Monthly Archives: November 2018

Just Ask

Kevin Willett says no harm comes, even from a no answer.

I can often struggle with asking people to attend my events or join my group. I find myself thinking that they won’t want to come, so do not bother asking them. You never want to make decisions for other people. Always ask them, because the answer just might be yes.

Please do not let the fear of failure and rejection, stop you from asking. When you think about it logically, what do you have to lose? It is no big deal if they say no. Nothing has really changed 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

What Is A Comfort Zone?

Kevin Willett says acknowledging your fear is the first step to overcoming it.

One of the expressions I hear all the time is ‘I cannot do that; it is outside of my comfort zone’. I really wish people would simply say that they are afraid to do something, rather than it is outside their comfort zone. When you say something is outside of your comfort zone, I find people accept it and give you a pass.

Let me give you an example. If you say you are afraid to do something your friends might try to help get you over that fear and share stories about how they were afraid and how they conquered their fear. However, I find that when you say something is outside your comfort zone, people just accept it and don’t try to change your mind, simply because we think about the things that are outside of our comfort zone.

Think about everything you have accomplished in your life. I bet some of those things really scared you, but you found the courage to try them, and you are glad that you did.

I remember the first time I taught a class at the University. I was super scared. I hoped the students and my boss would like me. I overcame those fears because I really wanted to teach, and it is the best decision that I made because teaching has been an amazing experience for me.

So next time you are tempted to say something is outside your comfort zone please acknowledge that you are saying that you are scared, and then work on a plan to overcome your fear.

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 You Like Me?

Kevin Willett says that not everyone has to like you in order to grow in business and as a person.

I like to spend time each day answering business questions. One of the questions I see a lot is; when will I stop caring if people do not like me? Most of the answers given by other people were similar to ‘what people think of you is none of your business’ and ‘these opinions have nothing to do with you’.  I see those types of answers as a defense mechanism. If I don’t care what you think then it cannot hurt me if you do not like me.

My answer is a little different because, I honestly do care what you think about me. As a business owner, your opinion of me will impact my business because we do business with people that we like whenever we can.

I think it is important to acknowledge that not everyone will like you, just like you do not like everyone you meet. When I realize someone does not like me, I try to use it as a learning experience. In some cases I may have said or done something to upset them. If that is the case, I apologize and try to fix the situation. Sometimes this works and sometimes it does not. No matter how hard it may be, you have to accept their decision and move on if they decide they do not want to be your friend anymore. I had a friend in this situation and I made her realize that she valued the friendship more than the other person did.

I have also had to learn the difference between a personal friend and a business friend. For me everyone is a friend but this isn’t always the case with everyone you meet. I have had people stop interacting with me when they no longer needed to network. This is a little challenging for me to accept, but it is a part of learning and growing as a person. I have to accept that not everyone is meant to stay in my life and sometimes letting go of people allows you to connect with new people.

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

Now What?

Kevin Willett says that social media connections should not be collected for the sake of numbers, that will not help your business.

I was reviewing my LinkedIn profile and I noticed someone had viewed my account that fit my criteria for people I want to connect with. So I sent her a connection request, which she accepted, and told me that she was participating in a webinar on how to connect with people on LinkedIn. Her goal was to reach out to a mutual connection to ask for an introduction, but she did not have to do that now because I connected with her.

I am waiting to see what she will do next. Sadly, this happens a lot. People connect with each other on social media and then do not do anything with the person to build a relationship. You cannot collect connections like baseball cards. You need to engage with people and build relationships. It is very rare that someone who you randomly connected with will be comfortable enough with you to reach out if they need your services.

Her next step should be to reach out to me to see if we can meet up for a coffee. I understand this can be a time consuming process, but it is necessary step in the process of building relationships. As always we do business with people we know, like and trust. It is really hard to build that trust through random social media connections.

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 Think You Are Cool

Kevin Willett says that similar traits in personality make for great business partners

Last week I texted one of my friends to tell her that I wanted to introduce her to someone. When she asked why, I explained that they are focusing on the same types of clients and I think that both of them are cool.

People never seem to know how to respond when I tell them that they are cool or that they ‘get it’. Coolness plays a big role in what I do and people often miss this concept.

Let me give you an example, just because you are a realtor and I am a mortgage person does not mean we will automatically do business together. We have to have some type of connection for us to want to do business together. When possible we do business with people we like. I try to connect you with people I think you would like, might get along with, or could be friends with. If I think you are both cool, then that is a match! 🙂 So now you know my secret sauce for connecting people.

Is there someone I know that you want to meet? Send me a message and I will do my best to connect you with 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