Finding Other Groups For Referrals

Every day I receive roughly 25-30 emails, sometimes more, hardly ever less. Considering I have more than one email address, it makes for a long day sometimes. I find that emails can be difficult to answer when I can't answer someone who doesn't have a question or wish to exchange normal, rational dialog.

When I begin communicating with a person who truly requires help, I do what I can via email to assist but obviously I'm limited due to distance and the necessity for the client to remain "invisible". The client is usually nervous, scared, embarrassed, etc. It would be my job in the beginning to make them feel as comfortable as I could to get them to open up to me regarding their problem. Once that is accomplished and the simple techniques I use either help to a point or don't help and distance is an issue, I have to refer the case out.

Referring a case out to someone else after making the client feel comfortable can be a terrifying experience for them. They have opened up to you and feel comfortable with you and you have taken them at their most vulnerable by listening to what they feel are their most intimate secrets and very possibly, something they haven't told anyone else and now you have to refer them out.

How do you find a group that thinks as you do? How can you know how they will be handled with respect to their privacy when every group seems to want to put their information on youtube or myspace? How do you keep this intimate relationship you have formed with your client such that they will still be able to seek out help?

The unfortunate answer is you can't. You can do your best to search and research groups that are out there and then finally make a decision on one but it's definitely a hit-and-miss situation. You can email the group's leader or talk to them on the phone but you don't really know how they will handle the client you are turning over to them and can only hope that they receive the great treatment you have given.

You don't know the other group's methodology (which can be important to some people) nor the way they perform their investigations and research. This again brings up the point of sharing and communication among groups. Unfortunately, that is not ever going to happen.

As I've said in the past, there are still many, many groups out there that think that they have the ultimate photograph, video, recording that is going to make them famous, make them a star, make them a mega-millionaire, whatever the next bunch of big words are after these. The truth is that this is not going to happen. While "Ghost Hunters" were the first bunch to have a TV show and then the trickle down effect has brought us to "Ghost Adventures", all the many, many paranormal programs in between have not made it to the point of either of these programs and the interest is now not only waxing but waning and eventually, not too long from now, will be discontinued all together. I, for one, am happy about this. In the same way that Bigfoot research came and went and also the UFO craze came and went, this will also.

Looking at the many groups that HAD websites out there, many are now gone, their domains not renewed, their groups disbanded.

Finding a good group to help your client has now become quite a challenge and hopefully, somehow you will be able to find a good, caring group out there for your client. They deserve caring people just as they had you.

Ghost Hunters vs. Ghost Adventures

I have been writing a lot of Twitters lately and have totally been immersed in business since our conference is coming up in May and putting out many fires but I figured it's time to address some things that have been sent to me regarding my thoughts on "Ghost Hunters" vs. "Ghost Adventures".

While I don't know the guys from "GH", I am well aware and familiar with the guys from "GA".

Here are the differences as I seem them:

1. GH guys are older, a bit more abrupt and seemingly distant. GA guys are younger, energetic, fun loving.
2. GH guys are East coast and have that mentality. GA guys are West coast and have that mentality. If you don't know the differences, it's difficult to explain.
3. With the GH guys, quite honestly, I've not heard good things about them from other camps, as well as from event coordinators and attendees where they've shown up for guest appearances. GA guys are VERY available for pictures, fun and are great at events.

Now, you may have had a different experience with either of these two groups and that's great. I don't mind being wrong. But, I can see why some people do feel the way they do if these things are not going as well as they had hoped. I know the producers for GH are a bit more pushy as having had a discussion with them once regarding an investigation they wanted to do and wanted my material on the places involved. I refused to give it. The GH guys should do the leg work just as I had done to come up with their own information and not have to rely on mine. The GH guys also only spend a matter of time at their investigations (roughly four hours).

The GA guys' producers are nice guys willing to assist in any way they can but want the GA guys to gather their own material. The GA guys' produce their own material, have creative say in the way that it's done and know what they want. The GA guys spend roughly a week in a place minus the actual "lockdown" they do checking, researching, exploring the towns surrounding the area and the area itself. I know this from experience as we spent a week together when filming the castle episode.

I don't want to give an opinion of either group but I do have to say that from experience only, I would work with the Ghost Adventures guys any day. They are such fun, have such a genuine interest, attempt to keep up with the knowledge out there and just work very hard at giving everyone such a good experience both on and off camera. It doesn't hurt that they are nice on the eyes too!!