Tag Archives: business growth

Once Is Never Enough

Kevin Willett says don’t wait until you need a referral, a customer or more business to meet with someone a second time.

When you are thinking about whether to attend a networking event or use your time elsewhere, do not make your decision solely on who will be at the event. Yes that is an important piece to consider, as I have said before, you need to present to the right audience, but you’d be amazed at the amount of people who turn down and event because they have met somebody attending  one other time.  Once is never enough. Do you think because you met someone once that they will remember everything about you and your business? I have had people asked me about event attendees even after attending multiple events with that person. ‘Hey Kev, who was that guy that did roofs at your last event? ‘Hey Kev, lady who does real estate for southern NH, I know her first name but can’t remember her last” and on and on. I have spoken and written many times about getting to know, like and trust. This takes time! Relationships need to be built, follow up needs to be done, and becoming comfortable with referrals to and from needs to happen.This is not the networking guy trying to get you to go to multiple events he is hosting, LOL. This is the networking guy trying to help you. Let me ask you this: Think about and event you have been to in the past. Do you remember everyone who was there and what they do? Probably not.

Next time you are thinking about skipping an event because you talked to someone once already, think again.

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

The Key To Being Successful With Business Networking

Kevin Willett says there are no shortcuts in networking

I know I have said this before, but feel it needs to be repeated, be involved, participate. It is easy to join multiple groups. It is not easy to be involved in multiple groups. Don’t take on more than you can handle, membership wise. With any group you are a member of you need to participate and be involved. Are you sharing people’s from the groups posts? Are you chatting with people outside of networking events? Are you passing referrals? The people that do these things are the people who are most successful in networking. Just writing a check or having your name on a directory is not the way to go. That is lazy and will not show positive results. There are no shortcuts in networking. Put the effort in and watch your success 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

How To Get More Referrals

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

Do You Still Think You Don’t Need to Network?

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

Who Are You Hiding From?

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

Now is the Time to Grow Your Network

Kevin Willett agrees with the Scout motto: Be Prepared

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

The Second Most Dangerous Statement

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

How Can You Help?

Kevin Willett agrees that sharing is caring!

Those of my Friends out there who have children have heard the phrase ‘sharing is caring’. This is a big theme in children’s videos and programming. Well this phrase also works in networking!

I did a video the other day with my Friend Dave. We had a great interview; the video is uploaded on my YouTube channel and I shared it across social media as I always do. For most people tagging them in these shares is enough. What Dave did, was share the video with all HIS connections, he put the link in his newsletter and he gave me a shoutout in the process telling people if they didn’t know me, they should definitely connect.  By doing this, Dave helped not only himself, but me as well.

Using social media is free. So why aren’t we all giving shout outs to our Friends, supporting them and their businesses? Someone may see your post and not need a service now, but it will be out there in case they need it in the future. I hugely appreciate it when people share my posts. That is networking at its best!

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

Free

Kevin Willett says to think about what you are asking for

If you know me, you know I like free swag. I love being a walking billboard for small business. This happened by chance, being a professional networker, people often gave me tee shirts, sweatshirts, hats, etc.  Now if I see a business on social media rocking their company gear, I will tell them to send me something to wear in my next video or online post.  Now, while it may be OK to ask for free swag, it is never OK to ask for free services.

I do a lot of social media promotions for my clients. I have had non-clients ask me to do promotions for them. My clients pay me to promote them, that is how I make money. How can I do that for someone for free? My clients would not like that! I have also had potential clients say they would join my networking group after I got them a few clients. Again, why are you asking me to work for free? I wouldn’t tell my accountant I’ll only pay him if I got a refund. I wouldn’t ask a realtor to sell my house for free because we are friends. If you are asking me to work for you for free, would you work for me for free? Think about that before you ask for free services. It does not come across well for you and may harm your relationship with a potential referral partner.

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

How Long Does It Take?

Kevin Willett says putting in the effort will lead to results

I recently chatted with a friend of mine who is a member of a couple networking groups. He told me that none of them are really working out for him. When he spoke to the group leaders, they told him to be patient, it takes time. I agree with that 100%. I always say you need to let people get to Know, Like, and Trust you before you will see results. For my Friend however, it has been about a year in these groups and still no results. I think it’s time for him to re-evaluate. Not every group is right for everybody. If you have given it your all and by that I  mean are you active in the group, are you passing referrals and it is still not working, it is OK to say you need to step away.

The same goes for networking events. There are free events and paid events out there. Are you only going to the free events because you don’t want to spend money, and not finding what you are looking for? Sometimes the paid events have a more serious business representation that may be worth your expense. Are you paying a lot of money on events and not finding any leads? Maybe the people you are looking for are at the free events.  Whichever you choose, you have to make sure you are in the right room. What type of people are attending? Do they fit the client type you are looking for? Find out the answers to these questions, if you can, before going to an event. Do your homework, put in the efforts necessary when you find the right place to be and re-evaluate every so often. If you do these things, then in time, yes, you will see results.

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