Networking Tips

Kevin Willett says be aware of the clock no matter where your meeting is being held

We do a lot more business online nowadays. Working from home has some of us forgetting what day it is or what time it is.  I have been noticing lately a lot more people showing up late for ZOOM meetings. Sometimes it is an honest case of losing track of time, but sometimes it is a case of not caring. People treating a ZOOM meeting as less than important compared to an in-person meeting. This is not correct! You would not leave someone hanging in a coffee shop or conference room. Just because they are at home at their desk, you should not leave them hanging there either! Time is precious no matter where the meeting is taking place and to disregard that concept is being disrespectful to the person you are meeting with. This is especially true about group meetings. Now you are leaving multiple people waiting for you. Just because a meeting is online does not mean it is not a big deal or should be less formal. Tardiness affects your brand and can hurt your business. So, online or in person, know what time it is.

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Kevin Willett is the Author of One Connection How you can grow your business  (and change the world) one connection at a time. The business networking book is available on Amazon. Purchase One Connection on Amazon

Kevin is also the CEO of the Friends of Kevin Networking Group  and the New England B2B Networking Group. Please connect with him on social media to hear about his upcoming business networking events

Kevin Willett says now is a great time for thinking outside the box

These days referrals seem like they may be hard to come by. We are not going to networking events or coffee meetings like we used to. If we are not out meeting new people, how can we pass referrals to our connections? The answer let’s use the power that we do have and think outside the box. If you are not doing in person meetings, have you tried an online event? Instead of coffee meetings or one on ones, how about a zoom call or facetime? Other ways you can help your referral partners is by talking them up on social media. Tell other people what your friends do, how they can help you, who they are. Share their blogs, social media links, and websites. If they are doing the same for you, you can both keep networking even though it is virtually, and you can keep getting new business. Sharing all this information is a way to keep your name out there and keep growing. Now more than ever is a great time to utilize your connections, show people who you know and how you can help.

Watch my YouTube Channel  for more on this and other Business Networking Tips

Kevin Willett is the Author of One Connection How you can grow your business  (and change the world) one connection at a time. The business networking book is available on Amazon. Purchase One Connection on Amazon

Kevin is also the CEO of the Friends of Kevin Networking Group  and the New England B2B Networking Group. Please connect with him on social media to hear about his upcoming business networking events

Kevin Willett knows many ways to help build and maintain new business connections

I see people struggle with business relationships all the time. When you connect with someone new, you don’t want to seem overbearing or aloof. What is the best way to get to Know, Like and Trust with this new connection? My first piece of advice is to provide value to your new contact. How do you do that? I try to introduce my new contact to some of my old ones. People I think may be able to do business together or help each other out. Secondly, if you see an article or story that you think may help your new connection, let them know about it. Tell them where you saw it or send them a copy. Thirdly, ask to do a video interview with your new connection. You can record the zoom and show it to your friends to let them virtually meet your new contact. Maybe they will connect and do business together. Fourth, I like to share pictures on social media. Post a picture and tag the other person and their business pages. People seeing your post can click on any links you provide and check out the new person for themselves. These are simple ways to add value and show connections you appreciate and want to grow with them. No sales pitches, no pressure, just a slow build to help this person become comfortable with doing business with you and your connections. Of course, always follow up, keep in touch, do what you say you will in a timely manner are also standard ways to build that business relationship.

Watch my YouTube Channel  for more on this and other Business Networking Tips

Kevin Willett is the Author of One Connection How you can grow your business  (and change the world) one connection at a time. The business networking book is available on Amazon. Purchase One Connection on Amazon

Kevin is also the CEO of the Friends of Kevin Networking Group  and the New England B2B Networking Group. Please connect with him on social media to hear about his upcoming business networking events

Kevin Willett says the changing world is offering you and your business opportunities

What is the difference between these two phrases? A Lot of businesses have had to make major pivots in the way the due business this year. As I talk to different people about these changes some are using the phrase “I have been forced to…” others are saying “I’ve taken this opportunity to…”. The difference is in attitude and vision. Change is never easy. Think of the things happening around you and your business in this 2020 Covid-19 pandemic as an opportunity and you will feel so much better. Catch yourself when talking to clients and friends saying opportunity instead of forced. Your outlook will change, and your business will be all right. 

Watch my YouTube Channel  for more on this and other Business Networking Tips

Kevin Willett is the Author of One Connection How you can grow your business  (and change the world) one connection at a time. The business networking book is available on Amazon. Purchase One Connection on Amazon

Kevin is also the CEO of the Friends of Kevin Networking Group  and the New England B2B Networking Group. Please connect with him on social media to hear about his upcoming business networking events

Kevin Willett says be careful taking short cuts

The other day, I was sending a multitude of emails out. Same message going to many different people, so of course copy and paste was my preferred method of composition. We have all been there, in a rush not fully focused, and we mess up. I sent out a bunch of emails in a row and forgot to change the name at the top. I received a reply to one of the emails I sent “THAT IS NOT MY NAME and I am not interested in your event!!!”.  I would like to tell you that this was the first time this ever happened to me, but I would be lying. I could also tell you this would be the last time I did this, but that would probably also be a lie. Was it an honest mistake? Yes. But it comes across as being careless and disrespectful. I totally understand this person’s anger and frustration with me. I am glad the other email recipients cut me some slack, but they didn’t have to. The moral of my story today is to try to slow it down just a bit, recheck your emails before sending and stay focused on the goal. You won’t win clients by being careless. You also won’t be perfect all the time. But please make the effort.  

Watch my YouTube Channel  for more on this and other Business Networking Tips

Kevin Willett is the Author of One Connection How you can grow your business  (and change the world) one connection at a time. The business networking book is available on Amazon. Purchase One Connection on Amazon

Kevin is also the CEO of the Friends of Kevin Networking Group  and the New England B2B Networking Group. Please connect with him on social media to hear about his upcoming business networking events

I have been impressed lately with the amount of people connecting with me on social media. More impressive is the fact that a lot of my new connections are coming from younger people and recent college grads. Why am I impressed by this? These people are seeing the need and taking the opportunity to expand their networks during these crazy economical times. By growing their networks now, they will be ready for the end of the pandemic and the uptick in the economy. Current business owners can learn from these actions. Maybe business is slow for you right now. Take the opportunity to reach out and connect with future business partners, clients, referral partners etc. If you have the time, put it to good use. Be ready to grow.

Watch my YouTube Channel  for more on this and other Business Networking Tips

Kevin Willett is the Author of One Connection How you can grow your business  (and change the world) one connection at a time. The business networking book is available on Amazon. Purchase One Connection on Amazon

Kevin is also the CEO of the Friends of Kevin Networking Group  and the New England B2B Networking Group. Please connect with him on social media to hear about his upcoming business networking events

Kevin Willett says do not hide from change, embrace it

If the first most dangerous statement in Networking is “why do we do things this way? Answer: because we always have.”, then the second most dangerous statement is “I don’t go to networking events because no one is buying my services right now”. This was a statement I heard often at the beginning of the pandemic. This is all about your mind set. I have seen two different people with the same type of business, one with great sales and one not so great. Why are they different? It’s all in the attitude. Things have changed a lot this year, including networking. Now is not the time to wait for in person networking events to come back, because that might never happen. It may be the way you have always done it, but now is the time to adapt. Change your mind set.  The way I have adapted is with online networking.  As a business owner, we need to keep our connections current, we need to keep networking to meet new people, we need to keep growing our businesses. Right now, it is not possible to do things the way they have always been done. If you wait, it may be too late. It may not be easy but, make the changes you need to keep moving forward.

Watch my YouTube Channel  for more on this and other Business Networking Tips

Kevin Willett is the Author of One Connection How you can grow your business  (and change the world) one connection at a time. The business networking book is available on Amazon. Purchase One Connection on Amazon

Kevin is also the CEO of the Friends of Kevin Networking Group  and the New England B2B Networking Group. Please connect with him on social media to hear about his upcoming business networking events

Kevin Willett says having a strong network will get you through good times and bad

We have had some tough times recently. Businesses and individuals are struggling to stay afloat. I have had several people reach out to me for help with either job searches or business sales. “Kevin do you know anybody who…” is something that I am hearing a lot of. Other than their struggles, the one common thing among these people is that they do not have strong networks. They never felt the need to go to networking events. They never felt they needed to connect outside of their immediate circle. The people who built solid relationships with their clients, the ones who have a strong network behind them are the ones who are surviving and keeping their businesses going. I know as the networking guy, this seems easy for me to say, but it is true. I have had to adapt my business like many others. From this I hope everybody learns the importance of building our networks. Even when business is good you need to keep building your network, keep your network strong. I don’t want to see anybody, when times get tough, wishing they had the connections to see them through. Make those connections when ever you can even if you think you don’t need to! We can’t see into the future and you never know when even one of those connections you have could come in handy. Need help making connections? Not sure where to start? Contact me and I’ll try to get you started!

Watch my YouTube Channel  for more on this and other Business Networking Tips

Kevin Willett is the Author of One Connection How you can grow your business  (and change the world) one connection at a time. The business networking book is available on Amazon. Purchase One Connection on Amazon

Kevin is also the CEO of the Friends of Kevin Networking Group  and the New England B2B Networking Group. Please connect with him on social media to hear about his upcoming business networking events

Kevin Willett believes you are stronger than your fears

Are you one of those people that have a fear of speaking to groups? Recently I had a student skip a class because he had to do an oral presentation. He called and left me all kinds of excuses as to why he could not present. In the end, I asked him for the true story, and he told me he was scared. I understand that, but he was to be graded on this, so he had to make the presentation anyway. Why kick the problem down the road.  The same goes for you and your business. What are your fears that may be preventing you from growing? Is it doing a FB Live video? Is it reaching out to clients for fear of rejection? Presenting your product to groups? Maybe you fear even starting a business.

The more we put something off, the harder it is. We all have fears to face. By trying to stall it increases anxiety and makes the fear more important than it should be. Stop hiding behind them and instead face your fears head on! You will feel much better, be more productive, and grow your business if you do!

Watch my YouTube Channel  for more on this and other Business Networking Tips

Kevin Willett is the Author of One Connection How you can grow your business  (and change the world) one connection at a time. The business networking book is available on Amazon. Purchase One Connection on Amazon

Kevin is also the CEO of the Friends of Kevin Networking Group  and the New England B2B Networking Group. Please connect with him on social media to hear about his upcoming business networking events

We all know connecting with people through networking is important for growing your business. We try to connect with people who meet the criteria of what we are looking for in a client or referral partner. What about the people we meet or see on social media that do not meet the criteria? Should we connect with them too?

One of the mistakes I made when I started my Business Networking Group, Friends of Kevin, was only connecting with people who had business to consumer needs. Business to Business type of companies I would pass over as I did not think they were a match. Five years later, I started the New England B2B Networking Group. It would have been a little easier if all those B2B businesspeople I met in the early days I had connected with and stayed in touch with! Same goes for people across the country that tried to connect with me. I thought, we are never going to be able to help each other or do business together. Now it’s 2020 and in person events are on a long hold. Video networking is hot right now. Someone in Texas can do business with someone in Massachusetts very easily.

We should all be a little more open to connections we make. Maybe you will be planning for a future business model you don’t know you are even interested in yet. Now I know why I should have taken a small amount of time to follow up with people who did not fit my immediate business needs. We can not predict the future and don’t know what crazy twists and turns life and business will throw our way.