Message From The Business Club

Here's a message that has gone out to members/subscribers of the Business Club. Thought you'd find it of interest.

"There is great excitement here in Bath at the Business Club offices. Things are going to start changing.

Due to popular demand (and impatience on our side!) the Business Club is going to change a little. The Club concept will essentially stay the same (videos, workbooks, articles, thought bubbles, etc … monthly updates… all helping you to grow your business) but we want to focus on actually helping you rather than just talking about it.

What we know and have always known is that the ‘business growing’ thing is all about making the tough decisions and taking massive action. It is not about reading another article and maybe doing something when you think you are ready. (See “What Do You Want To Grow Your Business?” http://robert-craven.blogspot.com/2010/07/what-do-you-want-to-grow-your-business.html)

My worry is that the Club just adds to the mass of reading/watching/listening that you can do to avoid taking action.

To that end we are going to ramp up our game in terms of engaging with you and actually helping you to grow your business. That means more interactions, more talking, more pushing, prodding and poking.

It is too easy to just be nice and keep everyone happy... And have nothing substantial to show for it. What a waste!

Call To Action
So, if you are an entrepreneur or business owner… call me direct to find out specifically how we can help you on 01225 851044. If you are looking to increase sales and profit in your business we can do that.

No ‘download this free report’ squeeze pages followed by a big sales push so that we hit our numbers...

Just a simple message:

“Pick up the phone and talk to us and we will tell you how we can help you grow your business. 01225 851044.” End of story!

Whether it is me or one of the ‘been-there-done-it’ team working with you, we are focused on one objective: getting the most out of your business!

Robert

PS The only thing that matters is results. Good intentions are fine and dandy but they don’t pay the bills!"

RELEVANT LINKS
Directors' Centre Online Business Club - free subscription (for the time-being!) - tools, tips and techniques to grow your business.

Directors' Centre - the new website for the business consultancy that focuses on growing your business.

Contrarian or Follower?

To follow the competition is dull.

In sledging, the view for the lead dog is much better than the view for the dogs at the back.

Why would you want to be a follower? The advantage of being a follower is that you do what else every one else does. You follow. It seems to be the safe place to be. But you won’t get noticed or remembered.

In business you need to get noticed otherwise why should people buy from you.So could you take a contrarian view which would get you noticed. I do not mean some cheap gimmick.

At its extreme you should look at what the majority are doing and do the reverse. When they zig… you zag.

If they do mailshots… you look for face-to-face meetings.
If they sell on price… you sell on quality.

One reason you might want to do this is because the popular approach probably isn’t working. If everyone is doing it then it (whatever it is) is probably pretty ineffective by now.

For instance, nearly everyone does adverts yet everyone knows they don’t work very well.

For instance, nearly everyone reduces prices in a recession yet everyone knows this is a form of suicide.

For instance, nearly everyone does ‘networking’ yet loads of people don’t see any business benefit.

For instance, nearly all accountants still charge by hourly rates yet fixed price clients are more loyal.

Can one million flies be wrong about one lump of sh*t. The answer is “yes!”.

So, for your business, what is the standard, average, dull, boring, follow-the-competition way of doing things?

Does it have to be this way?

Wouldn’t it be more fun to shake things up a bit and cause a bit of a stir at the same time. Give stuff away. Promote a randomly disconnected event. Challenge the status quo (the current models and theories can be considered to be out of date / inappropriate / irrelevant / too expensive / too cheap). Should you and your potential clients take the normal way as being good, right, or even ‘good enough’? (What does good enough mean? A bit more than OK? Is that what you want?)

End of rant.

But… Pushing the envelope can change everything for everyone.

A superstore for music, a pitch black restaurant where the waiting staff are blind, a web design that uses words only, a lemon squeezer that is aesthetically remarkable, a double glazing salesman that refuses to ask for the business… .

Just don’t be complacent.

Accountants: Love Them Or Hate Them?

Accountants update

Just been to the CIMA Accountants In Practice Annual Bash. And jolly good it was too.

Here are a couple of accountancy bits for your perusal

• Effective Marketing - a short article on effective marketing for accountants
  
  
• Accountancy Age interview - 25 minute interview on "What accountants should be providing to their clients
  
  
• Professional Service Firms and Smaller Business - specifically aimed at accountants this thought piece applies to all PSFs
  
  
• "I love my accountant" - blog entry: Accountants can be... should be... and, in fact, must be... fantastic for your business...
  
  
• Accountants - Know Me Know My Business - the original article
  
  
• Watching Sales Increase by 150% in an Accounting Firm - a real case study

What Do YOU Want To Grow YOUR Business???

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

Madecasse chocolate - a living case study

I've been keeping a careful eye on our friends at Madecasse, the chocolate makers.

And it looks like I am not the only person who is keen to see them succeed - Seth Godin has also been writing about them in his blog posting the brand, the package, the story and the worldview... wondering what they should do to get the chocolate bars leaping off the shelves.

To start off, the product itself is pretty good. And so thinks the New York Times. But does the packaging say "buy me, buy me"? Like Seth, I am not convinced they've got it quite right.

A couple of one-liners to kick-off the debate:

"Why should people buy from you if you're the same as the competition? What makes you different from the rest?" and "Marketing is not a battle for the product but a battle for the mind of the customer".

So a few thoughts.

No-one disputes the quality of the product, at least not once they've tried it. But for Madecasse virgins it is tricky - they will buy either if recommended (in which case the packaging isn't so vital) or because the packaging entices them.

Currently the packaging doesn't make the chocolate leap off the shelves. It doesn't tell a story..., it doesn't scream "buy me"..., it doesn't say "Hey Mrs Green Deli Shopper I am the one you want"...,

The back story is so fantastic that I think Madecasse are being too modest and shy. For specific shoppers (green/organic/chocoholics/environmentalists/third worlders) this chocolate should be "the only one... Why would I want to put money in the hands of the global capitalist scum when I can give it direct to the workers via Madecasse?".

This business should run and run and run.

BUT even though they have the power of a great product and the power of a great back story and the power of a great vision for the business... they still have to get the marketing right.

So, two things to do:

1. Get the packaging spot-on. Identify your specific market niche - get it sorted and sell specifically to them
2. Work the word-of-mouth marketing systems. In this world of Twitter, FaceBook, YouTube and so on you need to get your raving fans to help you sell your story.

As part of the "telling the story", Madecasse launched a mini-video on YouTube... a brilliant start (it is no longer available I am afraid). Raving fans want to feel that they belong and that they understand the story. They want to be able to see and share the story. They want to take part in the journey!

Madecasse have such a brilliant story to tell (like Hobbs House Bakery - great history, great provenance, great product, great story, brilliant product) that they deserve every success.





Launching a Business With a Cause - Quick Update - blog article
Launching a Business With a Cause - articleMadécasse - and you can get their chocolate in the UK
Hobbs House Bakery and Directors' Centre - video

What Next After The Business Link?

The Business Link looks to be on its last legs (Private Sector Looks To Step Into Business Link's Shoes [yesterday's FT] and Government Confirms The Business Link's Demise [BusinessZone]).

We have argued for and against the service elsewhere (BL: Should It Stay or Should It Go?, BL, Business Support and Passion, The Truth Is No-one Seems To Care About BL, Doug Richards Rips Into BL). I would argue that there is still a relative lack of interest in the subject. Meanwhile we hear the cries of woe for the current BL staff.

But what about the clients??? What about the small/medium/growing businesses in need of help and assistance?

Another re-organisation of the Business Support Industry puts any programmes/initiatives on hold. And the ones who suffer will be the poor clients.

Leaving aside the huge irony of a Government department trying to sort out entrepreneurship, there will still be a demand for some form of support/assistance for budding and growing businesses.

I will be the first to argue that naive, inexperienced business people need help and assistance of some form - DIY is not an option (What Is The Message?).

Consultants will crop up all over the place to accommodate the nascent need (Consultancy in a Recession). This will be a good thing for the high-performing consultants but it will be bad for potential clients.

People who don't know what they don't know will get lured into buying wonderful promises and 'get rich quick' schemes as unscrupulous entrepreneurs fleece them of their money (Its Free And It Can Help Your Business... Whatever!!!).

As I said before, the consultancy businesses with long track records and impeccable credentials (reputation, testimonials and track record) have nothing to fear.

So what next?
1) All BL services go into freefall - no-one knows what is going on.
2) Several hundred (ex-BL) business advisers could be about to be let loose on the market.
3) New options will appear scrabbling to fill the hole that will be left by the eventual demise of the BL.
4) The Government will create a new centralised solution to local problems. (How does that work?)
5) Something better...

From our point of view we have seen an exponential growth in people signing up for our Business Club www.directorscentre.co.uk - a free, online business club with workbooks, worksheets, videos, thought bubbles, case studies suddenly becomes an incredibly attractive option for the insatiable curiosity of 'growing business' owners. The tagline, "by entrepreneurs; for entrepreneurs" is what people like. Similarly our new website http://www.directorscentre.com/ has seen an unprecedented numbers of hits.

The world of established/reputable business support and consultancy is really just a small village. Everyone has seen the change in the last month or so. Everyone is adjusting their offering to reflect how they think they can satisfy market needs.

Maybe the market will solve the problem before the Government has finished its consultation...


RELEVANT LINKS

• Private Sector Looks To Step Into Business Link's Shoes [yesterday's FT]
• Government Confirms The Business Link's Demise [BusinessZone] Blog Postings:
• BL: Should It Stay or Should It Go?
• BL, Business Support and Passion
• The Truth Is No-one Seems To Care About BL
• Doug Richards Rips Into BL
• What Is The Message?
• Consultancy in a Recession
• Its Free And It Can Help Your Business... Whatever!!! http://www.directorscentre.co.uk/ - free online Directors' Centre Business Club - but free for how much longer? http://www.directorscentre.com/ - Directors' Centre website

Its Free and It Can Help Your Business - whatever!!!

Snake oil salesmen send me endless emails promising to double my profits with 21 secrets of success to be shared only with people attending blah blah.

All the usual sales tricks:
- only an odd (or prime) number of seats left
- full price should be odd (or prime) number of pounds
- effusive testimonials from unheard of people (eg TJ, from Preston)
- effusive testimonials from extremely famous (and unlikely) person


Does anyone believe this? And who attends? And what do they expect?

As my Grandmother used to say...
"If it is too good to be true then it probably is..."