Strensall Merchants / BG-Demo – Proposal
Callcompleted
Strensall Merchants · 15 Jan 2025 13:15
Fiona Metcalfe, Group Finance Director, joined to hear the £144k all-in Enterprise proposal. She committed to no price or date, and set conditions: a usage case, pounds-only breakdown and a security review in writing.
What was said
What this says
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Fiona Metcalfe, Group Finance Director, joined to hear the £144k all-in Enterprise proposal. She committed to no price or date, and set conditions: a usage case, pounds-only breakdown and a security review in writing.
What happened: Lewis walked through the Enterprise proposal and quoted £144k as the all-in deal total, not an annual price. Fiona stressed credit limits are never set by sales, and Lewis confirmed B-Viz reads and does not decide.
Customer view: Fiona said she does not agree a price on a call and wants the annual figure, the one-off and the second year shown separately in pounds. She also needs a usage case before signing.
Commercial: Fiona asked whether terms are negotiable and Lewis promised nothing on the call. Training is not in the proposal and will be priced as its own line.
Watch: The 14 Feb 2025 target is an ambition, not a commitment. Lewis called the security review the long pole.
Themes
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Theme
Enterprise proposal, finance conditions
Importance
upsell
Sentiment
positive
Voice
decision-maker
Who was there
BG-Demo
CRMmade from
Them
CRMmade from
Follow-up
Next steps
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Lewis sends the security review steps in writing and who is needed from IT.
- Lewis sends the proposal in pounds with one-off, annual and second-year figures, plus training as its own line.
- Neil lists likely users and Fiona drafts her half of the usage case.
Risks
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Fiona has committed to neither price nor date, and needs a usage case first.
- The security review could delay signing against the 14 Feb 2025 target.
- Fiona asked whether terms are negotiable and Lewis could promise nothing on the call.
Opportunities
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- A separately priced on-site training day suits Neil's wish for in-room sessions.
- Meeting Daniel Okafor before signing could build confidence in the customer success relationship.
Transcript
Lewis KerrAfternoon, Neil. Can you hear me all right?
Neil CravenAye, loud and clear. Afternoon, Lewis. Bear with me, Fiona's just joining, she's had a call run over.- Lewis KerrNo problem at all. We've got the full slot, so there's no rush.
Fiona MetcalfeSorry, sorry. Good afternoon both. Can you see me? I've got the camera on but it's being temperamental.- Lewis KerrWe can see you, Fiona. Afternoon. Bit of a grey one down here, I hope it's better up in York.
- Neil CravenRaining sideways. Typical January. I'll tell you what, I've had a housebuilder on the phone since half past eight this morning about a delivery that three different people at our end gave three different answers on. So you've picked a good week to talk to me.
- Lewis KerrThat's more or less the problem we're here to solve, so I'll take that as a good omen. Fiona, you'll want to know what decision is needed, I think.
- Fiona MetcalfeI do. What decision is needed from me, and by when?
- Lewis KerrFair question, and it's how I'd like to open. What I understand from our earlier conversations is that you want to buy the Enterprise tier, so that branches, trade credit and key accounts all see the same trade account in one place. And you'd like it signed by Friday 14 February 2025. Is that still right?
- Neil CravenThat's what I told the board anyway.
- Fiona MetcalfeThat's the ambition. I'm not committing to the date today, but it's the right target. Go on.
- Lewis KerrUnderstood. So today I'd like to do three things. Walk through what's in the proposal, put a number on it, and then listen to what you need to see before you're comfortable. I'm not asking anyone for a yes on this call.
- Fiona MetcalfeGood, because I wouldn't give one.
- Lewis KerrHa, no, I had a feeling. Right, let me share my screen. Can you see the proposal document?
- Neil CravenAye. Bit small. Can you make it bigger?
- Lewis KerrIs that better? Good. So the shape of it is this. B-Viz sits inside your own Snowflake account. Nothing leaves your environment. We connect the systems you already use, the order and delivery data, the call recordings, the email, the tickets, the credit information, and we put one layer over the top that people can simply ask questions of.
- Neil CravenWhich branch, which account? That's what I want to be able to ask. If I type in a builder's name, what does the branch see, what does credit see, what's the builder actually seeing?
- Lewis KerrThat's exactly the example we used in the demo, Neil. You search the account, and you get the orders, the deliveries, the calls, the emails and the credit position together, with the source of each one. Nobody has to open four systems and reconcile them by hand.
- Neil CravenRight. Because at the moment the branch manager has one view, the credit controller has another and the key account lead has a spreadsheet. And the spreadsheet is usually the oldest of the lot.
- Fiona MetcalfeLet me stop you there, Lewis. Before we get to features. Credit. What can this do for my exposure, and what can it not do?
- Lewis KerrGood place to be precise. It shows your people the exposure on an account alongside the activity on that account, so credit can see, for instance, that orders are climbing at three branches while the payment picture is moving the other way. It does not set limits and it does not change anything in your credit system. It reads, it doesn't decide.
- Fiona MetcalfeGood. I'm quite firm that a credit limit is never set by sales, and I'd not want a tool that blurs that.
- Lewis KerrUnderstood, and it doesn't. Access can be set by role as well, so the sales side can see what you choose to show them. We'd agree that with you during implementation.
- Neil CravenThat works for me. I'm not trying to take credit decisions off Fiona's team. I just want us to agree on a customer before we start shouting at each other.
- Fiona MetcalfeWhich is a fair summary of last quarter.
- Neil CravenI couldn't possibly comment.
- Lewis KerrLet me move on to what Enterprise includes, because that's the tier in the proposal. Company-wide use rather than one team, so branches, trade credit and key accounts all sit on it. Single sign-on and user provisioning through your identity system, so people come and go without anyone creating accounts by hand. An executive sponsor on our side. And the security review support is part of the implementation.
- Fiona MetcalfeThe security review. Who does it, and how long does it take? My IT colleagues will want to see it before I get anywhere near signing.
- Lewis KerrWe'd support your IT team through it, answering the questionnaire and the architecture questions. Because it runs in your own Snowflake account, a lot of the usual concerns about where data sits fall away. I'd rather not quote you a duration from memory, so let me confirm that with our team and put it in the follow-up email.
- Fiona MetcalfePlease do. In writing, with the steps.
- Lewis KerrI'll send that over today, the steps and who we'd need from your side.
- Neil CravenCan I ask about the rollout? We've got a lot of branches. Ninety-five or so, across the North and the Midlands. I'm not having ninety-five branches switched on in one go and every one of them ringing me.
- Lewis KerrNor would I suggest it. The implementation is a fixed fee over twelve weeks, and the usual approach is to start with the systems that matter most, get them loading properly, and then widen the groups of people using it. Branch managers and key account leads first, credit alongside, and then the wider branch teams once the answers look right.
- Neil CravenWho decides what the answers looking right means?
- Lewis KerrYou do, really. That's where having people like your credit controllers test it on accounts they know is the best check. If it tells a credit controller something they know to be wrong, we find out quickly.
- Neil CravenAye. Let's sort it, not talk about it. I'd want a handful of real builder accounts we all know, and we test on those.
- Lewis KerrThat's a very good idea and I'll note it as part of the plan. Daniel Okafor would be your customer success manager once you're live, and he'd run that with you. I'd like you to meet him before you sign, so it isn't a stranger afterwards.
- Fiona MetcalfeI'd welcome that. Now. The number.
- Lewis KerrYes. So to put a number on it, the proposal comes to £143,500 in total. That is the all-in figure for the deal, with the implementation included, so please don't read it as an annual subscription price. I'll show the breakdown in the document so it's clear what is the one-off work and what is the subscription. And that's plus VAT.
- Fiona MetcalfeUnderstood. In pounds, please, always. Not percentages. I'll want to see the annual figure separately, the one-off separately, and what the second year looks like.
- Lewis KerrOf course. I'll lay it out that way. One thing I'd also flag is that I'm quoting from the document in front of me and not from memory, and anything I send will be the same document.
- Fiona MetcalfeGood. I'll say now, I don't agree a price on a call. I'll read it, I'll take it to my team, and we'll look at it properly. And before anything is signed I'll need a usage case. Who uses this, how often, what it replaces.
- Lewis KerrThat's reasonable, and I'd rather you asked it now than later. Neil, you're probably best placed to say who would be using it week to week.
- Neil CravenRight. Key account managers first, because they're the ones getting the phone calls from the big housebuilders. Then branch managers, because they're the ones who get blamed. And Fiona's credit team, who spend half their week chasing the same information from three places.
- Fiona MetcalfeHalf is generous. But yes. Can we put a number of people on that? Not today, but in the follow-up.
- Neil CravenI'll pull a list together. Roughly, mind. I'm not going to name every branch manager.
- Lewis KerrRoughly is fine. It helps us check the tier fits the number of people, and it helps Fiona's case. I wouldn't want to recommend more than your usage supports.
- Fiona MetcalfeI appreciate you saying that.
- Neil CravenCan I ask something a bit practical? When a builder rings and says the lorry never turned up, can the branch ask B-Viz and get what happened?
- Lewis KerrIf the delivery data is connected, yes. It would show the order, the delivery record, any calls or emails that mention it, and any ticket raised. It's only as good as the sources behind it, which is why we spend the first weeks getting those loading properly. I won't promise it will explain every missed delivery. It will stop people having to hunt.
- Neil CravenGood answer. I never promise a delivery I've not checked, and I'd not want a supplier promising what they can't.
- Lewis KerrQuite right.
- Fiona MetcalfeRight. Let me ask about the term. If we sign and it doesn't land, what's our position?
- Lewis KerrThe commercial terms sit in an order form under our master agreement, and that's where connectors, timings and service levels are written down. I'd suggest your legal people read it in full rather than relying on my summary. The commitments you care about most would go in there, for example how soon the main sources are live.
- Fiona MetcalfeSo that's negotiable?
- Lewis KerrSome of it is. I'd want to hear what you need and see what I can do. I'll be straight with you, though, I can't promise anything on this call. I'd take it back and come to you with a proper answer.
- Fiona MetcalfeWhich is the answer I'd have given. Fine.
- Neil CravenOne more from me. Training. I don't want a webinar. I want someone who'll stand in front of a room of branch managers and show them their own accounts.
- Lewis KerrWe do on-site training days as an add-on, and it's the sort of thing that works well for a group like yours. It isn't in this proposal as it stands. If you'd like it added, say so and I'll price it separately so you can see it on its own.
- Neil CravenAye, do that. Separate line, and I'll talk to Fiona about it.
- Fiona MetcalfeSeparate line, yes. I'd rather decide it on its own merits.
- Lewis KerrRight. Let me make sure I've got everything. First, you want the security review steps in writing, and who is needed from IT. Second, the proposal laid out in pounds with the one-off and the annual shown separately, plus what the second year looks like. Third, the training day priced as its own line. Fourth, a call with Daniel. Anything I've missed?
- Fiona MetcalfeA usage case. Neil's list of people, and what it replaces. I'll draft the other half on my side.
- Lewis KerrYes, thank you. Neil's list, your half, and I'll add what we've seen at other customers in general terms, though I won't be giving you anyone else's prices.
- Fiona MetcalfeI wouldn't expect it.
- Neil CravenCan we get the test on real accounts into the plan as well? The handful of builders.
- Lewis KerrYes. I'll write it in as the acceptance step, so it's there in black and white.
- Fiona MetcalfeOn timing. If everything comes back promptly, I can look at it with the wider team in the next couple of weeks. I'm saying that as a hope, not a promise.
- Lewis KerrThat's all I'd ask. If we're to be signed by Friday 14 February 2025, the security review is probably the long pole, so the sooner your IT colleagues see the steps the better.
- Neil CravenI'll have a word with them tomorrow. Get them ready so it doesn't land cold.
- Lewis KerrThat'd help enormously.
- Fiona MetcalfeRight, I need to dash, I've another meeting. Lewis, thank you, that was clearer than I expected.
- Lewis KerrThanks, Fiona. I'll send everything over today.
- Neil CravenCheers, Lewis. Speak soon.
- Lewis KerrCheers both. Kind regards, speak soon.
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