Trial and Discount Authority¶
Authority matrix — what you can do without asking¶
The call center has full tactical autonomy inside this envelope. Anything outside this envelope, escalate to Airwai.
| Offer | Authority |
|---|---|
| ✅ Full autonomy | Can offer at the caller's discretion, no approval needed |
| ⚠️ Escalate | Route through Airwai before offering |
| ❌ Prohibited | Do not offer; will undermine the engagement |
Free tier offers¶
| Offer | Authority |
|---|---|
| ✅ | Free tier access (always available on App Store) |
| ✅ | 30-day Pro trial, no card required |
| ✅ | Extend trial by up to 30 more days if customer has active engagement |
| ✅ | Convert Free user to 1-month Pro free (use this generously) |
| ⚠️ | Extend trial beyond 60 total days |
| ❌ | Open-ended Pro access (this is a free-Pro account, not a trial) |
Discount offers¶
| Offer | Authority |
|---|---|
| ✅ | 20% off annual prepay (Pro $230/yr, Team $403/seat/yr) |
| ✅ | 10% off monthly Pro for first 3 months |
| ✅ | 1 month free on annual prepay (effectively 8.3% off) |
| ⚠️ | More than 20% off annual prepay (margin floor) |
| ⚠️ | More than 3 months at any monthly discount |
| ⚠️ | Multi-year discount lock (2yr, 3yr) |
| ❌ | "Lifetime" deals |
| ❌ | Below-cost pricing |
Margin floor: the discount may not drive realized revenue per seat below 70% of list. This is the constraint that absorbs your commission as well — the floor is calculated before your commission is paid out.
Refund offers¶
| Offer | Authority |
|---|---|
| ✅ | Full refund within 14 days of purchase |
| ✅ | Pro-rated refund for technical defects we couldn't fix |
| ⚠️ | Refund after 14 days (case-by-case) |
| ⚠️ | Refund for "we changed our mind" after 30 days |
| ❌ | Refund of a previous annual term + reinstate as Free |
Contract / terms offers¶
| Offer | Authority |
|---|---|
| ✅ | Standard click-through ToS on Pro / Team |
| ✅ | Stripe-issued invoice for customer records |
| ⚠️ | MSA (Master Services Agreement) — Enterprise lane |
| ⚠️ | DPA (Data Processing Addendum) — escalate for review |
| ⚠️ | Custom termination terms |
| ❌ | Modifying the ToS itself |
| ❌ | Non-standard liability terms |
| ❌ | Non-standard IP terms |
Federal customer offers¶
| Offer | Authority |
|---|---|
| ✅ | Pro / Team sold to federal employee on corporate card (micro-purchase under $15K) |
| ✅ | Pro / Team annual prepay to federal customer via Stripe invoice |
| ⚠️ | Federal customer requires formal solicitation (RFP, GSA Schedule, etc.) |
| ⚠️ | Federal customer requires FAR clauses, FedRAMP, ITAR / CMMC |
| ⚠️ | Federal customer asks for the Rig (escalate AND earn +5% commission on close) |
How to use the discount authority¶
Default: don't lead with discount¶
The first ask in every pricing conversation is the list price. Discount is a tool for closing, not a tool for opening. If you lead with "I can give you 20% off," you've devalued the product before they've considered it. Save the discount for the moment it actually unlocks the close.
When to use 1-month-free conversion¶
Best for: Free-tier users who've been using the product but haven't converted to Pro.
"I see you've been on the Free tier for 6 weeks and you've already hit the cap twice. Let me give you Pro for a month, free, no commitment. If after that month you don't see the value, drop back to Free, no harm. Sound right?"
When to use 20% annual prepay discount¶
Best for: prospects who are converting but hesitating on commitment length.
"Two paths — monthly Pro at $29 a month, or annual prepay at $230. The annual discount comes from us not having to renew you every month; pass-through savings. Most of my customers pick annual once they know they're staying."
When to use deferred billing (escalate)¶
Best for: federal customers in FY transition or budget-cycle constrained orgs.
This is an Airwai-approved exception. Escalate to Amir, confirm the deferred-billing terms, then make the offer.
When to escalate¶
The rule of thumb: if the customer is asking for something that's listed under ⚠️ above, escalate to Airwai before agreeing. It is faster to escalate and get a decision in 24 hours than to make a promise the company can't honor.
Escalation channel: see operations/airwai-points-of-contact.md.
Margin floor — the actual math¶
The 70% margin floor on Pro/Team means:
- Pro list: $288/yr. Floor: $202/yr realized after discount.
- Team list: $504/seat/yr. Floor: $353/seat/yr realized after discount.
Your commission is paid out of the gap between list and floor. The wider the discount you give, the smaller your commission per deal. The discount-vs-commission tradeoff is yours to make tactically; the floor is hard.
Where the 70% comes from: Airwai's app COGS (App Store cut, Stripe processing fees, ArcGIS push infrastructure, customer-support cost amortized, hosting amortized) is approximately 20% of revenue. Sales commission is approximately 10% of revenue. Below 70% realized, the unit economics break.
If a deal requires going below the floor to close, escalate. It's not "you're not allowed to give a bigger discount"; it's "Airwai needs to be in the room for that decision because the company is taking a margin hit." Sometimes that's the right call (strategic accounts, lighthouse customers, federal pilots). Always Airwai's call.
Trial activation mechanics¶
When you've closed someone on a 30-day Pro trial:
- In product: the customer installs LAIRA from the App Store, signs in, and in Settings → Subscription chooses "Start Pro Trial." 30-day clock starts.
- In HubSpot: log the deal as "Trial — Pro 30 day." Set a follow-up task for Day 7, Day 14, Day 21, Day 26.
- In Stripe: no Stripe action required for trial — the trial is in-product, not Stripe.
- In your calendar: Day 26 is the call to close. Don't let trials expire without a conversion conversation.
When the trial converts (or doesn't): - Converted to annual prepay: Stripe processes the charge, HubSpot deal moves to "Closed Won," commission calculation kicks off. - Converted to monthly: Same as above; subscription set up in Stripe with monthly billing. - Didn't convert: HubSpot deal moves to "Closed Lost" with reason code. Auto-drop to Free tier in product; the customer keeps everything they scanned during the trial.
Special case: Rig conversion commission¶
If a customer you originated converts to a Rig deal (vehicle-mounted, $150K–$400K ACV), you earn an additional 5% commission on the Rig deal value in addition to your standard commission on the app deal.
How it works: 1. You originate the app customer. 2. During an upgrade conversation, you flag Rig signals (vehicle volume, federal scope, AEC enterprise account). 3. You escalate to Amir Emadi via airwai-points-of-contact.md. 4. Amir runs the Rig sales process. You stay in the loop as the originator. 5. On Rig close, you receive 5% of the first-year Rig ACV as a bonus commission. On a $300K Rig deal, that's $15K to your team.
This is a meaningful incentive. Flag Rig signals aggressively.