few months?
- Tom AshdownI can't offer you an out after 90 days, that's not how we work, but Esther would be really focused on getting you value quickly. If there are issues, they'd be worked on straight away.
- Elliot KirkbyOkay. Next step?
- Tom AshdownLet me check on that quarterly billing option. Then we'll move to the order form. I'll also get Esther to introduce herself.
- Emma CroftSounds good.
- Tom AshdownBrilliant. Thanks both, cheers.