The player is loading ...
12 | Why You Need a Referral List and Who to Add
Do you have a referral list?
It's one of those things that's easy to put off, particularly when you're just getting started with your practice.
Over time, you might get busy and never quite get around to starting one.
Or, perhaps you have a jumble of business cards from conferences or networking events bopping around in the bottom of your bag.
If you don't have a referral list, I highly recommend starting one now.Why?
It makes it easier to remember who's out there to help your clients.
You'll have their contact information and any key notes right at your fingertips, when you need it.
Before I had my referral list, whenever I needed to send someone to another herbalist my mind would freeze and I could only ever remember the same two or three people, even though I know dozens and dozens of amazing practitioners.
If you keep an easily-accessible list of practitioners you'd comfortably recommend, things will be much easier
Have a listen to the episode above to get some tips about who to add and how to organize things.
A Referral List TemplateNot everyone prefers an electronic list, but I find that keeping my referral list on my computer helps me to find/access it more easily.
To make things easier for you, you can access a referral list template below. (No email address required!)
It's a Google doc, and you'll need to copy it into your own Google Drive to access & edit it.
Copy my Referral List TemplateI hope that's helpful for you.
Take care,
Camille
--- Send in a voice message: https://intheclinic.com
Thanks for listening.
I'd love to hear from you. Leave me a voicemail with feedback or submit a question (click the pink "Send Camille a Message" button on the side of the page) 💚
Camille's Helpful Links for Practitioners
Transcript
(00:03)
Hi, everybody, welcome to In the Clinic with Camille. My name is Camille Freeman. I am a licensed nutritionist and registered herbalist. And in this podcast, I share things that are coming up in my practice that are relevant for other practitioners. Something that's been coming up lately in my Monday mentoring group is the topic of referral lists, and I find that a lot of practitioners, especially newer practitioners, either don't have a referral list or they have one that isn't fully fleshed out.
(00:32)
So I'd like to talk to you about how to make a referral list, who should go on it and when it might be, helpful for you. So what is a referral list?
(00:40)
A referral list is just a list of people that you would feel comfortable referring out to if your clients needed to see another practitioner.
(00:50)
I keep mine in a Google document or an online word processing document.
(00:55)
I find that it's really helpful to be able to add and remove, update as needed. But you could also keep it in a practice notebook. If you have a hard copy, you could do this in terms of saving business cards or something along those lines. So the next question is, who should be in your notebook? What kind of practitioners should you put in there?
(01:17)
I think about this in two groups.
(01:19)
The first group is people who do something very similar to what I do. And then the second group is people who provide care that complements the type of care that I provide.
(01:29)
So let's talk about group number one. People who do similar work to you or to me in this case, why would you need to keep a referral list of people who do similar work? Well, there's a number of reasons. Number one is if you're full and you don't have room for new clients right now, it's always helpful to be able to refer people to other practitioners who you trust.
(01:50)
And I find that it's actually really helpful to keep a list of people that I know and trust, as well as where they practice, whether they practice online or in person, their website, their general price, that kind of thing, so that I can match people up with someone who seems appropriate for them.
(02:09)
I also will make a note of any specialties that that person has in case, you know, the client needs to be referred for a specific type of reason.
(02:19)
You also will often find it, well not often, but sometimes you will find that there's a client and your work, just isn't serving them, maybe even working together for six months or a year.
(02:29)
And it just doesn't seem like they're getting where they need to go. That might be a good time to say, look, I think that you might be better served with a different practitioner and here are three people that you might find are better able to serve you. Similarly, every now and then, there will be a client with whom you don't get along. Either it's not a good fit, for whatever reason, you seem to be clashing, they are not following your recommendations and you keep making the same recommendations and they keep not following them, and so forth, that's a good time to refer out to another person because sometimes it just isn't a good fit.
(03:03)
We can't be the right fit for everybody.
(03:06)
So have a good list of practitioners, I find that if I don't keep a list, I forget who I know. I've met a lot of practitioners over the years. I've worked with a lot of amazing practitioners over the years. And sometimes I just don't remember, especially on the spot if I'm speaking with a client right then. So having a list is really helpful to remind me who is in practice, where are they practicing, what is their specialty and so forth.
(03:31)
So I strongly recommend that you do that, you know who else is out there?
(03:35)
Athe nother thing, reason that it might be helpful is because sometimes there are people who are doing a similar thing to you that have a slightly lower price point. So if price is an issue for people, be able to refer them to to a student clinic or another practitioner who has a sliding scale or somebody who has significantly lower fees than you, and that way you can still provide referrals for folks who aren't able to come in and work with you.
(04:00)
Now, let's talk about that second group, which is practitioners who do complementary work., I really think that most clients need a network or a web of care providers.
(04:11)
Generally speaking, one person isn't going to be their sole source of healing, comfort medicine and so forth. So it's really helpful to maintain a list of other practitioners that you would feel comfortable sending your own clients to. You don't necessarily have to meet each one of these people and vet them thoroughly.
(04:34)
In an ideal world, yes, you would meet each one of these people, you would interview them. You may even go see them as your own practitioner and that kind of thing.
(04:43)
But it also is helpful just to keep your ears open. So if you have a bunch of clients who are raving about this particular midwife, write down that person's name in your referral notebook and why you're writing it down. Look up their contact information. And that way, if a client's like, you know, I'm pregnant, I don't really know who to go see. You don't have to say I fully endorse this particular midwife. But you can say, you know, a lot of my clients really love this person.
(05:10)
I would check them out. And if you can provide two or three different names in the same category, that gives the client a lot of agency, but also allows you to provide them with the valuable service of saying a lot of people really appreciate and like this person. I also find that, when I come across peoples either at conferences or I'm at networking events or I just meet them in the course of my daily life and I really like the work that they're doing, I find that they're open minded or I find that they are extremely compassionate or they're a really good fit or they take insurance and do nutrition and herbal medicine, whatever.
(05:48)
I write them down. And that way, if somebody else is looking for a dentist or a really compassionate high-risk OBGYN, whatever, I've got a good list. So you really want to start doing that in your local area. Some of these people you're going to meet in person and have a very, very strong recommendation. Other people, it's going to be more of a grapevine thing and those are all valuable. I just recommend that you make a note to yourself in your referral list of why you are adding that person.
(06:13)
In the beginning, it might seem really obvious. And as time goes on and the referral list grows, you want to make sure that you're reminding yourself of why that person is there.
(06:24)
So take a look around at what other types of support your own clients need in your area. And maybe it's a therapist or several therapists. Maybe it is primary care practitioners, dentists, acupuncturists, massage therapists. You start to get to know these folks.
(06:41)
And ultimately, once you've got a really strong network going or once you feel really good about a particular practitioner, when you start sending people their way, send them with a little note or email that practitioner with the permission of your client, of course, and say, hey, listen, I'm sending a client your way. Here's why I thought you would be a good fit. I just want to let you know that I'm here. If you want to discuss their care or if there's anything that you think we should collaborate on, I'd be open to that.
(07:08)
That will start to bring that practitioner's awareness to your work. And many times they will start referring people to you as well. But in any case, be sure to have a solid list so that you can send people to high-quality practitioners or at least help them explore their options.
(07:24)
All right. I hope that was helpful. Go take a look at your referral list today or start one if you don't already have one. And please send in your questions. Go to Camiel Freeman.com and look for the In the clinic podcast. And I would love to hear from you.
Hi, everybody, welcome to In the Clinic with Camille. My name is Camille Freeman. I am a licensed nutritionist and registered herbalist. And in this podcast, I share things that are coming up in my practice that are relevant for other practitioners. Something that's been coming up lately in my Monday mentoring group is the topic of referral lists, and I find that a lot of practitioners, especially newer practitioners, either don't have a referral list or they have one that isn't fully fleshed out.
(00:32)
So I'd like to talk to you about how to make a referral list, who should go on it and when it might be, helpful for you. So what is a referral list?
(00:40)
A referral list is just a list of people that you would feel comfortable referring out to if your clients needed to see another practitioner.
(00:50)
I keep mine in a Google document or an online word processing document.
(00:55)
I find that it's really helpful to be able to add and remove, update as needed. But you could also keep it in a practice notebook. If you have a hard copy, you could do this in terms of saving business cards or something along those lines. So the next question is, who should be in your notebook? What kind of practitioners should you put in there?
(01:17)
I think about this in two groups.
(01:19)
The first group is people who do something very similar to what I do. And then the second group is people who provide care that complements the type of care that I provide.
(01:29)
So let's talk about group number one. People who do similar work to you or to me in this case, why would you need to keep a referral list of people who do similar work? Well, there's a number of reasons. Number one is if you're full and you don't have room for new clients right now, it's always helpful to be able to refer people to other practitioners who you trust.
(01:50)
And I find that it's actually really helpful to keep a list of people that I know and trust, as well as where they practice, whether they practice online or in person, their website, their general price, that kind of thing, so that I can match people up with someone who seems appropriate for them.
(02:09)
I also will make a note of any specialties that that person has in case, you know, the client needs to be referred for a specific type of reason.
(02:19)
You also will often find it, well not often, but sometimes you will find that there's a client and your work, just isn't serving them, maybe even working together for six months or a year.
(02:29)
And it just doesn't seem like they're getting where they need to go. That might be a good time to say, look, I think that you might be better served with a different practitioner and here are three people that you might find are better able to serve you. Similarly, every now and then, there will be a client with whom you don't get along. Either it's not a good fit, for whatever reason, you seem to be clashing, they are not following your recommendations and you keep making the same recommendations and they keep not following them, and so forth, that's a good time to refer out to another person because sometimes it just isn't a good fit.
(03:03)
We can't be the right fit for everybody.
(03:06)
So have a good list of practitioners, I find that if I don't keep a list, I forget who I know. I've met a lot of practitioners over the years. I've worked with a lot of amazing practitioners over the years. And sometimes I just don't remember, especially on the spot if I'm speaking with a client right then. So having a list is really helpful to remind me who is in practice, where are they practicing, what is their specialty and so forth.
(03:31)
So I strongly recommend that you do that, you know who else is out there?
(03:35)
Athe nother thing, reason that it might be helpful is because sometimes there are people who are doing a similar thing to you that have a slightly lower price point. So if price is an issue for people, be able to refer them to to a student clinic or another practitioner who has a sliding scale or somebody who has significantly lower fees than you, and that way you can still provide referrals for folks who aren't able to come in and work with you.
(04:00)
Now, let's talk about that second group, which is practitioners who do complementary work., I really think that most clients need a network or a web of care providers.
(04:11)
Generally speaking, one person isn't going to be their sole source of healing, comfort medicine and so forth. So it's really helpful to maintain a list of other practitioners that you would feel comfortable sending your own clients to. You don't necessarily have to meet each one of these people and vet them thoroughly.
(04:34)
In an ideal world, yes, you would meet each one of these people, you would interview them. You may even go see them as your own practitioner and that kind of thing.
(04:43)
But it also is helpful just to keep your ears open. So if you have a bunch of clients who are raving about this particular midwife, write down that person's name in your referral notebook and why you're writing it down. Look up their contact information. And that way, if a client's like, you know, I'm pregnant, I don't really know who to go see. You don't have to say I fully endorse this particular midwife. But you can say, you know, a lot of my clients really love this person.
(05:10)
I would check them out. And if you can provide two or three different names in the same category, that gives the client a lot of agency, but also allows you to provide them with the valuable service of saying a lot of people really appreciate and like this person. I also find that, when I come across peoples either at conferences or I'm at networking events or I just meet them in the course of my daily life and I really like the work that they're doing, I find that they're open minded or I find that they are extremely compassionate or they're a really good fit or they take insurance and do nutrition and herbal medicine, whatever.
(05:48)
I write them down. And that way, if somebody else is looking for a dentist or a really compassionate high-risk OBGYN, whatever, I've got a good list. So you really want to start doing that in your local area. Some of these people you're going to meet in person and have a very, very strong recommendation. Other people, it's going to be more of a grapevine thing and those are all valuable. I just recommend that you make a note to yourself in your referral list of why you are adding that person.
(06:13)
In the beginning, it might seem really obvious. And as time goes on and the referral list grows, you want to make sure that you're reminding yourself of why that person is there.
(06:24)
So take a look around at what other types of support your own clients need in your area. And maybe it's a therapist or several therapists. Maybe it is primary care practitioners, dentists, acupuncturists, massage therapists. You start to get to know these folks.
(06:41)
And ultimately, once you've got a really strong network going or once you feel really good about a particular practitioner, when you start sending people their way, send them with a little note or email that practitioner with the permission of your client, of course, and say, hey, listen, I'm sending a client your way. Here's why I thought you would be a good fit. I just want to let you know that I'm here. If you want to discuss their care or if there's anything that you think we should collaborate on, I'd be open to that.
(07:08)
That will start to bring that practitioner's awareness to your work. And many times they will start referring people to you as well. But in any case, be sure to have a solid list so that you can send people to high-quality practitioners or at least help them explore their options.
(07:24)
All right. I hope that was helpful. Go take a look at your referral list today or start one if you don't already have one. And please send in your questions. Go to Camiel Freeman.com and look for the In the clinic podcast. And I would love to hear from you.
Listen On