Marlstone Legal / BB-Demo – Proposal
Callcompleted
Marlstone Legal · 2025-02-10 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
Current to 13 Oct 26Emma 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
Current to 9 Oct 26Who was there
BB-Demo
Them
Follow-up
Next steps
Current to 9 Oct 26- 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
Current to 9 Oct 26- 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
Current to 9 Oct 26- Adding users or connectors was raised as something that changes price, which points to later Growth expansion.
Transcript
Tom Ashdown NoneHi Emma, Elliot, thanks for making the time. How are you both?
Emma Croft NoneGood, yeah. So Elliot's feedback on the demo was really positive. But we've got questions about the proposal.- Tom Ashdown NoneGreat. Fire away.
Elliot Kirkby NoneThe scope looks right, Salesforce, the call recorder, Outlook, the billing system. Eight weeks makes sense. But I want to talk through the pricing.- Tom Ashdown NoneYeah, of course. What's the question?
- Emma Croft NoneThe total is £51,600 for the first year. Can you break that down?
- Tom Ashdown NoneYeah, sure. That's £12,000 for implementation: eight weeks, connectors, training: and £39,600 for the annual subscription.
- Elliot Kirkby NoneIs the £39,600 the standard price or discounted?
- Tom Ashdown NoneWe'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 Croft NoneSo year two it's higher?
- Tom Ashdown NoneYes. 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 Kirkby NoneIs the implementation fixed at £12,000?
- Tom Ashdown NoneIt 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 Croft NoneWhat happens if you don't deliver in eight weeks?
- Tom Ashdown NoneWe'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 Kirkby NoneHow does billing work?
- Tom Ashdown NoneAnnual in advance, so you'd pay £39,600 upfront each year in March. Implementation fee is due when you sign.
- Emma Croft NoneIs there flexibility on payment terms?
- Tom Ashdown NoneAnnual 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 Kirkby NoneAnd the contract term, is it locked at a year?
- Tom Ashdown NoneIt 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 Croft NoneWhat if things don't go well in the first few months?
- Tom Ashdown NoneI 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 Kirkby NoneOkay. Next step?
- Tom Ashdown NoneLet me check on that quarterly billing option. Then we'll move to the order form. I'll also get Esther to introduce herself.
- Emma Croft NoneSounds good.
- Tom Ashdown NoneBrilliant. Thanks both, cheers.