What is it that you want to grow your business?
Seminars, workshops, books and articles are all “good stuff” but do they really help you significantly grow your sales, profits cash and business value?
I suspect the answer is a big 'NO!'.
The real way to grow your business is for you to take action, massive action. It is to that end that we are focusing our energy.
We’d love to hear about what you are looking for.
So, add your comment below or feel free to email or phone me rc@directorscentre.com 01225 851044
So, what is it that YOU want?
RELEVANT LINKS
* What Next After Business Link?
* Its Free And It Can Help Your Business... Whatever!!!
* What Is The Message?
* directorscentre.co.uk - free online Directors' Centre Business Club - but free for how much longer?
* directorscentre.com - Directors' Centre consultancy services website
The real way to grow your business is for you to take action, massive action. It is to that end that we are focusing our energy.
We’d love to hear about what you are looking for.
So, add your comment below or feel free to email or phone me rc@directorscentre.com 01225 851044
So, what is it that YOU want?
RELEVANT LINKS
* What Next After Business Link?
* Its Free And It Can Help Your Business... Whatever!!!
* What Is The Message?
* directorscentre.co.uk - free online Directors' Centre Business Club - but free for how much longer?
* directorscentre.com - Directors' Centre consultancy services website
42 comments:
Are you after what people want or what they need?
What they want is the nice fluffy stuff.
What they need is serious decisive, demonstrative help, one-to-one. Crack that one!
If I get where you are coming from, you are saying that workshops etc don't help people to grow thier businesses. Great to attend but fdo they 'work'?
For me the key element is the action bit. Doing it. Making it happen. Being there.
What I personally look for is help making it happen. Easy to watch, look and listen but it is the doing bit that needs sorting. Help me with that I will be forever indebted.
J
Time, that's what I'm looking for.
Ideas and action plans more than plenty - time scheduled in to check and measure results of action taken too of course - but that still leaves time at a premium sometimes.
Not sure if it is exactly time.
What I would want is some sense of guaranteed results. Yes I need to deliver but what could lower the risk and increase the certainty of getting the results?
Or in a more practical world I am looking for someone/something to be accountable to. Without accountability I can do whatever I want. And that may not be a good thing!
Peter (Hotel owner)
I'm sure 'workshops' do help me grow my business!
If only because they remind me of all the things I should be doing but have forgotten or just let slide.
I'm equally sure the 'entrepreneurial' speakers don't work.
Real entrepreneurs are out there doing it, not listening to how others did it – Real entrepreneurs do it their own way!
No more books. Well maybe one more. Maybe some seminars because they are often useful. But actually we need the personal touch at some point.
And what we do need is help to make this (our dreams) all happen. Not sure what it is. Different for different people?
Something about slimming clubs I recall.
Anyhow, get to it, with or without Barclays.
Wants vs needs is a good point.
Need a mentor, a commercial director, friend, wall to bounce ideas off. Thinking time. a maverick. someone with ambition. ideas that work.a personal coach. new accountant. NED.
All in one person.
PT
Help to show me how to get things done quicker, simpler, easier, faster.
James, web design agency, 10 staff
I am looking for a sugardaddy.
I know my buisness but I don't know about business and how to grow a business. One thing getting to a million t/o but that has been but the seat of my pants. want to have a calmer more certain way of moving forward. take out the stress.
KVB
help us get more sales from better quality clients. help us get a better sales team and a better sales funnel. help us create a sausage machine like yours.
HB
more sales
A flawless faultless predictable sales machine like RC's cash machine. Even better, RC's cash machine!
Jamie
After guaranteed results please. Cost-effectively.
The elements for growing a business are the basics - Action = Results. However in today's business world we have the time element. Time being the non-renewable resource it is needs to be used efficiently. It is not my place to tell people they are wasting time in what they do but equally not planning to use time properly is the biggest business sin of all.
I sell time and I'm not ashamed of it because everyday I want more time for ME
so the simple answer is MORE TIME.
No more patronising stuff. Just give me the facts and help me make the money.
James B
Starting to feel like maybe you are holding back on us Mr C. Is this a deliberate tease or taunt, part of some clever marketing campaign? Surely not? What's happening with Barclays? Or do you just not know what small businesses really want? Don't see why you, Mr Expert are asking such a question. Surely you of all people know the answer. Come on, what is the plan?
Chris
It is either:
honest marketing/customer relations
or
he hasn't got a clue!
Madge
No more books. No more free seminars. No more free downloads. Just the clear direction and warm support. No Business Link adviser. No dumb-assed accountant. Just a good team. Clear vision. Clarity and the determination to make it all happen.
Jason
There is a myth about small business that it is a rational, logical, almost scientific exercise.
Get the basic proposition right, follow 'The 10 Essential Steps for Business Success'(handily taught in a one day seminar but also available in countless blog posts) and success is more or less guaranteed.
Should it not accrue, either the idea is not a good one or you are not an 'entrepreneur'. You lack acumen or business flair.
This is the myth of business development that so many perpetuate.
The reality is in my experience very different. Small business is a complex and dynamic challenge set in an even more complex and dynamic environment. The usual laws of cause and effect do not always apply. An action taken here and now will have unforeseen consequences in other parts of the business often quite some time later.
And above all small business is a game of psychology and emotion. A very serious game where losing can be a devastating option.
So what I want is a service to help me play the game, recognising the limitations of 'rules' and 'good practice' and acknowledging complex nature of the challenge. A service that recognises that the growth and development of the person is at least as important as the growth and development of the business.
Thank you all for your comments.
The themes, gripes and frustrations have been clearly laid out.
I like to ask the question regularly to hear what customers/clients are looking for... what they love.... what they hate... You can never have enough of this feedback.
This stuff informs how we do business and how we understand client hurts, needs and wants.
You have confirmed (well, most of you!) that the way we (Directors' Centre consultancy) do business is what you want: action- and results-focused, free of business school nonsense etc.
No more adverts from me.
Thank you all for your time. Do keep posting your comments.
Robert
Fair enough!
Andrew
If you read through the blog there is a theme of using it for Market Research and stealth marketing by the Directors' Centre. We know that there is just about OK but people should be aware that RC is running a business.
Let's see if this gets past the censors!
Robert - you talk about risk reversal but consultants never do it. It is always called 'payment on results' but actually the results bit is over and above the basic fee. So put your money where your mouth is. I know that you are not business angels or whatever but why don't you share some of the risk if you are so very good?
Debbie
Rise to the challenge Mr C!
Surprised you didn't point people to http://robert-craven.blogspot.com/2009/07/thought-piece-consultancy-in-recession.html which seems directly related.
We can all see that what you are doing is looking for a way to find your own customer base. That's cool - as long as this is all done with integrity which I am sure will be the case.
Karen B
There seems to be amore basic point that Robert is alluding to.
Most courses 'don't work'.
Delegates want results.
This is the conundrum that is being grappled with.
I want DO whatever it is that makes me money.
I think Robert is alluding to the 30-day challenge that has just been released.
Jess
I think that Robert has now provided the answer in a later blog post.
I will paste my words from elsewhere:
Look no further than the 30 Day Challenge for a classic piece of disrupruptive marketing
http://robert-craven.blogspot.com/2010/09/new-robert-craven-30-day-challenge.html
Linda
Thnaks you Linda (and Jess?) for cutting and pasting your comments...!
The challenge is very seductive. Full marks.
Jerry B
Thnaks you Linda (and Jess?) for cutting and pasting your comments...!
I think that Robert has now provided the answer in a later blog post.
I will paste my words from elsewhere:
Look no further than the 30 Day Challenge for a classic piece of disrupruptive marketing
http://robert-craven.blogspot.com/2010/09/new-robert-craven-30-day-challenge.html
Linda
It is either:
honest marketing/customer relations
or
he hasn't got a clue!
Madge
No more patronising stuff. Just give me the facts and help me make the money.
James B
After guaranteed results please. Cost-effectively.
help us get more sales from better quality clients. help us get a better sales team and a better sales funnel. help us create a sausage machine like yours.
HB
I am looking for a sugardaddy.
Wants vs needs is a good point.
Need a mentor, a commercial director, friend, wall to bounce ideas off. Thinking time. a maverick. someone with ambition. ideas that work.a personal coach. new accountant. NED.
All in one person.
PT
Time, that's what I'm looking for.
Ideas and action plans more than plenty - time scheduled in to check and measure results of action taken too of course - but that still leaves time at a premium sometimes.
There seems to be a more serious point being made here which is that going on a course will not sort out your business issues. YOU need to make the decisions.
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