Delancey Haig / BG-Demo – Check In
Callcompleted
Delancey Haig · 7 Oct 2024 13:00
Saskia Mendes told Daniel Okafor the brain helped directors and caught a contractor invoice dispute, but only a handful use it weekly. She expects finance to ask what it delivers and wants a one-page case.
What was said
What this says
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Saskia Mendes told Daniel Okafor the brain helped directors and caught a contractor invoice dispute, but only a handful use it weekly. She expects finance to ask what it delivers and wants a one-page case.
What happened: The 26-minute check-in on 7 Oct 2024 ran with Saskia alone, as a director sent apologies. She gave two stories: a director walking into a review informed, and a contractor invoice dispute caught early.
Customer view: Saskia called adoption uneven, with a handful of weekly users out of forty seats. She is not nervous about the contract, but finance will ask what the brain gives them.
Commercial: Daniel said the contract stands at £42k a year and invoices match it, with renewal next summer. Saskia sees no need for more seats yet.
Watch: Daniel owes a summary this week and draft saved questions, including awkward ones, by the end of next week. The one-page value case belongs in the next quarterly review.
Themes
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Theme
Adoption 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 Saskia a short summary of what was agreed this week.
- Daniel to send draft saved questions, awkward ones included, by the end of next week.
- Daniel to build a one-page value summary into the next quarterly review.
Risks
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Only a handful of people use the brain weekly, so value may look thin to finance.
- Finance may question what Delancey Haig gets for the subscription before renewal.
Opportunities
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Saved question sets could bring more directors into regular use.
- Seat headroom on Growth can absorb more directors if adoption takes off.
Transcript
Daniel OkaforHello Saskia, good afternoon. Can you hear me alright?
Saskia MendesHi Daniel, yes, loud and clear. Can you see me? My camera's being slow today.- Daniel OkaforI can now, there you are. Thanks so much for making the time. I think it's just the two of us, is that right, or is anyone else joining?
- Saskia MendesJust me. One of the directors was going to drop in but she's stuck on a client call that's overrunning, so she sends apologies.
- Daniel OkaforNo problem at all, I'll make sure you've got something you can pass on to her afterwards. How's your week been?
- Saskia MendesOh, I've got a story, actually. One of the client-account directors rang me on Friday, about ten minutes before a review with one of our biggest clients. Panicking, because the client had apparently complained about invoices. Old world, I'd have been pulling together three spreadsheets and a chain of emails. This time she just asked the brain. Vacancies, placements, invoices and the complaint, all in one place. She walked in knowing exactly what had happened.
- Daniel OkaforThat's lovely to hear. That is exactly the picture we had in mind when we scoped this with you. And did the review go well?
- Saskia MendesIt did. She said the client actually looked a bit surprised that she had it all to hand. So, yes. The directors need this, that's what I keep saying.
- Daniel OkaforMm. And how is the team finding it more generally? I'd like to hear the honest version, not just the good story.
- Saskia MendesRight, honest version. It's a bit uneven. We've got forty seats, and only a handful of people are using it properly every week. The ones who use it love it. The rest still ask their coordinators to go and find things, because they don't really know what to ask it.
- Daniel OkaforThat's a very fair picture, and it matches what I'm seeing on our side. Activity has climbed sharply since the summer, but from a small base, so I wouldn't want to call it broad adoption yet. The good news is that the people who are using it keep coming back.
- Saskia MendesYeah, that's it. They keep coming back. It's the others I worry about.
- Daniel OkaforSo the thing I'd suggest, and tell me if this is too much, is a short session for the directors who haven't started. Not a tour of every feature. Just half an hour, on their own clients, with a few questions they could ask on the day.
- Saskia MendesHm. Can we make it simpler, though? Because half an hour in a director's diary is a big ask. If it's a long list of things to learn, they'll just say they'll do it next month.
- Daniel OkaforFair. So what if it's smaller than that? A handful of saved questions, the ones your directors ask before every review. What did the client complain about, what's open, what's been invoiced. They'd open the page and the questions are already sitting there.
- Saskia MendesOh, that I like. That's basically what the director did on Friday, she just did it from scratch. If it was one click, I think half of them would use it tomorrow.
- Daniel OkaforGood. Then I'll draft a few of those with you in mind, using the examples from the director's review so they're real ones, and I'll come back to you by the end of next week. You tell me what's missing and we'll adjust.
- Saskia MendesPerfect. And Daniel, don't just do the happy path. Put in the awkward ones too. What did the client actually say, that sort of thing. Those are the ones that matter in a room.
- Daniel OkaforUnderstood, the awkward ones as well. Just to close the loop on that, I'll bring both back to you so you can choose.
- Saskia MendesBrilliant. Oh, and while we're on invoices, there's something else I wanted to tell you. The contractor invoice side. We caught a dispute early last week. A contractor's invoice didn't line up with the placement, and because it was all in one view someone spotted it before it went to the client.
- Daniel OkaforThat's the kind of thing that usually gets found three weeks later, when everyone's already annoyed.
- Saskia MendesExactly. Three weeks later, and by then it's a conversation about trust, not about a number. So that one was worth the price of admission on its own, honestly.
- Daniel OkaforI'm really glad. Would you be happy for me to note that down? It's useful when we talk about what the brain is doing for you, and it's easier if it's in your words.
- Saskia MendesYes, absolutely. Put it down. I'll try and keep a running list on my side too, because I know finance will ask at some point what we're getting for it.
- Daniel OkaforThat's sensible. And, so the, sorry, go on.
- Saskia MendesNo, you go. I was just going to say I'd rather have it ready before they ask.
- Daniel OkaforYes, that's what I was going to say. Being ready before they ask is much nicer than scrambling. On the Growth plan you get a review with us every quarter, so we can build that into the next one. A simple page. What the brain is used for, who uses it, and the stories like the contractor invoice.
- Saskia MendesGood. Keep it short, though. Finance won't read more than a page.
- Daniel OkaforOne page. Noted.
- Saskia MendesRight, what else have you got? I know you've got a list.
- Daniel OkaforA short one. On support, there was one ticket in the last month and it was marked high priority. I just wanted to close the loop and check that it's all sorted from your point of view and that nothing's still hanging.
- Saskia MendesYes, that was us. It got picked up quickly, I wasn't chasing anyone. Nothing hanging, no.
- Daniel OkaforGood, thank you. The other thing is the seats. You're on Growth, so forty users, and you've got room above where you are today. I don't want to sell you anything you don't need. I just want you to know there's headroom if more directors come on board after the sessions.
- Saskia MendesWe're nowhere near using them all, so no, nothing to change there. Let's get the ones we have using it first. If it takes off, I'd rather be telling you I need more than telling you I've got spare.
- Daniel OkaforI'd much prefer that conversation too. And there's no rush on anything contractual, the renewal is next summer, a good way off. Our contract with you stands at £41,800 a year and what you're being invoiced matches that, so there's nothing for you to chase on that front.
- Saskia MendesOkay, good to know. And nobody's nervous about it from my side, to be clear. If the directors use it, it earns its keep. That's the only thing I'm worried about.
- Daniel OkaforUnderstood. So we're agreed that the focus between now and then is getting more of those directors into the habit.
- Saskia MendesYes. Can you also send me a quick note of what we've agreed? I'll forward it to the director who couldn't make it, and she'll see I haven't been sitting here moaning about her.
- Daniel OkaforOf course, I'll send a short summary this week, and I'll come back to you by the end of next week with the draft saved questions. You'll have the awkward ones in there, as promised.
- Saskia MendesLovely. Thanks, Daniel. Honestly, I'll get on with it. Speak soon.
- Daniel OkaforThank you, Saskia, and well done on the contractor invoice, it's a great catch. Best wishes, and speak soon.
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