How to Give an Astrological Referral
In one of the Dirty Harry movies Clint Eastwood famously said, “An expert knows when it’s time to call in the experts.”
This is exactly what client referral is all about. Astrologers cannot be all things to all people.
There will be those you can’t help for one reason or another. Sometimes you need to refer your clients to other experts.
What is an astrological referral?
An astrological referral is where you (the astrologer) suggest your client consults with someone else who may be an astrologer or another person in a related new age field. You should know the other expert to whom you are referring and ideally you will have had a working relationship with them in the past.
Astrologers refer clients for several reasons:
Physical distance:
The prospective client is on the phone and wants a face-to-face consultation but lives miles away. A good astrologer will know the names of those working nearby and will be able to refer to them.
Not in their field of expertise
Perhaps the client wants a chart rectified and you do not offer that service. Not every astrologer does everything. Personally I don’t work on health issues or illness, but I do specialize in conception work and children’s astrology. Other astrologers concentrate on health and wellness or various related fields.
The astrologer feels uncomfortable
On occasion the energies emanating from a client may not sit well with you. It may be a gut reaction but you know you cannot connect with this person.
No time
You are fully booked for months ahead and then are off to a conference for a week after which you are going on vacation for six weeks (well, we can hope).
Who can refer?
All astrologers can, and at times should, refer their clients to other astrologers or related practitioners.
Who can you refer to? (Get the grammar police)
If you are a new astrologer you may not yet know who is good and you likely are not confident in referring. Ask your teacher or mentor to provide some recommendations. If still at a loss your local astrology group will have a list of names of neighborhood experts to offer.
For example:
- Other astrologers in the proximity
- Specialist astrologers (e.g. Rectification and decumbiture)
- Numerologists
- Hypnotherapists
- Psychics and mediums
- Others
How to Give an Astrological Referral
Once you have decided to whom you are going to refer your client, what do you do? Do not give the name of your referred expert to your client. Yet.
Step 1:
You contact the expert and ask if they will accept this client. They too may be going away or be otherwise engaged. If this person cannot see your client you then contact the next one on your referral list and in this manner you find someone who will help. Briefly explain the situation and let them know you will get your client to call directly and make an appointment.
Step 2:
You provide your client with the email address and phone number of the chosen one and your client can personally make the arrangements to consult with your choice.
Note
In my experience if you simply give your client the expert’s number they may call and discover that person will not see them either. Sometimes clients can be in a fragile state and see this lack of acceptance as a form of rejection. This unfortunate situation is avoided if you confer with the one you are referring to first and make sure your client will be well received.
Do you?
Do you refer your clients? Do you have another way of doing this? Do you wish to be considered an expert in a particular astrological field? Write you thoughts in the comments section below. I bet the buzz on everyone’s mind is “Why would I send business away when it is so hard won?” That is a question for another day.
