One of my current biggest challenges is filling the impossibly large shoes of a training giant who has recently left our company. To protect the innocent, we’ll call him Larry. Now, Larry was a loveable, charismatic, passionate salesman who was able to command a room and carry all those in it to a magical frenzy if he wanted to. Sound a bit overdramatic? Maybe but it’s not an exaggeration. Larry was our top dog which leads to the fact that he had all our top clients. They LOVED him. I can’t use that word strongly enough. So it goes without mentioning that the thought of taking over any of his clients left me sweating profusely and slightly nauseous.
As I had worked with him in previous years under a the Project Management role, we shared these A List clients and grew fantastic relationships with these clients together. We were an unbeatable team, Larry and I. When Larry left however, a large Larry-shaped void was created and clients began to panic! Who would replace the record breaking legend?
And so the re-negotiation of some of our top clients began. Low and behold, one of our major clients with whom Larry and I broke a global revenue record was up for resigning and they did NOT like the fact the Larry would not be on their account anymore. My rather sheepish and cunning trainer, we’ll call him Stu, mentioned that they would no longer have me as their Project Manager as I was being promoted to Account Director. Would you believe, the client actually requested I take their account? Yes, I didn’t believe it either but that was the case.
We need to side bar here as I explain the true consequences of this decision. I had yet to run two full programs at this point averaging the absolute minimum the company will allow in revenue generation to be worth our while – which is about $500,000. This client produced nearly $4million in revenue last year on its own. Starting to feel nauseous as well? Good.
Now if you thought I was having a heart attack, I hate to know what type of cardiac arrest the board of our company was feeling when this plan was unveiled to them. It was done, I would be taking the account going forward.
Revenue aside, there was more pressure mounting as I knew these reps put Larry on a pedestal. A very tall, very sturdy pedestal. Could I gain the loyalty and affections of all 22 reps as Larry so effortlessly did all those years ago? Or would they forever see me in my former role - more behind the scenes, more forgettable, more ADMIN. Commence dry throat and sweaty palms now.
It all came to a head when I finally met with the client for the first time in my new role as Account Director. I had to make the decision. Carry on like Larry would have to keep them in my good graces or change the game completely to create my own persona and keep them guessing. While you would think it would be the obvious choice to change the game completely, it was actually a tough choice to make. Emulating Larry’s more emotionally charged, less rigid structure would definitely win favour with the team and I needed to get them on my side, and fast! I eventually decided changing the game was the right choice and moved forward.
Side note 2: This is a client where the entire team has not changed since we started working with them 4 years ago. They are Pro’s. They break global records. And they are burnt out.
So, what did I do? I introduced the theme: “Back to Basics”. I did that for two reasons – 1. Because I am still learning myself and need the practice of running through everything by the book. 2. I was banking on the thought that some of the material they would not have seen since the very first year they ran the program. In this regard, Larry actually left me with a bit of an advantage. While Larry was BRILLIANT in rallying the team, connecting with clients and inspiring them to push forward, he didn’t stick to our formulas or materials religiously. Paperwork was his sworn enemy. This is where I could distinguish myself. In conducting a few of the trainings so far, I have received more compliments from reps and managers
than I could ever have imagined! Most are saying they are seeing some of this material for the first time and are re-invigorated. Managers are saying that they are even learning from the training sessions. For the most part, they are excited about the fresh perspective and additional structure.
So what did I learn here? Firstly, that I always have sometime to offer every client, no matter the size or history because I have something that none of the veterans have – fresh perspective. Secondly, that I shouldn’t worry about following the footsteps of giants. If I try to follow too closely, I’ll probably end up tripping in the tread. Better to create my own footsteps which may start out small but eventually will flourish to giant size 14 shoes with time. A girl can dream!
