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90-day Cell trial vs long SOW
A long SOW asks you to believe the pitch. A 90-day no-invoice Cell trial asks you to measure the bench on real queues before invoices lock in. Prefer proof under load over pilot theater staffed to impress.
August 16, 2026·9 min read
Side-by-side
| Dimension | Long SOW first | 90-day Cell trial |
|---|---|---|
| Risk placement | Buyer believes the pitch | Seller proves on real work |
| Staffing incentive | A-team in pitch, rotate later | Bench must earn the keep |
| Best use | After operating proof | Front door to Cell Ops |
| Failure mode | Locked into wrong partner | Measures politics if no owner |
| RHG default | After trial earns it | Cell Ops commercial front door |
Why trials beat pilot theater
Pilots often get the A-team for six weeks and the B-team forever. A 90-day no-invoice window flips the incentive: the Cell has to be worth keeping on real work, with real queues, under real stakeholders, not a sandbox demo nobody uses.
One-week onboarding matters for the same reason. If it takes six weeks to get credentials and context, you are already paying for ramp in lost calendar time even when invoices are paused.
What long SOWs optimize for
Procurement likes neat multi-year comparisons. SFMC does not reward neat comparisons. Fixed bids distort incentives toward “done on paper.” Hypercare becomes a paid surprise. Named people in the pitch are not the people in month four.
Long SOWs can still be right when scope is truly stable and you have already measured the partner. They are wrong as a substitute for operating proof.
What to measure in 90 days
Write measures in week one. Do not invent success criteria on day eighty-nine.
- Time-to-first meaningful send or journey change
- Queue health and reopen rates
- Whether specialists stayed the same people week to week
- Whether cross-skilling shows up as fewer throw-overs
- Whether after-hours ownership is real when something breaks
- Whether marketing leadership would keep the bench without a discount
What “good” looks like by day thirty and ninety
By day thirty: named specialists who feel familiar in standups, at least one meaningful ship or journey fix in production, clear view of queue health. If you are still waiting on access, the clock is measuring your readiness more than theirs.
By day sixty: continuity is obvious, fewer mystery escalations, launch path that does not need a program manager to translate between vendors. By day ninety: leadership can answer keep/cancel without a workshop.
Misuse patterns
Do not fill the trial with science projects nobody will maintain. Do not hide the Cell from stakeholders and then claim collaboration failed. Do not evaluate only on hours logged. Do not run a parallel body shop “just in case” without telling anyone.
No-invoice does not mean undefined scope. Agree the lane: which queues, which systems, which success measures. Put it in writing even if money does not move yet.
Long SOW can wait until
- You already measured the partner on real queues
- Scope and owners are stable
- Procurement policy blocks a trial structure
Start with a 90-day trial when
- You have been burned by pilot theater
- Continuity risk is the buying fear
- You can name a painful visible queue and an owner
- You want keep/cancel based on operating proof
FAQ
Does no-invoice mean no commitment from us?
You still need access and an owner. Commercial risk sits with RHG. Operational risk is shared.
What happens after day 90?
If the Cell earned the keep, you continue under normal terms. If not, you walk. That is the point.
Can we trial a single specialist instead of a Cell?
Sometimes via Coverage. If your pain is handoffs across data, email, and journeys, a single seat will not prove the model you need.
Keep reading
Next step
Talk to the Cell
Bring a painful queue, a stalled Data Cloud activation, or a staffing RFP. We will tell you which offer fits.