The price moment

Say the price late, after the buyer has seen Holly drafting for someone in their role (see the discovery and demo chapter). Plainly, once. State the band open today. State £250 Standard only when the buyer asks what happens after 31 December or asks about Standard (pack lead ruling, 19 October 2026). Never use "list price", "typical price" or "standard price" as an anchor phrase; say "Standard" as the plan's name only. Opening on Standard to anchor is parked.

Say

"We're in the founding period, so the band that's open today is [band and price: for example Spark, at sixty nine pounds, if Spark is still open], a person a month. Everything is in that, including Holly. The rate you come in at is the rate you keep for as long as you stay subscribed."

Only if they ask what happens after 31 December, or about Standard:

Say

"From 1 January, new customers come in at Standard: two hundred and fifty pounds a person a month, coming down in stages for very large teams."

Pause. Count three seconds. Let them speak first.

Why the founding rate exists#

Say

"Honestly? You're getting a better rate because you're using it early and helping shape it. This is the launch build, so there will be rough edges, and when you find one you've got a direct line to the people building it. The better rate is the trade for that. It isn't a sale and it isn't a trick."

The two things that set the price#

Say this once, when the buyer asks how long they have. Never as a closing squeeze.

Say

"Two things set the price, and neither of them is me. Founding rates close on 31 December, or when the band fills, whichever comes first. And each band is 250 seats with a team counting fully, so one company can close a band on its own. I genuinely can't tell you which happens first.

For a team of [n], coming in at [the open band] rather than [the next band] is [figure from the gap table] a year, every year you stay. That's the only reason to move quickly. If the timing is wrong for you, it's wrong for you, and I'd rather you said so."

Example, Spark open: ten seats, against Ignition, £2,400 a year. If Velocity is open, drop the second paragraph.

The deadline and counter rules#

1. 31 December never moves, and founding pricing never reappears under another name (CAP Code rule 8.17.4.e).
2. Seats remaining come only from live billing, read that day, said with the time. The ASA upheld a complaint against "Only 14 tickets remaining" when 44 of 50 remained, though the cause was a system error (CluedUpp Games, 22 November 2023).
3. No adjectives about scarcity. A closed band stays closed. Standard is the price that will apply, never a "was" price.

Business sales fall under the BPRs 2008 and the CAP Code (which covers anything written, including quote emails). A false "limited time" claim to a consumer is a banned practice (Schedule 20, DMCC Act 2024), and a sole trader could be a consumer, so sell to everyone as if the consumer standard applies. (Research summary, not legal advice; Karl to confirm.)

Say

"The founding bands are real: 250 seats each, sold in order, and they don't reopen. The date doesn't move either. If I've got a live number from billing I'll give it to you, with the time I read it. If I haven't, I won't make one up."