Marlcliff Security Services / BG-Demo – Discovery
Callcompleted
Marlcliff Security Services · 5 Mar 2025 09:15
Discovery call with Marlcliff's operations and finance leads. Client data is split across several systems. Growth looks likely, with a working figure of £52k total value. Nigel wants a usage case before deciding.
What was said
What this says
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Discovery call with Marlcliff's operations and finance leads. Client data is split across several systems. Growth looks likely, with a working figure of £52k total value. Nigel wants a usage case before deciding.
What happened: Lewis Kerr ran discovery with Sharon Tilley and Nigel Fairbrother. Sharon described incidents sitting in the control room system while account managers hear nothing, and Nigel described invoice disputes dragging on because patrol evidence is elsewhere.
Customer view: Nigel is sceptical but engaged. He said the current competitor is a spreadsheet pack held together with string, and that contracts are lost on someone feeling ignored, not on price.
Commercial: Lewis pointed to Growth, as several teams would use it, and gave £52k as a working total including implementation, not an annual price. Expected close is Thu 22 May 2025, and Nigel said a decision by the end of May is possible.
Watch: Nigel wants a count of the chases, the split of the total, reference points and anonymised data. The alarm platform export and the IT view on Snowflake are open.
Themes
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Theme
Discovery, fragmented client data
Importance
upsell
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- Lewis Kerr to send a written summary and a proposal separating implementation from the annual subscription.
- Sharon Tilley to introduce the IT colleague and have supervisors tally client chases.
- Lewis to arrange a short session with account managers before the demo.
Risks
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Nigel is sceptical that a single customer view gets used, and wants proof of usage before buying.
- The alarm platform may not be exportable, and the IT colleague is cautious about Snowflake.
- Board dates may move, so the end of May decision is not guaranteed.
Opportunities
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Several teams would use B-Viz, which supports Growth rather than Starter.
- The alarm platform could be added as a later connector.
Transcript
Lewis KerrMorning, Sharon. Can you hear me all right? I've got a bit of an echo on my side.
Sharon TilleyMorning, Lewis. Yes, clear as a bell. No echo here. Nigel's just dialling in, he's in the other room with the finance lot.- Lewis KerrNo problem, we'll give him a minute. How's the week treating you?
- Sharon TilleyBusy. We had a night-time alarm activation at a warehouse client on Monday, and the keyholder didn't pick up for ages. So I've spent two days on one question: what did the client hear from us, and when? It's sorted now, but it's the sort of thing that makes me want this project.
- Lewis KerrThat's useful context, actually, because I'd like to come back to it. Ah, Nigel, morning.
Nigel FairbrotherMorning. Sorry, the link wouldn't load first time. Right. Before we start, who is actually using this sort of thing at the moment? Do we have any idea at all, or is this a leap of faith?- Lewis KerrFair question, and I'd rather answer it properly than wave at it. Today is discovery, so I'm not here to sell you anything yet. I want to understand how your teams find information now, and what it costs you when they can't. Then we can talk about whether B-Viz fits and who would use it. Is that all right as an agenda?
- Nigel FairbrotherFine. Keep it moving.
- Sharon TilleyCan I start with the picture? So we guard, patrol and monitor alarms for a couple of thousand business clients across the South West and South Wales. Bristol is the hub. Account managers look after the relationships, the control room handles incidents and alarms, and credit control chases the invoices.
- Lewis KerrAnd each of those three groups has their own system?
- Sharon TilleySeveral each, if I'm honest. There's the CRM for the account managers. There's the alarm-monitoring platform in the control room. The accounting system for credit control. Calls get recorded, emails sit in Microsoft 365, and we have a helpdesk for client queries. Nobody sees the whole client.
- Lewis KerrMm. Which of those would you want in the first phase? I'm asking because it shapes the connector count.
- Sharon TilleyThe CRM, the accounting system, the call recorder, the mailboxes and the helpdesk. The alarm platform would be lovely, but it's old, and I don't know what it can export.
- Lewis KerrOkay. We'll flag that one as a question for our technical team rather than promise anything. Tell me about a typical day when something goes wrong. Take Monday.
- Sharon TilleyRight. Alarm goes off at a client's warehouse. The control room logs it, sends a patrol, tries the keyholder. The account manager is asleep, naturally. Next morning the client rings the account manager, who knows nothing, because the incident is in the control room system and the account manager lives in the CRM. So they ring the control room, who ring me. By the time we call the client back, they've been stewing for an hour.
- Lewis KerrSo the cost is the client hearing it from someone else first.
- Sharon TilleyExactly that. Which site, which shift, what happened, who attended. The account manager should have that before the client even picks up the phone.
- Nigel FairbrotherAnd what's that per contract? Because guarding is priced by the hour. If an incident like that costs us an hour of three people's time, I need to know how often it happens before I care.
- Sharon TilleyI can't give you a clean number, Nigel. Not today. It's a few a week where somebody has to chase.
- Nigel FairbrotherA few a week is not a number. Can we count it for a month? I'd want to see it before any renewal conversation, let alone a purchase.
- Lewis KerrThat's a sensible thing to do, and it helps us too. If your team logs each chase for a few weeks, we can put a number on it together. I'd rather build the case on your count than on mine.
- Sharon TilleyI can get the shift supervisors to tally it. They'll grumble, but they'll do it.
- Lewis KerrLovely. Let me ask about credit control, since Nigel's on. What's the problem there?
- Nigel FairbrotherMargin leakage, mostly. A client disputes an invoice because they say we missed a patrol, and the person on the phone has no idea whether we did. They go off and find the patrol log, which lives elsewhere. Weeks go by. Cash comes in late. And on contracts priced by the guarding hour, late cash is a real cost.
- Lewis KerrSo the useful question would be something like: for this client, show me the invoice, the disputed month, and the incidents and patrols for that month, together.
- Nigel FairbrotherIn theory, yes. In practice, I've heard the pitch before. Everyone says one view of the customer. Then nobody uses it.
- Lewis KerrUnderstood. And I won't tell you it's magic. It only works if the data underneath is fresh and people ask it questions. So let me ask something about adoption. If this went live, who in your business would genuinely open it every week?
- Sharon TilleyAccount managers, for certain. There are about a dozen of them. The control room supervisors, a handful. Two or three in credit control. And me.
- Nigel FairbrotherAnd me, if it saves my team the dispute chasing. Perhaps.
- Lewis KerrRight. That's several teams, which is why Growth is the tier I'd expect to talk about, rather than Starter. Starter is built for one team. I'll be straight with you though: I won't push an upgrade the usage doesn't support, and I'll check your user and connector numbers against what you've just said before I put anything in writing.
- Nigel FairbrotherGo on then. Roughly what are we talking about money-wise? I'd rather hear a range now than be surprised in a proposal.
- Lewis KerrFair. I don't quote from memory, so treat this as the working figure on the deal rather than a quote. It's £51,600 in total value, which includes the one-off implementation. That's not an annual price, and VAT is on top. I'll send a proper breakdown that separates the implementation from the annual subscription so you can see each part.
- Nigel FairbrotherSo the fifty-one six is not what I pay every year.
- Lewis KerrCorrect. It's the total value of the deal, implementation included. The annual part will be clear in the written proposal. I'd rather you saw both lines than guessed.
- Nigel FairbrotherHm. Fine. I'll want that split before I show it to anyone.
- Sharon TilleyCan I ask about the Snowflake part? Our IT person mentioned it and went a bit pale.
- Lewis KerrHa, understandable. B-Viz is built and run inside your own Snowflake account, so your data doesn't leave your environment. Do you already have a Snowflake account?
- Sharon TilleyWe've started one, I think. A colleague in IT set it up for finance reporting. I'd need to check what's in it.
- Lewis KerrThat's a good starting point, because it might save a step. I'd like our solutions engineer to have a call with your colleague in IT before the demo. Would that be okay?
- Sharon TilleyYes. I'll introduce you. He's cautious, so don't take it personally.
- Nigel FairbrotherGood. Cautious is what I pay him for.
- Lewis KerrHa. Agreed. Let me ask about calls, since you mentioned the recorder. How much do your people use recorded calls today?
- Sharon TilleyControl room calls are recorded for compliance, and nobody listens unless there's a complaint. Account manager calls are patchy. Honestly, a lot of what clients tell us never gets written down anywhere.
- Lewis KerrThat's a common one. So part of the value is simply being able to ask, what did this client tell us last quarter, and get it from the calls, the emails and the tickets in one answer.
- Sharon TilleyThat'd be the account managers' dream. They walk into a review with a client and half the time they're guessing.
- Nigel FairbrotherAnd that, to be blunt, is how we lose contracts. Not on price. On someone feeling ignored.
- Lewis KerrIs there a rival you're weighing this against, or is it do-it-yourself, or nothing?
- Nigel FairbrotherNothing so far. Our own reporting person built a spreadsheet pack, and it's held together with string. I'd call that the current competitor.
- Lewis KerrUnderstood. So the decision isn't B-Viz versus a rival, it's B-Viz versus the string.
- Sharon TilleyHa, put that on the proposal.
- Lewis KerrNow, timing. What are you trying to achieve, and by when? I like to confirm that early.
- Sharon TilleyWe'd like it live before the summer contract reviews, because that's when the account managers are busiest. Nigel?
- Nigel FairbrotherI'm not deciding anything on this call. I need the usage case, the split of that total, and a reference or two. Then I'll take it to the board. If the numbers hold up, I can see a decision by the end of May.
- Lewis KerrThat fits with how we've pencilled it. I've got Thursday 22 May 2025 as the expected close on our side, which leaves room for a demo on your own data, a proposal and your IT review. Does that feel realistic?
- Nigel FairbrotherRealistic, not guaranteed. Board dates move.
- Sharon TilleyAnd I can't commit budget without Nigel, so it's his call at the end. But I'll be pushing.
- Lewis KerrUnderstood, and that's how I'd want it. Let me play back what I've heard, and correct me. Account managers, the control room and credit control can't see a client's sites, incidents, calls and invoices together. Clients hear about incidents elsewhere before you tell them. Disputed invoices drag on because the evidence is scattered. You'd start with five sources and probably add the alarm platform later.
- Sharon TilleySpot on. I'd add that the account managers want to know every site, not just the head office.
- Lewis KerrNoted. Sites as a first-class thing. And for the demo, would you be willing to give us a sample of real data, say one client's history, so we're not showing you something generic?
- Nigel FairbrotherNot a real client's name. Anonymised, or one of ours we have a strong relationship with and who won't mind. Our data protection lead will have views.
- Sharon TilleyI'll ask her. Probably anonymised to start.
- Lewis KerrThat's fine. So the next steps. I'll send a short written summary of this call today, with the questions for IT. Sharon, you'll introduce your colleague in IT and get the supervisors tallying the chases. Nigel, you'd like the split between implementation and the annual subscription, and I'll include that in the proposal stage.
- Nigel FairbrotherAnd the usage evidence. Don't forget that. Who is actually using it at similar companies.
- Lewis KerrYes. I'll bring what I can share without naming other customers. I don't discuss one customer's details with another, but I can show you the pattern, who tends to ask the questions and how often.
- Nigel FairbrotherThat'll do. Right, I've got a meeting. Thank you, Lewis.
- Lewis KerrThanks, Nigel. Speak soon.
- Sharon TilleyHe liked it, you know. That was him being warm.
- Lewis KerrHa, I'll take that. Sharon, anything I haven't asked that I should have?
- Sharon TilleyOnly that I'd like the account managers involved early. If they feel it's something done to them, they won't use it. Let's get them on it.
- Lewis KerrAgreed, and it's exactly the adoption point Nigel is worried about. We can do a short session with a few of them before the demo, if you like.
- Sharon TilleyYes please. Send me some dates.
- Lewis KerrI'll send that over today with the summary. Thanks for your time, Sharon, and good luck with the warehouse client.
- Sharon TilleyThanks, Lewis. Bye for now.
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