Strensall Merchants / BG-Demo – Check In
Callcompleted
Strensall Merchants · 11 Aug 2026 10:45
Neil Craven and Karen Oxley are positive but active users dipped slightly and new starters were never trained. Neil offered a post-demo reference visit for Fewston. Lewis Kerr proposed no change to the £114k order form.
What was said
What this says
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Neil Craven and Karen Oxley are positive but active users dipped slightly and new starters were never trained. Neil offered a post-demo reference visit for Fewston. Lewis Kerr proposed no change to the £114k order form.
What happened: Daniel Okafor reported steady usage with a small dip in monthly active users. Karen said new branch staff were never shown B-Viz.
Customer view: Neil and Karen say daily users would not go back. Karen said two branches serving one contractor now see the same credit position.
Commercial: Lewis Kerr said the order form is for 160 users at £114k, matching invoices, and he will not ask for more. Renewal is 28 Feb 2027 and Fiona must be in the room.
Watch: Neil agreed a York reference visit for Fewston, only after its demo and with no price discussion. Daniel will pull usage by region to test whether the dip is holidays.
Themes
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Theme
Summer dip and reference visit
Importance
renewal
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- Daniel Okafor to send training slots, an outline and the usage page by the end of the week.
- Lewis Kerr to email Neil the reference visit terms and tell him when Fewston's demo is done.
- Karen Oxley to send Daniel the names of the new starters.
Risks
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Monthly active users dipped against the previous quarter and it is not yet clear whether this is only holidays.
- New branch starters were never trained, so adoption could stay uneven ahead of the 28 Feb 2027 renewal.
- Neil routes all money matters through Fiona, who has not been on these calls.
Opportunities
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- A training session and recording for new starters could restore usage and strengthen the value case.
- A Fewston reference visit to York could win new business, with Neil's goodwill as the asset.
- Usage by region could show where Enterprise seats are idle and which champions to build on.
Transcript
Daniel OkaforHello, can everyone hear me all right? I've got Lewis here with me already. Neil, I can see you. Karen, I think you're just joining.
Neil CravenAye, I can hear you fine. Morning, Daniel. Morning, Lewis.
Karen OxleyMorning all. Sorry, I'm in the car park at the Darlington depot, so if I go quiet it's the signal. I'll mute if there's a lorry.- Daniel OkaforNo problem at all, Karen. Thank you both for making the time, I know it's a busy week for you. How is the team finding it, generally? And more to the point, how's the week been?
- Neil CravenBusy. I had one of the big housebuilder accounts on the phone at seven this morning about a delivery that went to the wrong site. Which branch, which account, what's the builder actually seeing. That sort of thing. Sorted now, mind.
- Daniel OkaforGlad it's sorted. Was that one you could trace back through the brain, or did you end up on the phone to the branch?
- Neil CravenBit of both, to be honest. I pulled up the account, saw the order and the call notes together, then rang the branch. Used to take me half the morning. It took about ten minutes.
Lewis KerrThat's good to hear, Neil. Just so I'm clear on the shape of today, Daniel will take us through usage and where things stand, and then I've got one specific thing to ask you about, if that's all right. It's not a sales ask. It's about someone else who's looking at us.- Neil CravenGo on, you've got me curious. But do the usage bit first, I want Karen to get her say before she loses signal.
- Karen OxleyHa. Yes please.
- Daniel OkaforOf course. So, just to close the loop on where we are. You're on Enterprise, a hundred and sixty licensed users, and the contract runs to the end of February. The renewal date on our side is 28 Feb 2027, so we've got a good while yet, but I like to keep us talking well before that.
- Daniel OkaforOn usage, the picture is steady rather than spectacular. The connectors are all loading, the nightly refresh has been landing on time, and the questions people ask are still healthy. One thing I do want to flag honestly is that the number of people active in a typical month has dipped a little compared with the previous quarter.
- Neil CravenRight. I'd have guessed that. It's summer. Half my branch managers are on the beach, the other half are on the yard.
- Daniel OkaforThat's partly what I assumed, and it may well be the whole story. But I'd rather ask than assume. Karen, you've got the North East branches. What are you seeing from your side?
- Karen OxleyMm. So, the branch managers who use it every day, they love it. The credit view alongside the orders especially. They don't want to go back. The ones who don't use it are the ones who never really got going, and that's on me as much as anyone. We did the training sessions when it launched, and then people changed jobs, and the new ones weren't shown.
- Daniel OkaforThat's really useful, thank you. That's a very common pattern, and it's fixable. New starters in the branches, they never got the walkthrough.
- Karen OxleyExactly that. I've got, I'd say, a handful of assistant managers and a couple of new branch managers who've never logged in. Or they've logged in once and given up.
- Neil CravenLet's sort it, not talk about it. Daniel, can you do a short session for the new starters? Something they can do in half an hour on a Tuesday morning before the trade counter gets busy.
- Daniel OkaforYes, absolutely. I'll come back to you by the end of the week with a couple of slots and a short outline. Karen, if you can send me the names of the people who've not started, I can make it specific to them, branch by branch, rather than a general demo.
- Karen OxleyI'll get you that today. I've got most of it in my head and a list on my phone.
- Daniel OkaforLovely. Now, tickets. There have been a couple in the last month, nothing urgent, nothing high priority. One was a how-to question and the other was a small sync query that we closed within the response time for your tier. Neil, has anything been bothering you that hasn't made it into a ticket?
- Neil CravenNo, nothing I'd call a problem. There's one thing. Credit control would like the delivery data a bit fresher in the morning. But that's more about when they start work than anything being wrong. If the refresh is done by seven they're fine.
- Daniel OkaforIt has been landing by then, as far as I can see, on the business days. If they see something different, tell me which morning and I'll look at it properly rather than guess.
- Neil CravenWill do. I'll get it checked with them and come back to you.
- Lewis KerrCan I just add one thing from the commercial side, so nobody's surprised later? Nothing needs deciding today. The order form is for the hundred and sixty users at the current annual figure of £113,500, which matches what's been invoiced, and that all sits comfortably. I'm not suggesting any change. To put a number on it, the usage doesn't support asking for more, so I won't.
- Neil CravenAppreciate you saying that. I'd have to go through Fiona on anything to do with money anyway, so keep it simple for now.
- Lewis KerrUnderstood, and that's fine. I'll keep any commercial conversation for when Fiona's in the room.
- Daniel OkaforBefore we move on, Karen, anything else from the North East? Any branches struggling with a particular account?
- Karen OxleyOne thing. Two of my branches serve the same contractor and they used to see different credit positions. Since the brain, they see the same thing. That's the bit that's made a real difference. The contractor's buyer actually commented that we sounded like one company.
- Neil CravenThat's the whole point of it, that is. That's why I brought it in.
- Daniel OkaforThat's lovely to hear, and it's exactly the sort of thing I want to capture. Would you mind if I wrote that up as a short note for the QBR pack? Just in your words.
- Karen OxleyFine by me, as long as it doesn't name the contractor.
- Daniel OkaforWouldn't dream of it. Right. Lewis, I think that's the cue for your question.
- Lewis KerrThanks, Daniel. So, Neil, you may remember I mentioned we have another distribution business, Fewston, who are looking at B-Viz. They're a way off a decision. They've got a demo coming up, and they've asked, quite reasonably, whether they can speak to somebody who's actually using it in a similar business.
- Neil CravenFewston. Right. Are they builders' merchants as well?
- Lewis KerrSimilar enough that the problems will sound familiar. Branches, trade accounts, credit sitting separately from sales. I won't say more than that, because it's their business and not mine to describe.
- Neil CravenFair enough. So what do you want from me?
- Lewis KerrTwo things, really, and both entirely up to you. First, what do you think Fewston should see? Not what we'd show them, but what would have mattered to you when you were deciding. And second, whether you'd be happy to have a conversation with them at some point.
- Neil CravenRight. Well, I'll tell you what I'd want to see, because it's what sold it to me. Don't show them a dashboard. Show them one trade account. Pick a real one, a housebuilder with a few sites, and show the orders, the deliveries, the calls and the credit all on one page. If they can see that, they get it.
- Lewis KerrThat's very helpful. So one account, end to end, rather than a tour of features.
- Neil CravenAye. And then ask them what the builder's actually seeing. When somebody rings the branch, does the branch know what credit knows? If the answer's no, that's their pain, and you don't need to say much more.
- Daniel OkaforI like that, Neil. It's also exactly how we ran the demo with you at the start, if I remember rightly. We took one of your accounts that you knew inside out.
- Neil CravenWe did. It was the one that kept getting double-chased. Nobody could tell who'd rung whom.
- Karen OxleyCan I add something? I'd tell them about the people side as well. The tool's fine, but it only sticks if somebody in the branch is shown how. I've learnt that this year. If I were Fewston I'd want to hear that.
- Lewis KerrThat's a fair and honest point, Karen, and I'd rather they heard it from you than from me.
- Karen OxleyWell, it's true. Training first, then it flies.
- Neil CravenRight, so here's what I'll do. I don't want to be doing calls with strangers every week, but I'll do better than a call. After they've had their demo, if they're still interested, bring them up to York. They can see how we actually use it. Sit in the trade credit team for an hour, see a branch manager at work. A reference visit, like.
- Lewis KerrThat's a very generous offer, Neil. Are you sure? It's your people's time.
- Neil CravenI'm sure. But after the demo, not before. I don't want them turning up without having seen what it does. And I'll want to know who's coming and what they want to ask, so I can pick the right people.
- Lewis KerrCompletely agreed. After the demo, and only if they want it. I'll tell you who is coming and what they've asked for before anything is fixed. Nothing gets booked until you've said yes to the date.
- Neil CravenGood. And you keep price out of it. Whatever they ask about money, that's for you and them, not for my team.
- Lewis KerrAbsolutely. I'd never discuss another customer's commercial terms anyway, and your team won't be asked to. The visit is about how it's used, nothing else.
- Daniel OkaforAnd from my side, I'll be glad to be there if it helps. I can talk about the setup and what we'd do differently on connectors. Karen, would you be willing to be around too, if the timing worked? You'd give them the branch view.
- Karen OxleyIf it's not the same day as the quarter end, yes. I'd come down if I can get the cover at the branch. Or I can dial in.
- Neil CravenYork's not that far for you, Karen. A train and a coffee.
- Karen OxleyHa, I'll hold you to the coffee.
- Lewis KerrSo that I've got it right. After Fewston's demo, if they're keen, a reference visit to York. Neil hosts, Daniel supports, Karen joins if she can. One real trade account shown end to end, and no commercial discussion at all.
- Neil CravenThat's the lot. I'd say about an hour on site, maybe a bit more if they've got questions.
- Lewis KerrI'll send that over today in a short email, so it's written down and nobody has to remember it. I'll not name Fewston to anyone else, and I'll let you know when their demo's been done.
- Daniel OkaforJust to close the loop on the other side of this, because I don't want the reference favour to take over from the actual work. Neil, you're doing us a good turn, and I'd like to do you one. Is there anything you'd like us to do for your people in return? Something that's not on the list.
- Neil CravenNot really a favour. But the training for new starters is the thing. If that happens, I'm happy.
- Daniel OkaforThen that's the priority. I'll get that sorted first. Karen's list, a short session in the morning, and a quick recording that new starters can watch themselves.
- Karen OxleyA recording would be brilliant. Half of them can't make a set time.
- Daniel OkaforThen we'll do both. Anything else you want me to look at? I was going to check the admin side, because it's good practice, and make sure you've still got enough people who can manage the connectors and users.
- Neil CravenWe've got a few. Should be fine. If anyone leaves I'll tell you straight away, I know that's been a worry for you.
- Daniel OkaforIt's more of a habit than a worry, but I do appreciate it. People move, and I like to know before it matters.
- Karen OxleyCan I ask something slightly off the point? Is there any chance of seeing which of my branches are asking the most questions? I'd quite like to know who my champions are.
- Daniel OkaforYes, I can pull that together for the North East. It's useful for you in two ways. It shows who to ask to help the others, and it shows where one person is carrying most of the questions, which can be a risk if they move on. I'll send it with the training dates.
- Karen OxleyPerfect. I'd rather know than guess.
- Neil CravenYou could do that for the whole group while you're at it. I'd like to see which regions are quiet.
- Daniel OkaforI can. I'll do it as a short page rather than a spreadsheet, and we'll look at it together at the next review. It would sit well with the summer dip too, so we can see whether it really is the holidays.
- Neil CravenAye, do that. If it's holidays I'll sleep better. If it isn't, I'd rather know now.
- Lewis KerrNeil, one small thing on the renewal, and then I'll leave it. There's nothing to do for months. It's the end of February next year. Daniel will start the conversation well before that, and I'll be around for the commercial side with Fiona when the time comes. I only mention it so it isn't a surprise.
- Neil CravenFine. No surprises is what I like. Keep Fiona in the loop when it gets nearer and I'll keep her warm.
- Lewis KerrWill do. Thank you.
- Daniel OkaforOne more thing from me, and then I'll let you go. When we spoke last time, Neil, you mentioned the housebuilders wanting to see their own delivery history sooner. Is that still something on your mind, or has it moved on?
- Neil CravenIt's still there. But it's more a wish than a need. Let's park it until we've got the new starters sorted. One thing at a time.
- Daniel OkaforSensible. I'll keep it on my list and bring it back at the next review so it doesn't get lost.
- Karen OxleyI'm about to lose you, I think, there's a wagon wanting my space. Is there anything you need from me before I go?
- Daniel OkaforJust the names of the new starters, when you can. And thank you, Karen, that was really helpful.
- Karen OxleyWill do. Bye all.
- Neil CravenTa-ra, Karen.
- Lewis KerrThanks, Karen. Neil, while you're still here, can I check the timing on your side? If Fewston's demo goes ahead in the next few weeks, would the autumn be all right for York, or are you tied up?
- Neil CravenAutumn's fine. Avoid the last week of any month, that's when credit are flat out. Other than that, give me a few days' notice and I'll clear a morning.
- Lewis KerrThat's clear. Mornings, not month end, and a few days' notice. I'll put it in the email.
- Neil CravenGood lad. Anything else? I've got a branch manager waiting on me.
- Daniel OkaforOnly that I'll send the training options and the usage page by the end of the week, and a short note after the call so we've all got the same list. How does that sound?
- Neil CravenSounds right. Thanks, both. Good to see you.
- Lewis KerrThank you, Neil. Kind regards to the team, and thanks again for the offer. It means a lot.
- Daniel OkaforBest wishes, Neil. Speak soon.
- Neil CravenCheers, then.
- Lewis KerrDaniel, have you got a minute before we drop off? I just want to agree who does what on our side.
- Daniel OkaforYes, of course. I'll take the training and the usage page, and the write-up for Karen's note. You take the email to Neil and anything to do with Fewston.
- Lewis KerrAgreed. I'll copy you in on the email. And I'll tell you as soon as Fewston's demo date is firm, so you can hold a morning in your diary.
- Daniel OkaforPerfect. I think that went well. They're in a good place, a bit quiet on the numbers, but that feels more like habit than trouble.
- Lewis KerrI agree. I'd keep an eye on it, though, and I'm glad you're pulling the usage by region. Right, I'll let you go. Thanks, Daniel.
- Daniel OkaforThanks, Lewis. Speak soon.
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