This is the honest list of tools I use in live mandates to build sales — from the first invoice to the cold-outreach campaign. If you're not (yet) booking a mandate but going it alone: here's my actual toolkit.
A legally sound website without a lawyer
Imprint, privacy policy, T&Cs, cookie consent — generated and kept up to date. The first thing I set up for every founder before the site goes live. Saves four-figure warning-letter costs if things go wrong.
Bookkeeping that grows with you
Invoices, receipts, DATEV export for the tax advisor. I use it for client bookkeeping because it hits the Mittelstand standard without overkill.
Business account for the self-employed
Account, invoicing and bookkeeping integration in one, EU/GDPR. Works well as a pair with Lexware.
B2B contact data & cold outreach
My default source for target contacts and sequences in new-business work. When I build a sales engine from zero, it starts here.
Data enrichment on autopilot
Connects data sources and enriches leads before they enter a sequence. For sales ops, the difference between a watering can and precision targeting.
AI assistant for follow-ups & scheduling
Handles scheduling, routine replies and follow-up reminders. I've been running it in daily operations for months — I'm both a sales partner and a user.
Content strategy with a system
I use it for structured topic and content planning.
Social media scheduling, open-source
Planning and automation for social posts, open-source and self-hostable. For consistent LinkedIn distribution without an expensive SaaS bill.
Newsletter & drip, EU-hosted
The engine behind the BDM Insider newsletter — GDPR-compliant, EU hosting.
Pitch decks in hours, not days
Fast, good-looking decks for investor and sales presentations.
AI assistant for thinking and grunt work
My AI workhorse for research, writing, analysis and background automation — including behind this website.