Monthly Archives: May 2018

Ask Open-Ended Questions

Kevin Willett says to engage someone by not letting them use a yes or no answer.

Many people don’t like to network because they’re just not comfortable with small talk. We’ve all had those painful conversations where we exchange one-word answers. When I’m talking with someone, I always try to find at least one question that will make the person smile and open up to me.

Let me give you an example. I was talking with a CPA at a networking event and, my friends, it was painful. I asked him three questions and he answered each with only one or two words. So finally, I asked him if he ever uncovered anyone stealing. Oh my God, his eyes almost jumped out his head and he went into this rather long and involved story about how he figured out a bookkeeper had been stealing money for years from her employer. I’ve been friends with him ever since, because I invested the time to connect with him. I could have just walked away, saying to myself, this guy has no personality. But I would have missed an opportunity to make a great friendship.

So when you meet people, ask yourself one question: What would be important to this person? Then ask them about that. If you’re not sure what to ask, simply ask what they feel is their biggest accomplishment. You’ll learn a lot about someone from the answer.

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 Am Proud of You

Kevin Willett says to make someone happy with these five simple words

I had two really cool experiences at the University this week. As part of a class I teach, my students have to develop a business as part of a group, and then pitch the business idea to the class. I have a student in one of my groups that really hasn’t said much in class. When I asked his group members who would be pitching, he said he would be, which made me smile. The group he was in has some upper classman in it and it would have been super easy for him to let one of the other students pitch the idea. I honestly did not know what to expect from him and was a little nervous for him. Of course his pitch was awesome and he did an amazing job. I could not have been more proud of him. It reminded me that you never know how truly talented the students are until you give them a chance. I saw him on campus last week and I explained to him everything I just said, and his smile made me smile. He told me how much he appreciated my confidence in him.

I have a second student who is also amazing. He is working on two projects with the DifferenceMaker Program on campus. I saw him at the DifferenceMaker event last week. When I told him how proud I was of him and that he has no idea how much potential he has, he smiled at me. He had a woman with him, who I am guessing was a family member, who looked at me and almost cried because of what I said to him. Now that is pretty cool.

I was on the receiving end recently of a friend telling me that he was proud of me. He had attended my first ever networking event, but I have not seen him in a few years. Out of the blue, he emailed me to tell me he has been watching my growth and that he is proud of me. I very rarely ever look back and think about what I have accomplished. I am just super focused on my next challenge. His simple email made me smile.

So my question to you is who are you proud of and have you told them?

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.

Do It Anyway

Kevin Willett says to keep pushing yourself out of your comfort zone and good things will happen.

I am really proud of my friend Bob. This past weekend he did his first video upload to LinkedIn.  I have been encouraging Bob to do videos for a while now, but it is way out of his comfort zone. In my opinion, Bob is an excellent writer and does a great job offering career advice on his blog.  However, many people will never take the time to read a blog post. That is why I am a big fan of combining blogging and videos to promote your business.

Whenever I suggest this to my friends I often hear ‘Kevin I am not you, I am not comfortable recording videos’ or ‘I don’t like the way I sound or look on video’. How do you think I got comfortable doing videos? I just kept doing them and each time it became a little easier.

I also always find it interesting when the lessons I am teaching in the classroom apply to my business friends. This semester I spoke about the importance of knowing what your customers want and not focusing on what you want to sell them. You need to remember just because you are a great writer that doesn’t mean your customers will take the time to read your blog post. You need to get out of your comfort zones and use videos to help promote your business. I can assure you that it does get easier.

Last week I uploaded a video to LinkedIn called Be Where You Are Supposed To Be. That video has been viewed over 3,000 times and I gained 10 new connections. Would they all have taken the time to read my blog post? Maybe, maybe not, stop missing out on chances to grow your business because you are uncomfortable recording videos.

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.