We are delighted to announce the launch of the full preview version of The Directors' Centre's new Business Club.
The full service will go on-line mid-January.
In the meantime, we have a preview version that you can sign up for. It is our full test version to make sure that all the technology works and to make sure that we have got the right formula.
The full service will go on-line mid-January.
In the meantime, we have a preview version that you can sign up for. It is our full test version to make sure that all the technology works and to make sure that we have got the right formula.
In return for the free month's subscription we are simply asking for feedback. (Only at the end of the free month will we ask if you wish to subscribe and start taking about credit card details etc.)
We could shout about the 'high value features', 'incredible once-in-a-lifetime free extras' and 'killer benefits' of subscribing but that is not really our style.
At its simplest..., the Business Club is a monthly bulletin full of tools, tips and techniques that will help you to make the decisions and take the actions to grow your business. At £25 per month it will cost you the price of a decent cappuccino and a coffee per week!
To find out more click here, click the 'Join Now' button and use the promotional code "dec09" and you will get free use of the the bulletin
RELEVANT LINKS
The Directors' Centre new Business Club - use the promotional code "dec09"
We could shout about the 'high value features', 'incredible once-in-a-lifetime free extras' and 'killer benefits' of subscribing but that is not really our style.
At its simplest..., the Business Club is a monthly bulletin full of tools, tips and techniques that will help you to make the decisions and take the actions to grow your business. At £25 per month it will cost you the price of a decent cappuccino and a coffee per week!
To find out more click here, click the 'Join Now' button and use the promotional code "dec09" and you will get free use of the the bulletin
RELEVANT LINKS
The Directors' Centre new Business Club - use the promotional code "dec09"
19 comments:
Very neat. Good luck. Probably under-priced.
Andy
Am I right to think that this is hoping to create a community (comments pages suggest this)?
Also reading between the lines you are saying that this is not the final version. There will be more things going on? So this is really more of a taste of what's to come? A tease.
Like the ease of use. Like the no -nonsense approach - it is not spoon-feeding; no outrageous or unsubstantiated claims. Should grow by word of mouth rather than heavy promo activity? Depends on the Robert Craven brand? It doesn't seem to be the Robert Craven show but it has the imprint through most of it. Is it outrageous enough?
Craig Jackson, Durham
Have visited the Business Club pages a couple of times. I agree that it has loads of potential & is pitched about right. All I want is one stunning idea (that I can apply and make money from) per month. Happy to pay for that and know that RC can deliver.
Keen to see how much interaction takes place. I've booked in a call with Robert and am looking for general interaction of like-minded people.
Early days but I am willing to invest in Robert (although not sure where he buys his coffee!).
Potentially this club should lead onto video conferences? seminars? Will we be delaing with RC? Are we all willing to pay?
SW
So, the Club is
- more exclusive/latest/most up-to-date
- more of an inside track, closer to RC
- more specific ie less general ideas
- more focus on real impact
than we could get for reading your blog etc.?
While I do enjoy the blog it is a little random at times. A spate of free offers, or some videos and then an advert for The DC... (maybe I need to go back to your entry on free stuff!)
So, what's the strategy behind it all?
Jerry
I will answer these comments in two replies.
RE the 'random blog' comment.
By its very nature this blog is a bit random. It is a place where I can try things out, where I can share things, where I can get some feedback/response, where I can promote or tell you of what’s going on at The Directors’ Centre. It will continue to serve these functions.
Different readers look for different things at different times but, yes, the blog is a very general conversation, a riff rather than a structured orchestral piece.
I have enjoyed writing it and I thank you all for reading/watching/commenting. Thank you.
Robert
RE The Business Club
Yes it is a taster/tease for what's to come. We need feedback to know what works and doesn't work for subscribers so it will morph and develop with time.
Yes, we try to avoid unsubstantiated claims and maybe out marketing sometimes is a little 'shy' but word-of-mouth + reputation + delivery will grow the subscription rates at a sensible rate.
Maybe it is not outrageous enough. I suspect that if there is a choice between RC being outspoken or seeing real impact in their business that the people will vote for the real impact ticket.
RC will always be there. The blog is written by me (alone). The Club will have my hand behind it but I will not be the coder...
I hope that people know that if they want to talk to me then they should do so directly rc@directorscentre.com
Yes, the Club is about impact and results and working closer with me and the team at The Directors' Centre.
Yes, the future will hopefully include live teleseminars, much more video, more case studies, more interaction, maybe a discussion forum.
I still wait to see what people say that they want.
Robert
As long as the Club prompts me into action then it will be of value.
It will be up to RC to create "provocative materials". By "provocative" I do not mean outrageous but provoking me to do something.
The trial version has already provoked me. I am now reflecting on how best to improve my use of my time. I have fallen into some lazy habits and need to get my board to be more challenging.
"Beat me, Beat me!".
But on a serious note, it is hard to take most of the freebies seriously - you haven't paid (so no great accountability or expectation) and it all seems so get-rich-quick. Maybe if I were a start up then I might get wooed but having been around the block a few time I would rather rub a crushed guinness glass into my eyes.
Meanwhile I think I will give RC a go.
Bill, Dublin
It looks good.
300 quid a year is highly affordable. It is also flexible, as one can use it anywhere with an internet connection, and at any time of the day/day of the week.
So the effects are immediate for finding a solution, providing there will be a sort of index to find a case study etc.
I do have a few questions:
Will you be repeating much of what's in your books and seminars?
How will the information be different? How often will it be updated?
What, typically, are your add-on's and up-sells are going to cost?
Will they be highly modular, or bundled?
What will there be a price incentive for members versus non-members in buying your additional services?
How will members be able to use the information? E.g. What will be the restrictions on using said information/tools to assist another business?
Can consultant members use it freely so long as it's cited, as they can with e.g. your books, HBR, Mckinsey etc?
Can one can join and leave, and rejoin at any given time? What's the incentive for signing up for 1 year/2 years? (There doesn't seem to be one at present).
Where is your automatic non-disclosure agreement for the protection of any information shared with you via your site?
If one takes the cappuccino and pastry analogy literally, can membership lead to weight loss, as well as providing immediate relief from our business symptoms and stress?
over to you, Robert
Andrew
I will answer your questions where I am not compromising any commercial arrangements.
As explained elsewhere we are still in the 'proof of concept' stage making sure the platform is stable and that the content and format is what the majority of people want. Hence the enthusiasm for feedback.
1) Will you be repeating much of what's in your books and seminars? How will the information be different?
- The Business Club will incorporate the RC/DC ‘ology’. Books and seminars can only talk in very general terms whereas the Club seeks to create a closer relationship. The fundamental tenets will not change. What’s different is the delivery mechanism and how the Club Member relates to the material. Businesses are asking to be closer to us (without having a full consultancy relationship), to have more contact and to have us closer to them. The book/seminar format doesn’t allow for that. (One method of creating a closer relationship is the Masterclass and BoardRoom meeting formats. The Club is another way of enabling ‘more’ interaction)
2) How often will it be updated?
- The materials will be formally updated monthly.
3) What, typically, are your add-on's and up-sells are going to cost? Will they be highly modular, or bundled? What will there be a price incentive for members versus non-members in buying your additional services?
- The Club should survive as a stand-alone product. Add-ons and Upsells will come later if appropriate. However the ‘Club’ nature means that we are thinking of what the members want (rather than how we can fleece them for every penny they might have).
Several organizations have approached us about partner/affiliate/sponsorship agreements. While happy to talk we are not prepared to compromise the RC/DC brands.
Currently the modular-bundled and price-incentive questions are not relevant.
3) How will members be able to use the information? E.g. What will be the restrictions on using said information/tools to assist another business? Can consultant members use it freely so long as it's cited, as they can with e.g. your books, HBR, Mckinsey etc?
Legal terms/conditions are being written. Licence conditions will be incorporated. UK copyright law applies.
4) Can one can join and leave, and rejoin at any given time? What's the incentive for signing up for 1 year/2 years?
- Discounted fees for annual membership and payment up-front will be offered.
5) Where is your automatic non-disclosure agreement for the protection of any information shared with you via your site?
- As per No 3, Legal terms/conditions are being written. Licence conditions will be incorporated.
6) If one takes the cappuccino and pastry analogy literally, can membership lead to weight loss, as well as providing immediate relief from our business symptoms and stress?
- For weight loss you need to use the Fat Club analogy – it costs 4.50 per week to go to Slimming World for them to weigh you, give you a diet book and tell you to “eat less and exercise more”.
Cheers
Robert
"The price of everything and the value of nothing"
Anyone who has seen (etc blah yawn) the maestro will know that he can get you where it hurts.
Last year, his comments "How do you eat a frog? Quickly or slowly it makes no difference so you might as well do it quickly" were not 100% original but these words create the death knell for two of my employees. The best thing I did all year. I never did say thanks to RC - so "Thank you!"
Re Andrew's comments on confidentiality, I wouldn't have been so forthcoming on the above if I were actually 'Bill Murphy'. In an online environment you can never trust the invisible viewers/voyeurs 100% and so we either use assumed names or are economic with the truth. Neither is too clever. Sometimes nothing can beat face-to-face, one-to-one meetings
So the Robert Craven/DC way of doing things is at the centre and 'membership' gets us closer to you guys? Fine by me.
Thanks for the feedback. Keep it coming at rc@directorscentre.com
Will distribute this to my hotel managers. After all they are in effect running their own businesses.
Lots of resonance (for me) with the service/hospitality sector.
Peter
Like Peter I will be spreading the word.
It is not rocket science (little of what Craven does is) but it looks like it will cover the fundamentals in an uncomplicated and simple manner (without the patronising tone of the start-up or the over-self-hyped so-called gurus (but please let's not start on what a guru is!))
Good Luck
So the Robert Craven/DC way of doing things is at the centre and 'membership' gets us closer to you guys? Fine by me.
It looks good.
300 quid a year is highly affordable. It is also flexible, as one can use it anywhere with an internet connection, and at any time of the day/day of the week.
So the effects are immediate for finding a solution, providing there will be a sort of index to find a case study etc.
I do have a few questions:
Will you be repeating much of what's in your books and seminars?
How will the information be different? How often will it be updated?
What, typically, are your add-on's and up-sells are going to cost?
Will they be highly modular, or bundled?
What will there be a price incentive for members versus non-members in buying your additional services?
How will members be able to use the information? E.g. What will be the restrictions on using said information/tools to assist another business?
Can consultant members use it freely so long as it's cited, as they can with e.g. your books, HBR, Mckinsey etc?
Can one can join and leave, and rejoin at any given time? What's the incentive for signing up for 1 year/2 years? (There doesn't seem to be one at present).
Where is your automatic non-disclosure agreement for the protection of any information shared with you via your site?
If one takes the cappuccino and pastry analogy literally, can membership lead to weight loss, as well as providing immediate relief from our business symptoms and stress?
RE The Business Club
Yes it is a taster/tease for what's to come. We need feedback to know what works and doesn't work for subscribers so it will morph and develop with time.
Yes, we try to avoid unsubstantiated claims and maybe out marketing sometimes is a little 'shy' but word-of-mouth + reputation + delivery will grow the subscription rates at a sensible rate.
Maybe it is not outrageous enough. I suspect that if there is a choice between RC being outspoken or seeing real impact in their business that the people will vote for the real impact ticket.
RC will always be there. The blog is written by me (alone). The Club will have my hand behind it but I will not be the coder...
I hope that people know that if they want to talk to me then they should do so directly rc@directorscentre.com
Yes, the Club is about impact and results and working closer with me and the team at The Directors' Centre.
Yes, the future will hopefully include live teleseminars, much more video, more case studies, more interaction, maybe a discussion forum.
I still wait to see what people say that they want.
Robert
So, the Club is
- more exclusive/latest/most up-to-date
- more of an inside track, closer to RC
- more specific ie less general ideas
- more focus on real impact
than we could get for reading your blog etc.?
While I do enjoy the blog it is a little random at times. A spate of free offers, or some videos and then an advert for The DC... (maybe I need to go back to your entry on free stuff!)
So, what's the strategy behind it all?
Jerry
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