If you happen to be meeting Tammy Myrick for the first time, she knows what you might be thinking — and it goes something like this:
HMMM… Blonde hair. Broad smile. Friendly face. Outgoing. Yeah, this girl has no idea what I need — or how to solve my problems.
Welcome to the Boy-Did I-Get-Her-Wrong club. Call it Tammy’s secret weapon. Call it her Incognito mode. Whatever you call it, she’s made a career out of exceeding expectations.
“Whenever I meet someone for the first time, whether it’s a scheduled meeting or a cold call, I make it my job to know everything I can about them. Where they went to school. Where they’ve worked in the past. What their job responsibilities are now. And, most importantly, how I can help them.
“I’ve heard my personality described as ‘disarming’ — which is exactly how I like to think of it. Because the more comfortable people are talking to you, the likelier they are to open-up about what their real needs are — and the better I can use this company’s resources, myself included, to address those needs.”
A 12-year veteran of the Environmental Services profession, Tammy’s served clients at every level — from Locally-Owned-And-Operated to International Corporations and the Federal Government. And if there’s one word to describe her approach to service, it’s Persistence. She’s up and out of bed most mornings at 4:30, on the road by 6:30 — and never takes No for an answer, when there’s a clear opportunity to improve a prospect’s circumstances.
It’s that determination Tammy used, her very first week with us, to get Ambipar Alabama the chance to quote a project for a prospect whom, company leader Tony Feagins freely admits, “We’d been talking-to for six months — and never got anywhere.”
Several years ago, Tammy remembers, “I’d been talking with another prospect for about that long — and decided to drop-in on them for a visit. They’d never given me the time of day to that point, but I knew the company they were working-with — and I knew what kind of company it was.
“Well, they agreed to show me an oil reclamation job they’d given the other company. When we got to the site, I pointed to their broken-down, worn-out equipment and said, ‘You know that old boom they’re using? It’s not going to stay there. It’s going to go flat, and all the oil’s gonna go right under it. Oh, and by the way, have you noticed their Vac Truck is leaking? Think about it: You’ve been out here for two hours yourself. You’ve also got two of your own guys and a supervisor here, just standing around, and nothing’s getting done. Wouldn’t it make a lot more sense to do this job the right way in the first place?” Tammy left that meeting with a new client.
“That was just one of this large Oil And Gas company’s terminals. Once I’d solved their problems, they gave me more of their terminals to service.” Within six months, she was managing a national corporate contract worth about $20 million. You could say they never knew what hit them — but they knew exactly what hit them: Team Tammy.
“In this business, there’s nothing more important than relationships — and there’s nothing more important in a relationship than trust. That’s why my phone stays on at night: I want every client to know they can trust me to be there when they need me — and they can trust me to do what’s right for them, no matter what.”
It goes without saying, Tammy’s no mere order-taker. “Clients know the way to get my best, and Ambipar’s best, is to bring me in early on a job — particularly when the challenges, and the solutions, are complicated.” It’s how, for instance, she’s designed emergency-response plans for regional power companies: Independent research coupled with hands-on analysis. Working hand-in-hand with clients. Whenever and wherever the job takes her.
“I really enjoy going on job sites — even the scary, nasty ones.” Not the kind of place, you might be thinking, that you’d normally expect to find an outgoing blonde with a friendly face. In which case, one thing’s for sure: You haven’t met Tammy.