Megan's 18th Year with Lilly - Transition from Sales to Field Reimbursement Manager (March 2020 - February 2021)

What a year it turned out to be. The week we returned from Boston's National Meetings in March 2020, the world literally stopped. And for at least 6 months, every singe Lilly rep and employee worked from home. About 30% of reps got released starting in mid September but not many in Texas. In fact as we approach the 1 Year Anniversary of March 13, 2020 when Lilly pulled us from the field, in San Antonio, I am in the very small minority that never got released into the field.

January of 2020 - I finally got an incredible new partner, Maria Ellis. Although she was hired to work both San Antonio and Austin, by July, the data had come in and San Antonio and Austin's volume was the largest in the country and said we needed over 5 reps. So I as elated that Maria became only San Antonio with me from September on. She has been an absolutely highlight of work for me over this year, especially after the work load and constant turnover with Andy W and Brandan over the last 2.5 years.

We launched a new pediatric indication virtually, during a pandemic and my office got LOTS of use and I regularly had visitors during my day. 

2020 was non-stop virtual meeting! We did our first ever West Area Meeting virtually in September for 4 days and it overall was really good.

My MOM2MOM and BACK2WORK Network and Mentor Program really thrived and continued it's massive growth throughout 2020 with a TEAMS group I created the fruit week of COVID Work From Home, connecting 300 Lilly moms across all divisions and all time zones. We did 5 remarkable HOT TOPICS call, even bravely entering into the racism topic that became front and center in 2020. 2020 was supposed to be my year of transitioning the network over to new people and me out. It took until September or October, but I finally found 3 incredible women I adore to going me and help to run the gigantic network for 2021. It was the first time in 6 years that I wasn't leading everything. This is the ultimate major transition to start 2021. I could pinch myself that I built an an active network of nearly 400 women over the last 6 years with a Executive team of 3 women, overseeing the work of 35 amazing women across the entire country and every division that is field based at Lilly.

The fall, we stayed 100% virtual. San Antonio was one of the very few territories at Lilly that was never released into the field in all of 2020 due to our available hospital beds never going above 20%. I think this was in large part due to San Antonio servings many of the smaller towns in far South and West Texas. 

I had no idea this would be my very last sales virtual lunch. My partner happened to take a picture.

Then, December 15 came, my first day of 3 weeks of vacation. At 2PM, while I was out on a walk, Andi Shaw called me to tell me she had accepted a promotion to National FRM trainer and wanted to support me to fill the San Antonio FRM role. Without much pause, but to call Blake, I immediately knew I wanted to jump on this opportunity to try something new, leave sales, and stretch myself to do something new after 18 years with Eli Lilly. The confidence I had in jumping at this opportunity without knowing if I would be even a candidate can only be tied to the growth mindedness that I have consistently worked so hard at making the norm over the past 5 years. I didn't fear rejection, I didn't worry about it being something so completely new, in fact, I knew that it was quite possibly the answer to a prayer I had had for almost 3 years, for a dramatic change in my work with the goal of having less stress and being able to connect more with the kids. The following week, the job was posted, I interviewed and 12 days later, on 12/27/2020, I had officially transitioned from a Senior Executive Dermatology Sales Executive to a Field Reimbursement Manager. Life was good and Blake and I laughed that we BOTH took incredible new job opportunities in 2020, in the smack middle of COVID.

 

Virtual Interview Set Up!

I will be working from home significantly more now, well, I mean post-COVID so I was sent all kids of laptops, monitors, headsets & new phones. My work station is looking pretty serious the first week. I still need to get it organized but I am sure it will take a while. I love having it tucked away in the back of the house. 

In mid February, after 5 weeks of intense training for the Field Reimbursement Manager role, I was officially in my territory on Monday, February 15, which happened to be the first big day of the San Antonio arctic blast that left us with 7 inches of snow over night and 4 straight days of staying under freezing, more like in the single digits and teens, thus, completely closing down the ENTIRE city including schools for a FULL week. It left 90% of San Antonio with no electricity, water, Internet or all 3. We were very lucky only loosing internet but it made my first week at my new job completely impossible to do. 

So the following week pretty much ended up being my first week and it was the both the FRM and Sales National Awards Virtual Meetings. I was honored that I was awarded the biggest awards of the night called "The Pinnacle Award" with a nice payout instead of a trip. Our district finished #1 in the nation again and it was so wonderful to see my old Dermatology colleagues across the nation for such a fun awards ceremony. Blake and the kids even surprised me with a congratulatory video!

Two weeks into being on the job, I will say this is honestly the hardest job. If I hadn't had a dozen people warn me about how overwhelming this first month is and how it will feel like I am drinking out of a fire hydrant, I would be regretting my decision and begin for my sales job back. But all my work I have put into myself the past 5 years, always being growth minded and know that stretching myself will be uncomfortable yet it will make me stronger. I have talked to the kids a lot about how I feel the past couple of weeks as it's important that they see me struggle and not give up. At the end of week 2, it feels like I am learning to speak another language and I am not good at my job. It's a feeling I haven't had in 18 years. But I know I will be fine and in 6-12 months I will look back and laugh and being helping other new people around me and be so happy in this amazing new job! Cheers to this past week and 18 years at Eli Lilly and for this company always supporting me and offering me new challenges.