Sprotbrough Recruitment / BG-Demo – Discovery
Callcompleted
Sprotbrough Recruitment · 17 May 2023 14:00
Operations Director Donna Wragg wants consultants to stop flicking between a CRM, Xero and a spreadsheet. Managing Director Terry Hinchcliffe focused on cost: Starter was quoted at £26k for the first year, implementation included.
What was said
What this says
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Operations Director Donna Wragg wants consultants to stop flicking between a CRM, Xero and a spreadsheet. Managing Director Terry Hinchcliffe focused on cost: Starter was quoted at £26k for the first year, implementation included.
What happened: Nell Ashcombe ran discovery with Donna and Terry. Donna described roles, placements and invoices split across a CRM, Xero and a back-office spreadsheet.
Customer view: Donna wants it simple for consultants and will not accept a week of training. Terry asked whether they could build it themselves, then said what he wants: consultants on the phones, not in spreadsheets.
Commercial: Nell pitched Starter at £26k, the all-in first-year figure with implementation, and said it is not an annual price. Terry said he would think about it, and no timing was given beyond a proposal.
Watch: Candidate details are sensitive, so the start is narrow: roles, placements and invoices. The call does not show an outcome, and Nell aimed to settle by 17 Jul 2023.
Themes
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Theme
New prospect discovery, pricing
Importance
neutral
Sentiment
neutral
Voice
decision-maker
Who was there
BG-Demo
CRMmade from
Them
CRMmade from
Follow-up
Next steps
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Donna Wragg to send Nell Ashcombe the five or six most common consultant questions by the end of the week.
- Nell Ashcombe to build the demo on Sprotbrough's own data around those questions.
- Nell Ashcombe to send Terry Hinchcliffe a short written note on price, with timing confirmed in the proposal.
Risks
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Terry is price-led and answered the quote with only that he would think about it.
- Terry considered building it in-house, which Nell countered by saying such builds go stale.
- Donna will drop anything that slows consultants down, and candidate data needs careful scoping.
Opportunities
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- A demo on their own data built around the consultants' most common questions can show the time saved.
- Starting narrow on roles, placements and invoices fits the Starter tier and keeps the first step simple.
Transcript
Nell AshcombeHello, Donna. Hello, Terry. Good afternoon. Can you both hear me?
Donna WraggHiya, Nell. Yep, loud and clear. Terry's just sat down, he's wrestling with the camera.
Terry HinchcliffeI'm here. Can you see me? No. Hang on. There.- Nell AshcombeI can see you. Thanks for the time, both of you. Before we start, what do you each need to leave this call with?
- Terry HinchcliffeWhat's it costing us? That's mine. Rest is Donna's.
- Donna WraggHa. Right. Well, I'll start with what the consultants moan about, because that's why I asked for this. They've got the roles in one place, the placements in another, and the invoices somewhere else. When a client rings, they're flicking between three things.
- Nell AshcombeWhich three, roughly? I'd like to know what you've actually got.
- Donna WraggA CRM for the clients and roles. Then the accounts side is Xero. And the placements are in a spreadsheet, honestly, that the back office keeps. It's not pretty.
- Nell AshcombeThat's more common than you'd think. And the calls with clients, are those recorded anywhere, or just notes?
- Donna WraggNotes, mostly. Some of the consultants put them in the CRM. Some don't. Which client is that, is what I get asked, and nobody can say quickly.
- Nell AshcombeSo the real question is what a consultant needs to know before picking up the phone to a client.
- Donna WraggExactly that. What roles they've got open, who we've put forward, whether they've paid us, and whether they're about to rebook. Clients who rebook, that's the business.
- Terry HinchcliffeCould we do it ourselves? Get someone to build it?
- Nell AshcombeYou could try, Terry, and some people do. In my experience it works for a few months, then whoever built it moves on, or one of the three systems changes, and it quietly goes out of date. I'd rather say that now than have you find out later.
- Terry HinchcliffeMm. Fair.
- Nell AshcombeWhat we do is connect those sources into one layer, running in your own Snowflake account, so the data stays yours. Then a consultant can ask a plain question and get an answer from all three at once.
- Donna WraggPlain question like what?
- Nell AshcombeSomething like, what's open for this client, who have we sent them, and is anything unpaid. What would B-Viz say? Is the shape of it. You'd see it in the demo on your own data, I wouldn't show you something made up.
- Donna WraggThat's the bit I like. Does it save my lot time, though? That's what I need to know. They won't use anything that slows them down.
- Nell AshcombeFair challenge. I can't promise it until we've seen it on your data. What I'd suggest is that we pick a handful of the questions your consultants ask most, and test those, and you judge it on that.
- Donna WraggYeah. Keep it simple for the consultants. If they need training for a week, no.
- Nell AshcombeUnderstood. It's chat and search. If someone can use a search box, they can use this.
- Terry HinchcliffeRight. Cost, then. What are we talking about?
- Nell AshcombeFor a team your size, I'd be looking at our Starter tier. The deal as it stands is £25,500. That's the all-in figure for the first year, with the one-off implementation included. It's not an annual price, so I want to be clear about that.
- Terry HinchcliffeTwenty-five and a half. For the first year.
- Nell AshcombeYes, including setting it up. After that it's the subscription on its own, which is lower. I'll put it in writing so it's not a number you have to remember.
- Terry HinchcliffeI'll think about it.
- Donna WraggHe always says that. It means he'll ask me forty questions after.
- Terry HinchcliffeProbably.
- Nell AshcombeThat's fine. I'd expect it. Can I ask what would make it worth it for you, Terry? Not what it costs. What would you want to see change?
- Terry HinchcliffeConsultants on the phones, not in spreadsheets. More placements out of the same people. I don't want to hire more admin.
- Nell AshcombeGood, that's concrete. And one thing I should ask both of you. Who looks after the spreadsheet, and the connections to the CRM and Xero? Because someone needs to be our contact for setting this up.
- Donna WraggThat's me, with someone from the back office. I'll check who. I don't want it landing on someone who's already drowning.
- Nell AshcombeSensible. And is there anything you wouldn't want us to touch? Anything private, candidate details, that sort of thing?
- Donna WraggCandidate details, yes, we'd want to be careful. I'd need to think which bits the consultants actually need. Most of it they don't.
- Nell AshcombeThen we start narrow. Roles, placements and invoices, and add more only if you ask. Simpler for everyone.
- Donna WraggI like that.
- Terry HinchcliffeHow long before it's running? We're not waiting months.
- Nell AshcombeI don't want to give you a date I haven't earned yet. Starter implementations are the shortest we do, and I'll confirm the exact timing in the proposal. What I can say is the demo comes first, so you'd see it working before you commit to anything.
- Terry HinchcliffeFine.
- Nell AshcombeSo, next steps. Donna, send me the five or six questions your consultants ask most. I'll build the demo around those, on your own data. Terry, I'll send you a short note on price, nothing long.
- Terry HinchcliffeShort. Good.
- Donna WraggI'll get you the questions by the end of the week. And I'll find out who in the back office can help.
- Nell AshcombePerfect. We're aiming to have this settled by 17 Jul 2023, but there's no pressure on that. Thanks, both. Best, Nell.
- Donna WraggTa, Nell. Speak soon.
- Terry HinchcliffeCheers.
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