Delta since last FC
Moved Discovery → Proposal. Workshop debrief (Feb 12, 13 attendees) — 6 use cases prioritized from 21. New pricing model: hybrid platform fee + reduced credits with T-shirt caps. Dave endorsed bottom-up ROI.
Feb 13 sync with Jen: three blockers identified before pricing can go out: (1) FDE classification, (2) integration assumptions, (3) use case prioritization.
Vendor approval is top risk — Dave says 1+ month, zero visibility into approvers. Deb Brines (senior) attended Feb 12 = buying signal. Betsey & Dave collaborating better.
Path to Close / Contracts
Resolve 3 blockers (FDE, integrations, use cases) → present pricing → ROI finalized →
vendor approval (1+ month, opaque) → architecture review → procurement → contract. Jen engaging Andrew Jaworski (VP, Dave's boss) via Patrick West to accelerate vendor approval.
EB: Dave Morgan (budget via arch review). Deb Brines attended. Andrew Jaworski (VP) → Andreas Wetterwald (SVP CIO).
Champ: Betsey — growing, excited. Dave — strong but demanding, interpersonal friction internally.
Paper: FDE classification critical — if IT Services, triggers separate SOW. Conor resolving via Suzanne.
Compete: Dan Matthews (Expert Services) fixing Workfront preview — internal competing solution.
Risks
- Vendor approval opaque and slow — 1+ month, previous Oct approval still not through
- FDE services classification could trigger separate SOW/procurement track
- Dave's internal relationships may slow approval (people don't respond to him)
Next Steps This Week
- ROI working session with Mark, Dave, Betsey — Feb 19, 3:30 PM ET — Conor
- Clarify FDE classification (services vs. Advanced) with Suzanne — Conor
- Andrew Jaworski intro for vendor approval acceleration via Patrick West — Jen
Ask: (1) FDE classification from Suzanne — deal-shaping. (2) Credit rollover policy — deal-blocker per Dave.
Delta since last FC
No movement Stage updated Discovery → Proposal in CRM, but
no client contact in 34 days. Only activity was internal handoff from Cuneyt Jan 14. Matt was to email Evan introducing Conor and propose NYC onsite — unconfirmed if it happened. Credit usage dropped post-December workshops.
Path to Close / Contracts
Confirm Matt's intro went out → NYC onsite with Evan + Lauren's Opal team → define POC use cases (content operations) → POC execution → Ryan approves → Liana/Liz for budget.
No forward motion without intro confirmation.
EB: Liana (CMS/martech), Ryan Schaaf (AI budget), Liz Matthews/Jerry Tunnel (CMO) for larger investment.
Champ: Evan Greenbaum — responsive when engaged, 34 days dark.
Metrics: 10% YoY marketing spend reduction (CMO mandate). Adobe Gen Studio failed 6-month POC.
Compete: Jasper (incumbent, paying), NA10/Nateen, Adobe Gen Studio (failed).
Risks
- 34 days dark — risk of losing December workshop momentum entirely
- POC use cases never defined — no forward motion without this
Next Steps This Week
- Confirm Matt's intro email status — Conor
- If not sent: send intro directly + propose NYC onsite — Conor + Matt
Ask: Need Matt Emerson Payne confirmation. If intro didn't happen, deal is effectively dead.
Delta since last FC
New to forecast. Internal alignment (Feb 17) with Optimizely + Valtech.
$100K budget approved, paperwork targeting
March 7 signature. Deal quoted on legacy credit model —
packaging mismatch: workflow agents require Advanced tier (exceeds $100K), needs offline resolution this week. Valtech has 2.5-year relationship; Jared Wooden to ride along on FDE onboarding. Use case workshop with Meg's team Thursday Feb 19.
Path to Close / Contracts
Resolve packaging (legacy credits → Advanced tier) this week → Jared's use case workshop Thu Feb 19 → Meg moves paperwork through approvals → Dan champions → Jack Smith (CIO) final sign-off.
Avoid triggering Frank Amato (AI governance). Budget cap $125K before board required.
EB: Jack Smith (CIO). Budget cap ~$125K. Very cost-conscious.
Champ: Dan (marketing, "got giddy" at demo). Meg (moves paperwork, open to workshops).
Paper: In flight. Legacy quote needs translation to new tiers. March 7 target.
Compete: MS Copilot (low adoption, ~20 users). RWS (broken). Crawford (expensive).
Use Cases (Prioritized)
- Pre-flight compliance checks
- Disclosure/disclaimer automation
- Compliance delta identification
- PDF compilation for FINRA (manual today — quick win)
- Translation (replace RWS — cost savings)
Risks
- Packaging mismatch is critical path — legacy credits vs. Advanced tier, must resolve this week
- Frank Amato (AI governance, "Athena" marketplace) could slow/block if pulled in
- Don't surface ODP/CMP/Content Recs underutilization to CIO office
Next Steps This Week
- Resolve packaging: old credits → new tiers, FDE inclusion — Conor + Krista
- Use case workshop with Meg's team — Jared Wooden, Thursday Feb 19
- Technical deep-dive on CMS 12 custom tools — James + Jared + Conor
- Share Opal packaging one-pager with Valtech — Conor
Ask: Packaging resolution is critical path. Need Conor + Krista offline decision this week.
Delta since last FC
Major movement. 3-hour onsite at Zoom HQ (Feb 10), 6 attendees, highly engaged. David Tice surfaced content approval bottleneck as primary pain.
Lenny (chief officer) asked about content audit — exec demand signal. Post-workshop debrief (Feb 11): $250K bundle proposed (Opal + Web Exp + Premium Support). Pragya receptive, won't commit on price. Menu A/B/C requested. FDE assignment needed. Vi presentation targeted early March.
Path to Close / Contracts
Deliver menu A/B/C pricing → assign FDE → pilot completion by end of Feb (credits expire) → executive summary assembly →
dedicated Vi meeting early March → budget approval. Pragya coaching positioning for Vi.
EB: Vi — needs pilot data + case studies. Lenny adds second exec thread.
Champ: Pragya Singh — strong. Planning internal strategy, coaching on Vi positioning.
Metrics: SEO tool consolidation (6+ tools), 17K pages unaudited, $250K bundle anchored.
Compete: Incumbent SEO tools (Lumar, AHREF, Screaming Frog, etc.). Consolidation play.
Risks
- Free credits expire end of Feb — hard deadline for pilot
- Budget optimization environment — "a lot of optimizations happening"
Next Steps This Week
- Deliver menu A/B/C pricing — Conor
- FDE assignment + intro to Zoom — Conor + James
- Forward Mark Wakelin data requirements to Pragya — Conor
Ask: FDE assignment this week — pilot timeline is tight.
Delta since last FC — MAJOR UPDATE (Feb 17 call)
CMO Michelle expanded evaluation from Opal-only ($230K) to full Optimizely suite (CMS, experimentation, CMP, DAM). She wants a 2-3 year platform consolidation vision, not a point AI solution.
Writer, Jasper, Copy.ai being put on hold or eliminated — Dor: “I’m deeper evaluating Optimizely and putting the rest on hold.”
Adobe is now the primary competitor (full suite, owns Marketo). NiCE current stack: WordPress (CMS), AB Tasty (A/B testing), Monday.com (PM, just signed), Marketo + Salesforce (staying). Everything else is fair game. Timeline shifted — Dor says end of March / end of April is fine. Kevin Li (SVP Product Strategy) introduced and positioned for full platform conversation. Nikhin (MarTech) joined call — needs full portfolio understanding. Dor wants to bring Michelle directly to a subsequent demo.
Path to Close / Contracts
1-hour full suite discovery with Nikhin (this week) → DAM deep-dive session → demo with CMO Michelle directly → Nikhin validates what Optimizely replaces + quantifies savings → Michelle presents to Scott (CEO) for broader investment.
Opal can still close standalone for 2026 while setting up full suite for 2027+. EB path: Dor → Michelle (CMO, <1yr at NiCE, based in DC) → Arun (COO) → Scott (CEO). In-person DC demo possible (VP of CMS Product is DC-based).
EB: Michelle (CMO) now directly engaged — driving expansion. <1yr at NiCE, building 3-4yr vision. DC-based.
Champ: Dor — strongest yet. Putting competitors on hold, managing CMO relationship, offering to bring Michelle to demo.
Metrics: $230K Opal standalone. Full suite upside significant (replace WordPress, AB Tasty, Monday.com). Nikhin to quantify savings.
Compete: Adobe (full suite, owns Marketo). Writer/Jasper/Copy.ai on hold. Writer liked but most expensive.
Risks
- Full suite evaluation could extend timeline beyond Q1 — Dor says Mar/Apr acceptable
- Adobe as full-suite competitor is a different fight than point AI tools
- Michelle could revert to “find the endpoint solution” if suite doesn't make sense
Next Steps This Week
- Schedule 1-hour full suite discovery with Nikhin + Dor — Conor + Matt (ASAP)
- Schedule dedicated DAM deep-dive — Conor
- Bring value consultant (Mark Wakelin) to discovery for ROI modeling — Conor
- Prepare full Optimizely One overview with pricing ranges — Conor + Matt + Kevin
- Internal alignment on standalone Opal vs. bundled suite pricing strategy — Conor + Matt
Ask: Internal pricing strategy needed — how to position Opal standalone close for 2026 while framing full suite for 2027+. This is an upsell opportunity, not a delay risk, if managed correctly.
Delta since last FC
New to forecast. Feb 12 onsite — Opal + POC results + value consulting with Deepa. POC validated (no flicker, variant persistence, multi-locale, AEM integration).
Value: $6.86M Y1 / $26.74M 3Y. Feb 13 sync: Logitech runs Svelte (SPA) — Node.js SDK bundles directly, sub-ms decisions.
Warehouse-native CDP replacement resonated strongly with Deepa: “Get rid of Salesforce CDP?” Bucketing persistence issue from POC still unresolved — SE mishandled, Conor taking over.
Path to Close / Contracts
Resolve bucketing persistence (15-30 min fix) → answer Deepa's SDK perf question → position CDP replacement narrative → AI Approval process (status unknown) → align with Deepa (VP/EB) on pricing & timeline → vendor selection → pilot completion Apr 1.
EB: Not confirmed. Deepa is Director. VP mentioned for pricing flex but not named.
Champ: Deepa Shekhar — "feeling pretty good" post-onsite. Showing champion behavior.
Metrics: $6.86M Y1 / $26.74M 3Y. $119M digital revenue in scope. Performance paramount.
Compete: LaunchDarkly, Statsig, Adobe Target (failed — bad tests hurt revenue).
Risks
- AI Approval process — status unknown
- Bucketing persistence unresolved — SE gatekeeping internal expert
- AI Approval process status unknown
Next Steps This Week
- Loop in technical expert for bucketing fix — Conor
- Send warehouse-native audience sync one-pager — Conor
- Answer Deepa's SDK architecture question — Conor
Ask: Bucketing persistence = 15-30 min fix blocked by SE dynamics. Conor taking ownership.
Delta since last FC
Feb 17 sync: deal
"getting dicey" for Q1. arrivia team flaky on scheduling. Caleb forecasting best-case, not commit. Core use case: custom AI experimentation agent (Microsoft Clarity + data warehouse → auto-construct experiments). Agreed to broaden demo to full experimentation lifecycle. ROI: eliminates need to hire experimentation staff. Full deal $175K ($197K to customer), CRM shows $70K Opal component only. Upsell potential to Advanced.
Path to Close / Contracts
Discovery call with Maurvin → broadened Opal demo for leadership (Forrest + Ganesh) → vendor selection. Caleb copying Ganesh to apply top-down pressure. Existing MSA = faster contracting vs. new Statsig deal.
Must get Forrest/Ganesh on demo or deal won't close Q1.
EB: Distributed. Ganesh (CPTO), Forrest (decision maker), Jared Kimball (SVP, exp budget).
Champ: Weak. Maurvin "struggles to get priority internally."
Metrics: Cost avoidance on experimentation headcount. Traffic aggregation across brands.
Compete: Statsig only. Opal AI agent is category differentiator they can't match.
Risks
- Champion weak — Maurvin cannot mobilize internally
- arrivia unresponsive on scheduling
- Leadership not on recent calls — must get Forrest + Ganesh on demo
Next Steps This Week
- Schedule discovery call with Maurvin — Caleb (Tue/Wed)
- Investigate Opal heat map integration — Conor
- Get Conor + James on next call — Caleb
- Apply leadership pressure for Forrest + Ganesh on demo — Caleb
Ask: Heat map integration answer from Opal product. Forrest/Ganesh on demo or this doesn't close Q1.
Delta since last FC
Corrected: Salesforce has
not gone silent. Team has created an exec readout that is
very promising for a notable purchase. Scheduling the readout for the week after next due to vacations. EB likely
Barry Cusumano with exact exec connections up to the CMO. Pilot progress is on track (Nol testing workflow agents + scheduler).
Path to Close / Contracts
Exec readout (week of Mar 2) → FY27 budget request. Readout content is very promising. Exec connections confirmed up to CMO.
Timing is the only constraint — vacation schedules pushing readout by one week.
EB: Likely Barry Cusumano. Exact exec connections up to the CMO confirmed.
Champ: Brandon Brackett — engaged, driving exec readout assembly.
Metrics: 120 experiments FY26 (2x goal). Sole developer (Nol) after RIF.
Compete: None. AgentForce exists but seen as different.
Risks
- Value not yet scoped — deal size TBD until exec readout
- Vacation timing pushing readout by ~1 week
Next Steps This Week
- Confirm exec readout scheduling for week of Mar 2 — Conor + Brandon
- Confirm Slack Connect access for James — Conor
Ask: None — readout is assembled and promising. Timing is the only variable.