Seth Godin recently posted an article on his blog entitled The travel agent’s problem. The premise of the article is that an agent’s job is founded on information scarcity. Agents are necessary when consumers lack access and/or understanding to the information necessary to do or know something. Travel agents are becoming obsolete because consumers now have access to the same information, and that information has been designed in a way that’s both easy to understand and interact with. Consumers no longer need an agent — at least not for their average travel excursions.
Seth’s hypothesis: if your service offering is based on the dissemination of information that is either hard to find or difficult for consumers to understand, you are in danger.
Trainers are agents of sorts. Just over a decade ago, trainers had access to information that the everyday consumer could only find through diligent searching and networking. Even if they could find it, it wasn’t written in a way they could understand without some formal education or experience. Consumers needed to pay trainers in order to both access and understand the information. It’s a different story today. The fitness industry is widespread. Any consumer can access information on anatomy, programming, powerlifting, Olympic weightlifting, mobility, you name it. Not only can they access it, if they spend enough time, they can find someone on YouTube or Instagram who can explain the information in a way that makes it relevant to them.
If you’re a trainer and think you’ll continue to attract clients because you know something they don’t, you’re sorely mistaken. If you want a long-term career in the fitness industry, you need to move away from being an agent and become a mentor. As Seth says at the end of his blog post, “become a network hub who creates value through information abundance.” Health and fitness information is everywhere. The value is no longer in disseminating it, but in crafting a story with it that’s relevant to your individual clients.
The word Mentor (originating from Homer’s Odyssey) is attributed to those who can offer their experience and guidance to others who are less experienced but are seeking development and growth. In this sense, you no longer guard information behind a pay-to-enter door, but rather walk alongside clients, acting as their north star. You understand and accept that clients will come across and be tempted by information that is less than desirable, so you work to arm them with an appreciation for quality and progressive development. You don’t try to overcome outside information and temptation with scare tactics, but instead invest in educating your clients so they can see and distinguish novelty from quality.
You might be thinking, “but once I do that, won’t I become obsolete?” “Won’t my client then know as much as I do and no longer need me?” The simple answer is no. The answer is no for two reasons: (1) you dedicate all of your time to health and fitness and your client doesn’t. Generally speaking, unless they quit their job and become a trainer themselves, they know you’re more of an ‘expert’ than they are and will happily pay you for your knowledge and experience, and (2) when information is abundant, mentors are in high demand. When information is abundant, we no longer look for someone who has information to share; we look for someone who can make sense of the information and decide what’s worth investing in and what’s not. We look for a long-term partnership. When information is abundant, we see great value in building a relationship with a mentor who has our best interest at heart and takes equal pleasure in walking our path with us.
Transitioning from Agent to Mentor
Learn everything there is to know about your client: To be an effective mentor, you need to know who your client is outside of the gym. You need to know what motivates them, what scares them, what they’re good at, what they struggle with, who they have relationships with and the quality of those relationships, their decision-making process, their short and long-term goals. This information is invaluable in guiding a client through their own journey. It will foreshadow their obstacles and triumphs. It will clue you into what information will tempt, and possibly mislead them. When you truly know your client, you can act in their best interest.
Set expectations and ground rules: Mentorship is a two-way relationship. It’s important that your clients understand what you expect from them in order to have a productive relationship — being on time, advanced notice for missing a session, effort, etc. You must also understand and agree to their expectations of you.
Diversify: Educate yourself in all sectors of the industry. Take continuing education courses in a variety of modalities and schools of thought or practice. It’s imperative to have your own training philosophy, but you must also have a general understanding of most (if not all) other philosophies. Only then can you offer your clients true mentorship. Because mentorship is about guidance. You cannot guide if you don’t see all possible paths to success.
Network: Mentors don’t mentor alone. They have a network of others who they trust and who may have more knowledge or experience in certain areas — because sometimes your clients will be interested in taking an approach you either lack knowledge or experience in or simply don’t agree with. An effective mentor doesn’t feel threatened by introducing their clients to other mentors. Your lack of ego will gain you the long-term trust and respect of your client.
Be Flexible: Mentors allow their clients to explore various approaches they may be interested in (usually with some boundaries). If a client feels unmotivated or isn’t seeing the results they were hoping for, be willing to change things up — so long as they fit within your training philosophy and base of knowledge or experience. If your client wants to try a different approach and you don’t agree to it, they’ll likely go behind your back and find someone who is willing to try. So, either be that person or connect them with another mentor who can safely guide them on that path.
Not all clients are looking for mentors. Some clients simply want to show up and be told what to do. They don’t want to build a relationship and they surely don’t want to be educated along the way. That’s OK. But know the difference. Error on the side of mentorship until you’re told or see otherwise.
Being a mentor is far more challenging than being an agent. But if you’re looking at training as a life-long career, the transition is imminent.