Health and wellness professionals frequently cross refer, as do accountants and lawyers. Many medical clinics have a number of doctors on the premises and you may see one that has a time more convenient to you than your regular doctor. Each of those doctors will have a different style, different mannerisms and you may well find that you choose to see a different doctor depending on what ailment you have. General Practitioners refer all the time to various specialists and will often have a few specialists in a particular area that they endeavour to match well with their patient.

Personally, I see a variety of health practitioners if my body is in need of some attention. On my list of preferred practitioners are an acupuncturist, naturopath, osteopath and a medical practitioner.  If I need mental health care, I will consult with a hypnotherapist or counsellor. When you compare what they all do, the similarity ends with delivering health care, yet each practitioner is successful in their own field.

How the care is delivered, is what separates them. The naturopath, hypnotherapist and osteopath spend a greater length of time delivering direct care and the consultations can take up to an hour. The acupuncturist will take a history and then place the needles in and leave you to relax for around 20 minutes, and the medical practitioner is unfortunately bound by the Medicare model and has just 10 minutes to spend with you and will refer you on for further testing to gain more information about your problem. Of further interest is costing out the hourly costs…. For example if you look at each therapist/clinician’s hourly rate then you may be surprised. If I were to spend an hour with my medical practitioner, I would have to outlay more than $450 an hour and the specialists he/she may refer me to cost far more than that!

Just for a moment imagine that you are an expert in your niche and are approached by a business that caters for some of your ideal clients. It is suggested that a cross referral would be beneficial to both of you and would offer your clients the opportunity to know more about a local business that complements the services you provide and contribute to a sense of community in your locality.

Do you have an abundance or miserly mindset in response to this approach?

An abundance mindset allows you to both grow and if you are in a community, to grow the bonds within that community and creates a ripple effect or expansion of energy. Conversely, a scarcity mindset is all about keeping to yourself and with that, the energy contracts and your contribution and benefits to the community are lessened.

With an abundance mindset, you are comfortable with referrals to another professional or business safe in the knowledge that the universe provides more to those who share, whilst someone with a scarcity or fixed mindset perceives a referrals as a threat to their business.

Which model do you prefer to operate from and which sits more comfortably with your values?

Changing your mindset can take some effort, but the first thing to do is to be willing to change.

When you love what you do, the passion shines through and you will start to feed the mindset you want. It takes effort, not intellect to make the changes and having a vision, coupled with a growth mindset will move you towards your goals so much more quickly.