Oh, yes. This is indeed real.

The Talk Preparedness Program

Learn how to have THE TALK without becoming part of the hoard.

A brief song, overheard near the fire:

Oh the finest rep in the kingdom
has a book both deep and wide,
with old accounts and sleeping deals
stacked warmly at their side.

They earned the gold. We know it.
No thief has come to call.
But some good accounts need sunlight,
and some have had none at all.

So fill your pipe and check your notes,
and choose each word with care.
For moving treasure from a dragon
requires more than “fair.”

More often than not, your top performers will be the ones sitting on the richest hidden pipeline.

This is not suspicious.

This is what happens when good reps win good accounts, keep good relationships, inherit a few more, rescue a few from disaster, and eventually become the sales equivalent of a dragon sleeping upon its hoard.

The dragon earned the hoard.

But sometimes the hoard grows so large that even the dragon can no longer remember every treasure, let alone lovingly gaze upon each one.

That is when a manager may need to have The Talk.

The Talk is the uncomfortable discussion about whether certain accounts need more attention than one very successful rep can give them.

Sometimes that means coaching the rep to work the accounts. Sometimes it means running a campaign around them. Sometimes it means pairing in another rep.

And sometimes... it means the dreaded redistribution of accounts, in which treasure is removed from one hoard and entrusted to another.

Should you require guidance before approaching the dragon...

Very well.

Please leave your contact information below. If enough brave managers request advanced diplomatic training, we will prepare course materials, sample phrasing, and a careful analysis of how one approaches a dragon without making sudden movements near the treasure.

Until then, some basics:

Do not begin by saying “we are taking your accounts.”
Do not use the word “fair” unless you have brought a helmet.
Do bring respect.
Do bring evidence.
Do bring options.
Do remember that top performers are top performers because they are good at noticing when treasure is being moved.