Out of sight is out of mind

I REALLY want to share this message with you. I have been working in the “Referral Group/Networking Group” industry for over 25 years. I have been a member of a referral organization, spent 10 years as an executive with another large referral organization, and have had my company TEAM Referral Network, for 11 years. I have also networked across the country and with people in the international market as well. I am recognized as an expert in the industry and many companies and groups have paid me to speak on this topic.

So…have I qualified myself as a person who knows what she’s talking about yet? Because I could go on…But, the bold statement I am about to make will be questioned by many of you reading this, but here it goes anyway… out of sight is out of mind. Let me repeat…out of sight is out of mind. Yes, it is.

Many (and I do mean many) people operate on the assumption that once they have established a business relationships with people that little to no “continuing nurturing” is needed. I cannot tell you how many people have told me directly or indicated to me that they do not need TEAM anymore because they have already established their relationships with the members. Their thought process is…I’m not going to get anything NEW and I will continue to get their referrals anyway. (Never mind the fact that chapters have new members and visitors on a regular basis that they could meet.) But, what they also forget about is… out of sight is out of mind.

Once you are no longer part of a group, your networking partners can (and will) forget about you. Yes, occasionally former members will continue to get referrals but not nearly as much as when they were a part of the group. And if (or should I say when) another person joins who does what you do, and they are at the meeting each week sharing their commercials, listening to everybody else’s commercials, bringing referrals….guess who they are going to give their referrals to? Yup! The new person! Out of sight really is out of mind!!!

Kelli C. Holmes, author of “Effective Networking”, shows you a better, smarter way to grow your business through powerful business relationships. Kelli is the Founder of TEAM Referral Network, a professional referral organization that turns success-oriented business people into a strong team of networking professionals who work together to build their business by referral. TEAM’s motto is Together Everyone Achieves More. For more information visit their website www.teamreferralnetwork.com or call (866)311-TEAM.

Originally published 12/2/2014