Profiles in Courage
Many of today’s distribution companies began with more drive than dollars
More often than not, today’s successful distribution businesses began in a garage, backed by an idea, a few loans and a lot of determination. That is certainly the case with many of the distributors profiled in 2009 in First Impressions’ "Distributor Profile" feature. See what we mean ...
Midway Dental Supply, Lakeville, Ind. "Dad tried to get us involved in any way he could," said Dawn Metcalf, speaking about her father, Midway founder Roger Abigt. "He encouraged me to try telesales, but I wanted nothing to do with the dental industry at that time!" She changed her mind; today, she is the company’s sales manager.
Darby Dental Supply, Jericho, N.Y. "Michael believed - and eventually proved - that a telemarketing representative could be trained as well as a field sales rep and serve as a consultant to the dentists to help them with their questions regarding products and how they are used in procedures," said President Gary Rosenberg, speaking about Michael Ashkin, son of Darby founder Joseph Ashkin.
Johnson & Lund Co., Rochester, N.Y. "It’s all about how you service and treat your customers," said President Jerry Larkin. "We have found that this is the most important thing that has sustained our company over the years." And it’s a lot of years; Johnson & Lund celebrated its 150th anniversary this year.
Parkway Dental, Pennsauken, N.J. "We are cognizant of the importance of relationship marketing and impeccable personal service," said founder Rob Cherkas. "We stress the necessity of listening to our customers and picking up on all of their non-verbal cues."
MasterFit Medical Supply, Jackson, Tenn. "If the good Lord is willing and my wonderful team is willing, we plan to be cranking it out in western Tennessee, Kentucky, northern Mississippi and eastern Arkansas," said company founder John Garrard. "I have three daughters to send to college and three weddings to pay for. I don’t play Lotto, so I plan on doing this for quite a while. But, I wouldn’t have it any other way!"
Garden State Dental Supplies, Freehold, N.J. "So many times, I was ready to give everything up, but that would have been foolish," said Mark Frisch, who was driving a cab in New York City prior to founding Garden State Dental. "You just never know what your hard work will lead to."
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