Hollins Tarrant / BG-Demo – QBR
Callcompleted
Hollins Tarrant · 7 May 2026 13:00
On the 7 May 2026 QBR, usage on Starter was just under three active users a day from 15 licensed. Managing Director Rob Ellery asked what the £20k was for and would not sign anything. A broken connector is the likely cause.
What was said
What this says
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026On the 7 May 2026 QBR, usage on Starter was just under three active users a day from 15 licensed. Managing Director Rob Ellery asked what the £20k was for and would not sign anything. A broken connector is the likely cause.
What happened: Marcus Bell ran the QBR with Rob Ellery and Jenna Price, with Tom Ashdown joining. Daily active users were just under three of 15 licensed, about a third down on the quarter before.
Customer view: Rob asked what the nineteen and a half thousand was going for and said he does not want to pay for something that sits there. Jenna said the consultants stopped looking because the brain no longer matched the CRM.
Commercial: Tom put the renewal at 4 Jan 2027, so it is booked, not decided. Rob said he was not signing anything that day and left the detail to Jenna.
Watch: One connector ticket is unresolved and Jenna has no spare time to reconfigure. Marcus offered a fix and a short consultant session, then a review before renewal, without promising a fix date.
Themes
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Theme
Value challenge, low usage
Importance
renewal
Sentiment
negative
Voice
decision-maker
Who was there
BG-Demo
CRMmade from
Them
CRMmade from
Follow-up
Next steps
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Marcus Bell sends the usage summary in bullets and arranges the connector review with engineering.
- Marcus Bell books thirty minutes with Jenna Price in about two weeks.
- Marcus Bell and Tom Ashdown revisit usage with Rob Ellery and Jenna Price before the renewal.
Risks
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Rob Ellery questions what the Starter subscription is worth with just under three daily users from 15 licensed.
- An unresolved connector ticket means consultants see stale data and use the brain less.
- Jenna Price has no spare time, so the fix and any training may stall before the 4 Jan 2027 renewal.
Opportunities
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Fixing the connector and running a short consultant session could lift usage and give a value case before renewal.
- Jenna Price still wants the pipeline view, which is what the brain was bought for.
Transcript
Marcus BellHello, hello. Can everyone hear me alright? I think I'm coming through.
Rob ElleryYes, we can hear you. How long's this going to take, Marcus? I've got a client call coming up.- Marcus BellAfternoon, Rob. We've got the hour booked, but I'll keep it moving. Tom's on as well, he's just joining.
Tom AshdownAfternoon, all. How's your week been, Rob? Quiet or mad?- Rob ElleryFlat out, to be straight with you. Hiring's slow, so everybody's chasing everything. The team's flat out and not much is landing.
- Tom AshdownAye, I hear that from a few people down your way. No drama, we'll be sharp.
Jenna PriceSorry, sorry, I'm late. The team's stretched and I had someone at my desk. Can you see me alright?- Marcus BellWe can, Jenna, no problem at all. Right, I'm going to share my screen and say what I want to cover. Three things: how the brain's being used, what's been going through support, and then where we go next. Can you see that?
- Jenna PriceYes. It's a bit small but I can see it.
- Marcus BellI'll make it bigger. So, I've pulled the numbers. You're on Starter, fifteen licensed users. On average over the last month, just under three of those people were active on a given day. That's about a third down on the quarter before.
- Rob ElleryJust under three. Out of fifteen.
- Marcus BellYeah. And questions asked to the brain are down in the same way. It's mostly Jenna, and one or two of the consultants who look at client accounts now and then.
- Jenna PriceThat's fair. It's mostly me, I'll be honest. The consultants are out on the phones and they go to what they know. Sorry.
- Marcus BellNo, no need to be sorry. I'm just showing you what I see. On tickets, four in the last month, none of them high priority. Mostly how-to questions and one about a connector not loading. All answered inside the Starter response time.
- Jenna PriceYes, those were mine. I've not had a chance to follow the connector one up properly, if I'm honest.
- Marcus BellMm. That's the one I'd flag, because if that source isn't refreshing then what people see starts to go stale, and then they trust it less. Which makes them use it less. You see the circle.
- Rob ElleryRight. So what would we be paying for, Marcus? Say it plainly. If three people use it, what's the nineteen and a half going for?
- Tom AshdownCan I come in there, Marcus? It's fair, Rob. It's nineteen and a half thousand a year on the order form, I'll confirm that to you in writing so you've got it right. And it runs to the start of January, so the renewal's 4 Jan 2027. There's time to get this right.
- Rob ElleryI don't read the detail, Tom, that's Jenna's area. I just look at what goes out each month.
- Jenna PriceIt's paid on time, Rob, there's nothing outstanding. It's more whether we're getting the value from it.
- Marcus BellThat's the right question, and I don't want to dodge it. What you bought it for was client accounts, the placements pipeline in the CRM, and client-facing tickets in one place. Is that still what you'd want to see?
- Jenna PriceYes, I think so. The pipeline bit especially. But the consultants say it's not matching what they see in the CRM now, so they stop looking.
- Marcus BellRight. That's useful. That would fit with the connector that's not loading. Without being able to promise you a fix date, because that's an engineering call, I can get someone to look at it with you.
- Jenna PriceThat would be good. Can we park the rest for now though? I just don't have anyone to spare to reconfigure things at the moment.
- Tom AshdownLeave the connector with us, Jenna. We'll do the heavy lifting. What I don't want is you having to find a day in the diary you haven't got.
- Rob ElleryRight. And if it's fixed, do more of them use it? That's all I want to know. I don't want to pay for something that sits there.
- Marcus BellI can't promise that, Rob, and I'd rather be straight. But the people who do use it use it for the right things. If we get it working again and put a short session in front of the consultants, I'd expect to see it move. Then we can look at it again before the renewal.
- Rob ElleryFine. Talk to Jenna, she'll tell me what she needs. I'm not signing anything today.
- Tom AshdownNobody's asking you to, Rob. This is just us being open about where it is.
- Marcus BellSo, to wrap up. I'll send you a short summary of the usage numbers today, in bullets. We'll get the connector looked at, and Jenna, I'll find a time that suits you for thirty minutes. Shall we say a couple of weeks?
- Jenna PriceA couple of weeks should be alright. Sorry for the slow replies in advance.
- Tom AshdownCheers, everyone. No drama. Speak soon.
- Rob ElleryRight, thanks. I've got to go.
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