I judge my weekly meetings with clients and colleagues as a barometer of where the industry is. What is capturing people’s attention. And how do trends differ between US and European clients.
A quick sample of the last week has consisted of the following:
- Where would you recommend getting an IV vitamin Drip?
- Do we need a hyperbaric chamber?
- Here are my blood results (which on closer inspection, had no validation or medical oversight)
And finally, and the most problematic, this from a new client:
- I have more health data on myself than ever, yet I’ve never been so confused about how to exercise, eat, and recover(!)
These are some examples. I could go on. And on.
We are now approaching ‘peak grift‘ as wellness has become fashionable: post-workout shakes are status signallers, biomarkers are now firmly part of work and dating conversations.
Influencers are using a wide range of tactics, all competing for their piece of the ~$1.8 trillion global consumer wellness market, and ‘noise’ can help to sell products.
As I mentioned in my book, I always encourage those around me to be critical of the wider wellness/health/performance industry and take nothing at face value.
But here’s the thing: it really is becoming more difficult to tell the ‘signal from the noise’ (domain expertise from the gurus).
In recent years we’ve seen the emergence of different types of gurus:
- An Insta-expert with an impressive sounding (but unrecognised) qualification
- A wellness practitioner who deliberately overcomplicates (adding ‘bio-’ or ‘neuro-’ to each statement)
- The ‘biohacker’ or similar who has collected huge volumes of data on themselves (n=1), but with no qualifications or registration
- An influencer who doesn’t declare their conflicts of interest when promoting their product
- Even a brand positioning their product as the sole remedy for your ‘brain fog’ or fatigue?
Now, don’t get me wrong – it’s great to see people more interested in wellness and understanding their body – but gut-wrenching when people think they’re dialling in domain expertise to help them reach their goals, when in fact it’s a guru using them as a cash cow.
Trust the process?
My group is witnessing an increase in the ‘second wave’ of clients who have unfortunately been burned the first time round from a case of ‘the grift’- sold a solution or programme of support which left them injured, fatigued, confused, and back where they started.
I’ve also heard examples of high performers using two doctors, to conduct two separate sets of biomarkers to compare, just to avoid putting their trust in one expert.
The psychological scar tissue from the grift can be difficult to unpick and rebuild trust.
Like most market forces, I believe we’ll see a market correction – and a reliance on true expertise over fashionable products and services.
Until then, I advise anyone to take time to do their own due diligence on a health or human performance specialist or product. It’s wild out there!
Is anyone else seeing the grift in different forms?
Just when you thought he’d recovered his balance, Mel Gibson falls backwards sending the hairdryer spinning through the air and into the bathtub, electrocuting himself.
This, for those who remember the rom-com, was the start of his extraordinary new gift of understanding what women want, and created lots of debate among male and female friends on whether this would be a blessing or a curse.
What if we had the same gift in understanding what high performing clients (athletes, entertainers, businesspeople) want, now that we are in peak ‘New Year New You’ season?
So here are some of my experiences from 20 years as a consultant, and managing a nutrition-first human performance consultancy.
Sliding into your inbox
An initial email is often where it all starts. These range from quite clear and concise:
“My client is a high performer needing to optimise energy for their work and training goals”
“We have a footballer who needs to improve his nutrition, to take his performances to the next level”
To the more mysterious:
“I represent a high profile artist/businessperson/athlete. I would like to discuss your services on how you can support their atypical life (enticing, right?).
These emails will come from agents, relatives, exec assistants, coaches. These will also come from obscure emails addresses, and some will even sound a bit catfishy.
But the initial contact is almost never from the performer themselves, in the case of the real high performers (or the ‘0.01%’).
So what’s the next step?
First date (discovery call)
Our process is to set up a call with the performer, to answer the key question:
“So, what are you looking for in this relationship?”
Some clients are super specific about their goals. For example when we started to work with Stormzy before his headliner at Glasto, his brief was really clear on optimising his energy and physique for a 90-minute set.
Others will come with a broader direction of wanting you to optimise parts of their life to ‘look, feel or perform better’, but will need you to define the areas of focus with them.
Our team will work with individual high performers over the long term >12 months, so synergy becomes really important for both parties.
But here’s the thing that’s can often be overlooked: Taking on a new client is a two way street.
Previously I have (very foolishly) taken on clients, because they’re a top performer, and because I ignored some ‘red flags’ on the discovery call…
Everyone will have different experiences, but our ‘red flags’ include:
- Representative won’t bring the performer onto the discovery call
- Fixated on programme cost or request a break clause in the contract
- Turning up late to meetings
- Indications they aren’t ready to prioritise a lifestyle change
Some of these can be managed in isolation. More than one and you have a problem.
Let’s take it slow, baby
Clients want to know you have a system which produces proven results. They also want to be coached, receive regular feedback, and to be held accountable (a bit of ‘tough love’).
They are also used to people saying ‘yes’ to them, and having things on their terms, so will deliberately push boundaries from the word go.
“This is just what I need! When can we start?”
These words sound like gold, but when it’s 10 minutes into a first discovery call, it’s often just the performer being polite, rather than a verbal agreement to sign up to the programme.
We have a 10 day onboarding window to assign practitioners, complete lifestyle & performance history, before starting a programme. Every time we’ve rushed this process for a ‘special case’ there have been issues.
Don’t do what I did a few years ago, and agree to meet a headline musician at their rehearsals on Sunday, as they wanted to start before a world tour, which was leaving the next day. Unsurprisingly, this didn’t come through!
Previously I have (very foolishly) taken on clients, because they’re a top performer, and because I ignored some ‘red flags’ on the discovery call…
If you are key to a high performer’s long term objectives/direction, they will understand that you have other important clients, and a life, and respect you and your service a lot more.
Online stalking (Due Diligence)
One of my biggest learnings is that the high performers will do the most due diligence on both you and your business. They also have personal and business teams to help with this.
They will take time to read your articles. They will watch your interviews, even read your book, if they are serious about making a lifestyle change.
But I’ve also noticed another trend. They will really want to get into the detail of your experiences on discovery call(s), ahead of committing to a long-term programme.
“How did you create change within xx organisation?” or “How could xx strategy work practically within my context?”
I put this down to the rise in ‘fast advice’ on social media. The fact that it is so easy for gurus to create a new identity overnight and build a following or ‘tribe’ (yuck!) and embellish qualifications and expertise.
So the performer really wants to qualify the scope and depth of your expertise.
So now I find it very reassuring when someone has taken time to do their search online, and has lots of questions, before looking to start this new relationship, because that’s what that it is. A new relationship.
The relationship (the value)
So then, what do high performers want? And I don’t think we need Mel Gibson’s powers for this.
They want the human performance services and credentials of your team, as advertised
They want to trust a process that will lead them to a desired outcome
They want your team to deeply understand their unique context before rushing in with strategies
But what’s the value to them?
I met a client of ours (an Oscar-winning actor) over Christmas in Marylebone. As we were wrapping up the meeting, he said to me.
“That’s the value, James. Giving me the knowledge to understand my body. Listen to the signals and make more informed lifestyle [exercise, nutrition, sleep, mindset] decisions. And ignore the noise. That’s the value”
As I walked outside onto the street, I thought, it’s amazing that the client can market our services a lot better than I ever could. That’s what high performers want.
James