I know from experience how tough it can be to run a security guard company without the right tools. With the thin profit margins that security guard companies are often faced with, finding cost-effective resources is often a challenge. As a result, I thought that I would share with you some tools for your security guard company that we use here at OfficerReports.com and a few more. Enjoy!
Productivity Tools For Your Security Guard Company
- Dropbox: This is one of my all-time favorite products. Dropbox ends the challenge of storing and syncing files and documents on different devices and computers. And, with the ability to share all of your important stuff with others, Dropbox is a cloud-based productivity tool that security guard companies will love.
- Box: Like DropBox, Box is another file sharing storage platform but offers more storage for free.
- Google Drive: Pretty much the same as Dropbox and Box, it’s cloud based storage.
- Slimvoice.co: Use Slimvoice to create, manage, export, and send unlimited invoices for free. Additionally, there is no need to compose emails and attach invoices manually. Slimvoice will keep stray files off your desktop by sending PDFs directly to your client.
- Evernote: Evernote is another of my personal favorites. Evernote is designed to make note taking easy. You can take notes in Evernote on your laptop or smartphone and sync them effortlessly. Or after a meeting or a seminar you can snap a photo of the white board and upload it. It can even search handwritten notes once they’re imported.
- Boomerang: Have you ever wished you could remind yourself to follow-up with the hundreds of customers, prospects, or managers that you email every week? Well, Boomerang is a free Gmail plugin that allows you to “boomerang” emails back to your inbox. If you haven’t heard from Scott in 2 days, Boomerang shoots a follow-up reminder directly to your inbox. Cool stuff!
- HelloSign: As a security guard company you are undoubtedly sending contracts to customers to be signed. Make the process easier by using HelloSign. Now you can manage document signing from within Gmail using a digital signature. You can also request signatures from others and track progress from one screen. It’s a great piece of kit!
- SurveyMonkey: This is a cloud-based online survey creation tool. If you need to gather insights from customers to stay informed, SurveyMonkey is your tool. A great example of how I used SurveyMonkey was distributing customer satisfaction surveys to our clients.
- Coffitivity: Initially I wasn’t a believer in Coffitivity, but now I am an avid user. Coffitivity recreates the ambient sounds of a cafe to help boost your creativity and efficiency. If you work in a quiet office, give it a try before you dismiss it.
- BatchGeo: I used to use this tool to map out all of my prospects’ locations so that I could create routes for knocking on doors. LOVE this one!
News and Publications
- HBR.org: HBR.org is the online component of the Harvard Business Review (HBR) publication. I have found that HBR.org is a great tool for polishing up on your management skills.
- All The Things No One Told You About Selling Security Guard Services: This is a FREE eBook published by OfficerReports.com. If you want to stand out from other security guard companies and bring in more clients than you ever thought possible, this is the book for you.
- The Soapbox: The Soapbox is the official OfficerReports.com blog where we offer our take on the security guard industry and what it takes to excel. Be sure to sign up to follow the blog!
- The Month In Review: The Month In Review is OfficeReports.com’s security guard industry newsletter dedicated to keeping security guard companies abreast of news that affects them. Sign up now to stay in the know.
- Small Business Trends: Small Business Trends is an award-winning website for small business owners and the people who interact with them. It is one of the most popular independent small business publications on the web and a source for constant inspiration for me personally.
- SecurityGuyRadio.com: Each week, hosts Chuck Harold and Paul Bristow challenge the conventional wisdom of the security industry sharing their “plain talk” experience, humorous stories, and real answers from the top security experts in the field. It’s a great show which I hope to be on one day…
Tools and Resources
- SCORE Templates and Tools: SCORE is a not-for-profit dedicated to helping small businesses through the use of more than 13,000 business experts in 370 offices around the U.S. The great part about SCORE is that they have a section on their website with free templates and tools including business plan forms, financial templates, contract samples, and more.
- SBA.gov: The Small Business Administrations website has tons of resources for small businesses. SBA Loans are also a low-cost loan that if you can get it, is great for your business.
Podcasts
- Entrepreneur on Fire (EOFire): EOFire was awarded Best Of iTunes because of their commitment to help guide business owners on their entrepreneurial journey by sharing insights from today’s most successful entrepreneurs. John Lee Dumas, the founder and host of EOFire, interviews different business owners 7 days a week so there is always something new there.
- Cardone Zone: Grant Cardone is an American entrepreneur, business expert, New York Times best-selling author, speaker and motivator. He hosts a sales and business oriented podcast that is colorful and guaranteed to get you motivated.
Relaxation
- Pandora: Pandora is a free, personalized radio station that plays the music that you love. It allows you to discover new music and enjoy old favorites. I’ve been listening to Pandora for more than a decade, again one of my personal faves.
- Spotify: Another free streaming music service that is similar to Pandora.
Sales and Marketing
- Google Analytics: The way that security guard buyers buy today demands that you have a presence on the web. Google Analytics can help you maximize your return on investment (ROI) for the time you spend online. This analytics tool can tell you almost everything you need to know about the people who visit your website and the pages they visit.
- Google Webmaster Tools: Google Webmaster Tools (GWT) is the primary mechanism for Google to communicate with webmasters. Google Webmaster Tools helps you to identify issues with your site and can even let you know if it has been infected with malware.
- LinkedIn: LinkedIn isFaceBook for the business world. It’s free, and if you’re diligent about managing your connections, within a short period of time you will be one or two connections away from a truly astounding number of prospective customers.
- More: Don’t forget to connect with me on LinkedIn and to follow OfficerReports.com.
- More: Use LinkedIn Groups to Become an Expert On Your Customers
- HootSuite: If you are using social media, HootSuite is a MUST HAVE tool. It allows you to manage all your social media accounts from one place, saving you time and money.
- Hemingwayapp.com: A great tool for improving your writing, especially if you are blogging for your company.
- MailChimp: More than 6 million people use MailChimp to send out email campaigns, some of them are your competitors. Mailchimp is free up to 2000 subscribers. This is an awesome way to keep in touch with your customers and prospects. We use it daily.
- PicMonkey: This is a web-based photo editing tool that is easy to use. It’s a great tool for getting better pictures for your proposals.
- List of free stock photos: If you’re tired of using the same old photos for your website, proposals, or brochures check out this list of free stock photo websites.
- Canva: Canva makes graphic design simple for everyone. Create designs for the web or print, including blog graphics, presentations, Facebook covers, or flyers. It is an online tool which means no installation required. They also offer thousands of free vector graphics and images that you can drop into your own designs. I haven’t tried it yet, but it looks simple enough.
- WordPress: If you have a domain, a server, but no website, WordPress is one of the best ways to build a website these days. There are themes that match almost any
business, and updating the content on your site is easy. Oh, did I mention that it’s absolutely free. You can’t go wrong with using WordPress.
Alright so that’s my list. If you have other tools that you use that should be on this list, please tell me about them in the comments section below. If you find the list really helpful, don’t forget to share it with your friends and colleagues using the social media buttons below.
By Courtney Sparkman
