Week 12 Part A: Business Specific Online Tools

In today's world there are a dizzying number of online tools for businesses. Depending on your industry you can go down a number of rabbit holes. I would prefer to take advantage of modern digital tools than the way we used to do even just 20-30 years ago. In 1993 I opened my brand new acupuncture office - with no patients. How did I try to get clients back then? A tiny but very expensive single line in the Yellow Pages. It had moderate success. After that it was word of mouth, mailed coupons, and door to door hanging of flyers and distribution of brochures. If I could overcome my fear of speaking in public, I would go to a few networking groups. I hated it. 

When researching online tools options, I realize I already use many of them. I am the corporate secretary for a nonprofit martial arts organization. I switched the whole corporation to Google Suite tools. They have a nonprofit version that we will move to next. We use mainly Google docs and Google drive and gmail. But G-suite for nonprofits comes with so much more including free advertising. There is also a Google suite for education, if that is the type of organization that you have.

Our nonprofit uses WordPress for our website, MailChimp for member emails, Dropbox for admin file storage, Trello for certain activities, Slack for more casual communication, and of course Facebook and Instagram and YouTube. For board meetings we use FreeConferenceCall.com and Zoom. I often use Otter to transcribe meetings, although it may be more work than to just type it without the transcription service. It has a hard time recognizing voices and gets many words wrong.

For Trident Pacific Consulting, I can see using YouTube for certain visual presentations. However for paid access to online classes and video we could use Patreon. There are a number of other companies that can set up access to online classrooms as well. For one-on-one coaching or small groups, Zoom is a great option. 

Getting back to the problem I had as a brand new acupuncturist, and the problem we have as a brand new consulting firm - how do you find your initial clients? There are a number of B2B referral sites, like Alignable or Referral Key, however they make me uncomfortable because they burrow into your email contacts like a pesky virus and send out unsolicited invites. 

Professional Organizations can post your name on a list. This vendor directory is one such place: https://vendordirectory.shrm.org/category/consulting-hr/organizational-development or this one Organizational Network or even the Better Business Bureau. Many smaller, lesser known sites exist too.

More research shows there are other business networking sites some are quite expensive. These are just a few and seem to really be a way to get back links to your web site for SEO. Some are legitimate however it is hard to know how well they actually work.

Powerlinx: Form partnerships and strategies business alliances.

Powerlinx enables businesses to find suppliers, enter new markets, raise capital, and even search for buyers when the time is right. Using “unique business intelligence tools,” Powerlinx helps users connect with other businesses based on the whatever it is they’re hoping to achieve. Essentially, a business states its goals — for example, finding a new supplier — and Powerlinx uses an algorithm to find other firms within its database that match the search. Users can then refine those matches based on a number of factors, and Powerlinx facilitates the personal introduction. Powerlinx works on a subscription basis, with plans ranging from free (for browsing) to $990 per month.

MyOpportunity.com For $29 per month: Tap Into The Possibilities of Your Existing Network.

The greatest opportunities can be found just around the corner with the people you didn’t think to ask. All of us have hundreds and thousands of contacts in our email accounts, and MyOpportunity.com is here to help maximize your existing network. After you upload your email contacts to Opportunity, we will notify you if and when these contacts are looking for someone with your skillset and offerings. Reach out to your contacts and leads with our Mass Messaging system. Launched in 2014, the platform has quickly grown to more than 5,000,000 users by leveraging the contacts of its members to invite others to join the network. MyOpportunity.com has grown 66% in YOY net profit, and is a top 20,000 Alexa site in the US, ranking within the top 30,000 globally.

InfluencerMarketingHub: Lists 17 Referral Marketing Tools. 

Pod Another networking tool.