25 Free SMB Resources for Growth

These resources are characterized as follows: Growth; Team, Culture, and Leadership Building, Marketing, Sales, Service, Fundraising / Finance, and HR.  Here you go:  

Growth

1. Infographic: Technology Trends Shaping Small Businesses in 2018 [blog/infographic] — Salesforce surveyed nearly 500 small and midsize business leaders in the U.S. to find out what obstacles they face, how they tackle growth challenges, and how they use technology. You can also download the full research report here.
   
   
2. The Secret to Creating High-Growth Organizations [blog/podcast] — This blog features Salesforce's Quotable podcast, discussing research from Vistage and Salesforce on what CEOs are doing to drive growth within their organizations. You can also download the full research report here.
   
   
3. Collapsed.co [website] — They say the best way to grow is to learn from your mistakes, but maybe you don’t need to make them in the first place! Collapsed.co has a collection of stories and lessons from failed startups so you can make sure you avoid the same pitfalls in your own entrepreneurial journey.
   
   
4. Preparing a Board Deck [blog] — Sequoia Capital outlines what makes a great board deck and how to have a successful board meeting.
   
   
5. 6 Ways CRM Helps You Grow Your Business [online guide] — Learn how customer relationship management technology can help you manage your customer relationships efficiently and effectively to grow your business.
   
   
6. SBA.gov [website] — With information on starting out, business laws, loans, and grants, the Small Business Administration website provides a plethora of help and resources for small businesses.

Team, Culture, and Leadership Building

1. Culture Codes [website] — A collection of culture decks, core values, mission statements, and more from real companies to help inspire yours.

2. The Impact of Equality and Values-Driven Business [research] — This includes research surveyed from more than 1,500 business professionals on workplace equality and values-driven leadership trends.

3. Disc assessment — Disc is a leading personal assessment tool to improve work productivity, teamwork, and communication. It's a non-judgmental tool used for discussion of people's behavioral differences. And while the full assessment costs money, if you're looking for a budget-friendly one to do with your team (or just for fun) check out the free, limited version.

Marketing

1. Responsive HTML Email Templates [website] — Make sure your emails can be viewed on any device and email client. HTMLEmail.IO provides 10 free responsive HTML email templates for you to use right away, and they work with any email service provider, including Pardot!
   
   
2. Submit.co [website] — Wondering where to get press coverage for your startup? Submit.co is a beast of a directory that lists all media players and their channels, platforms, and categories to help you get the word out.
   
   
3. Guide to Online Marketing [blog] — Our friends at Kabbage have put together a great guide to everything online marketing.
   
   
4. The Fourth Annual State of Marketing Report [research] — Learn how customer experience is reshaping marketers’ mindsets in a new survey of 3,500 marketing leaders worldwide.
   
   
5. Customer Journey Mapping Resources [webpage] — Learn how to create 1-to-1 customer journeys with worksheets, e-books, and reports, plus an example journey map.

Sales

1. Growbots — What’s the best time to contact that prospect or customer? Growbots is an AI-powered calculator that finds the best time to send your emails based on your recipients’ demographics.

2. 4 Steps for Transforming Your Sales Process [e-book] — Learn why selling in the age of the customer is different, how to connect with your customers in a whole new way, and what leading companies are doing to transform sales.

3. 7 Tips for Accelerating Sales Performance [e-book] – This e-book covers how to increase outbound sales effectiveness, improve your ability to sell as a team, and make lasting connections with your prospects and customers.

4. 5 Sales Hacks to Dominate Your Quota This Quarter [e-book] – This e-book outlines five different game plans to help sales reps crush their quotas.

Service

1. How to Set Up Customer Service for Your Business [online guide] — Make sure your customer service is successfully set up and can seamlessly scale as your grow.

2. Small and Medium Business Service Trends Report [research] — We’ve compiled research to bring you a holistic look at the state of customer service for SMBs, including their unique priorities, challenges, and successes.

3. Startup’s Guide to Customer Service [e-book] — This e-book includes tips from successful startup leaders on how they’ve achieved customer service success and what lessons they’ve learned along the way.

Fundraising / Finance

1. Fundraising Resources for Startups [blog] — A collection of stories, advice, and resources about fundraising.

2. Pitcherific [website] — Preparing for that first pitch? Check out Pitcherific to easily get started with their templates, structuring, and practice tools.

HR

1. Factorial [app] — Payroll, time-off, documents, and benefits — Factorial tracks it all, and for free! Save time managing your company and employees with this free HR software.

Legal & Contracts

1. Upcounsel.com [website] — A great collection of articles, free legal documents, and templates that range from business formation, labor and employment, trademarks, health, and tax, all in one place.