Grisedale Search & Selection / BG-Demo – Renewal
Callcompleted
Grisedale Search & Selection · 2 Apr 2026 13:30
Grisedale's renewal call. Usage is up and Lauren Pilkington values it, but Stuart Haworth called the £48k Growth renewal "double" the current £24k and wants a one-page offer and a discount conversation.
What was said
What this says
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Grisedale's renewal call. Usage is up and Lauren Pilkington values it, but Stuart Haworth called the £48k Growth renewal "double" the current £24k and wants a one-page offer and a discount conversation.
What happened: Priya Raman proposed a Growth renewal against a Starter term that runs to 30 Apr 2026, aiming for agreement by 27 Apr 2026. Marcus Bell showed usage: active users up, spread across several people rather than one.
Customer view: Lauren said the brain already saves hours before client calls and has stopped two awkward chases. Stuart accepted the value but reacted to the price and said he never signs without a discount conversation.
Commercial: the Growth renewal is £48k against £24k now. Priya tied a look at first-year terms to agreement by 27 Apr 2026. Stuart asked for a one-page summary and said "keep talking", not yes.
Watch: Lauren is the only person who knows how it is wired, so she is a key-person risk. Marcus offered a 30-minute planning session with her to decide which teams come on first.
Themes
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Theme
Starter to Growth renewal
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- Priya Raman sends Stuart Haworth a one-page Growth renewal summary with figure, date and inclusions, within a day of the call.
- Marcus Bell books 30 minutes with Lauren Pilkington to plan which teams and sources come on first.
- Priya Raman reviews first-year terms if the renewal is agreed by 27 Apr 2026.
Risks
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Stuart Haworth sees the Growth renewal as double the current price and expects a discount conversation.
- Lauren Pilkington is the only person who knows how the brain is wired, a key-person risk for a wider rollout.
- The Starter term ends 30 Apr 2026, so there is little time if agreement slips past 27 Apr 2026.
Opportunities
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Other consultants keep asking Lauren for access, which supports a move from Starter to Growth.
- Two avoided client missteps give a concrete value case for the fee income per head Stuart cares about.
Transcript
Priya RamanHello, hello. Can everyone hear me okay? I've got Marcus here with me as well.
Stuart HaworthLoud and clear. Did you see the match last night? Absolute shambles in midfield. I'm still annoyed.
Lauren PilkingtonStu, please, not before we've even started. Hi both. Sorry, Stu's been on about it all morning.
Marcus BellHa, no worries. Afternoon, both. I'll be honest, I stopped watching a while back, it's better for my blood pressure.- Stuart HaworthWise man. Right. Give me the headline, what are we here for?
- Priya RamanHappy to. So, quick recap of where we are, and the date that matters. Your Starter term runs to 30 Apr 2026, so we're here to get the renewal sorted well ahead of that, and to keep momentum. The aim is to have it agreed by 27 April 2026 if we can.
- Stuart HaworthOkay. And is it just the same again, or are you going to try and sell me something?
- Priya RamanA bit of both, honestly. Marcus has the usage, and I think it tells a story. Marcus, do you want to share your screen?
- Marcus BellYep, sharing now. Can you see it? Right. I've pulled the numbers, and I just want to cover three things: who's using the brain, what they're asking it, and what that means for the next twelve months.
- Lauren PilkingtonYeah, we can see it. It's quite small though. Can you zoom in a touch?
- Marcus BellIs that better? Good. So the headline is that the number of people active in a typical month is just under four on average, and that's up by about a quarter compared with the previous quarter.
- Stuart HaworthFour? We've got fifteen seats. That's not a lot of people.
- Lauren PilkingtonIt's four people using it every day though, Stu. Properly using it. And it's the four who do the most client calls. That's the point.
- Marcus BellThat's right, and it's the direction that matters more than the level. It's gone up, not down, and it's the consultants and Lauren doing the asking, not just one person. So it's not hanging on a single user.
- Stuart HaworthOkay. What's in it for the consultants, though? That's what I care about. Fee income per head.
- Lauren PilkingtonCan I take that one? Quick one. Before a consultant rings a client, they can see the open roles, the last few emails and whether that client has complained about anything. That used to be three inboxes and a spreadsheet. That'd save us hours, and it already does.
- Stuart HaworthRight. And has it actually stopped us putting our foot in it with a client?
- Lauren PilkingtonTwice that I know of. One consultant was about to chase a client who'd raised a complaint the week before. She saw it on the page first. I'm not going to say who.
- Stuart HaworthGood. Fine. I like that. So what's the catch?
- Priya RamanNo catch, Stuart, I promise. The thing is, the other consultants keep asking Lauren for access, and under Starter you've got fifteen licensed users and a cap on connectors. You're not at the ceiling yet, but you're heading toward it, and if you want the whole floor on it, that's where Growth comes in.
- Stuart HaworthAnd there it is. What's that cost?
- Priya RamanSo you're at £24,000 now. The Growth renewal in the proposal comes to £48,500.
- Stuart HaworthWhoa. That's double.
- Priya RamanIt is a step up, yes, I won't pretend otherwise. But it's several teams rather than one, more seats, more connectors, the dashboards builder and a proper quarterly review with Marcus.
- Stuart HaworthMm. I never sign without a discount conversation, you know that. Priya, you know that.
- Priya RamanI do, and I'm happy to make this easy. If we can get it over the line by 27 April 2026, I can take a proper look at the terms for the first year. I'd want to do that with a date attached, so it's not hanging open.
- Stuart HaworthLook at that, she's good. Okay. I'm not saying yes. I'm saying keep talking.
- Marcus BellCan I add something on the practical side? I don't want to get into the price, that's Priya's side. But I'd hate for you to buy a bigger tier and not use it. So I'd like to be clear about what the extra gets you in the first few months.
- Lauren PilkingtonYes please. Because honestly my worry is the bit where I have to set up everyone else. I'm the only one who really knows how it's wired.
- Marcus BellThat's fair, and it's a good thing to say out loud. What I'd suggest is we sit down, just you and me, and make a list of which teams come on first and which sources they need. Happy to jump on a call, shall we book 30 minutes next week?
- Lauren PilkingtonYes. Please. Ta.
- Stuart HaworthHang on, one more thing. Tickets. Has it been a pain? I don't want to hear it's been a pain.
- Marcus BellQuite the opposite. There's been one ticket in the last month, and it was one we flagged as higher priority, it got dealt with. I can send you the detail, but nothing that's been hanging around.
- Lauren PilkingtonThat was the one where the overnight refresh was late, wasn't it? It came right by lunchtime and nobody even noticed.
- Marcus BellThat sounds like the one, yes. I'll double check and put it in the summary.
- Stuart HaworthOkay. Right. Here's where I am. Lauren says it's saving time, the consultants like it, the number's bigger than I'd like. Priya, send me something short. One page. I'm not reading an essay.
- Priya RamanOne page, Growth renewal, the figure, the date, and what's included. You'll have it today or first thing tomorrow.
- Stuart HaworthAnd you won't forget what we said about the discount.
- Priya RamanI won't. And you won't either, I know.
- Stuart HaworthNever do. Right, I've got a client at two. Cheers, all.
- Lauren PilkingtonThanks both. Marcus, I'll look out for your invite. Bye.
- Marcus BellThanks, Lauren. Thanks, Stuart. Speak soon.
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