He didn’t choose his career. It chose him.
Dick Moorman
Could Dick Moorman ever have been anything but a salesman?
“My father would drive to Indiana to buy melons,” recounts Moorman, vice president of distributor relations for Midmark, and recent inductee into the Medical Distribution Hall of Fame. “He would buy a whole car trunk full and then have me load up my coaster wagon and go door to door in Minster (Ohio), selling those melons.
“As a young child, we would hunt night crawlers for bait. I would load them up in that same coaster wagon and take them up to Bud’s Bar/gas station and sell them to Bud for a dime a dozen. He then sold them to all the local people for 50 cents a dozen. In junior high I got a job at the local Mobil gas station. We were given bonuses at Christmas based on how many wiper blades and window-washer fluid we could sell. That was back in the days of full service at the pumps.
“In middle school, before school, I carried milk baskets for Denny Monnin, and sold milk, juice, etc. along the route in Minster Machine and the pattern shop. We had an established route in there. I’d deliver a pint of chocolate, a bottle of orange drink, and I picked up the used bottles.” (This was in the days before vending machines.) “My first weekly paycheck was $3.38.”
Thanks to dad
Moorman’s father – Dick Sr. – was an encyclopedia salesman and editor of the local paper. “He raised 10 children selling World Book,” he says. He died when Dick Jr. was 15.
“My mother, Sylvia, at that point had to go to work,” he says. “She raised us 10 kids working in a men’s clothing store for awhile, and then in the Minster Bank for many, many years. My parents taught me the ethics of work. Nothing given; you earned it. I have had a job since I was in middle school. I’m very proud of that fact.”
In fact, it was his father’s success at sales that indirectly led Moorman to a lifetime career with Midmark.
After graduating from Miami of Ohio, young Moorman answered an ad in The Minster Post for a sales trainee at I.E. Industries (now Midmark).
“I thought, what the heck, check it out. I could stay at home, play softball with my buddies, and life would be great!” He interviewed and got the job. A couple of years later, [President] Jim Eiting told him what had transpired.
“He told me that Dave Bester [one of the interviewees] told him they were interviewing Dick Moorman. Jim asked him, ‘Is that Dick Moorman’s young son? If so, hire him, because his dad was the best salesman I ever met. He sold me a complete set of World Book encyclopedias, and moreover, a complete set of Childcraft books to go with it. I said to your dad, But I don’t have any kids. Your dad explained that someday I would have kids, so buy them now…and I did!’”
Settling in
Moorman’s first six months at I.E. Industries were spent at the manufacturing plant in Minster, assembling tables and casework. “Those six months in the plant were some really terrific times with some terrific people,” he says. “I really got to know my product at that point, and there was not anything I could not fix once I got in the field. Back then, we were the service guys as well as the sales guys. More important, it gave me the understanding of just how dedicated and committed the people in the plant were to turning out a great product.”
When the Southern territory opened up, Moorman and his wife, Linda, moved to Atlanta. And he was ready to work.
“I remember seeing the ‘greenbar’ report, and the entire 10 states did a total of approximately $300,000 that year,” he says. “A lot of that was repair parts.
“The first two years I drove 198,000 miles a year. I got a new car at six months because of the miles I put on it. Man, I thought that was great! I had no idea how to run or work a territory, but I was going to ensure I was in front of and met all of the distributors in those 10 states. It did not take too long for me to figure out I needed to be more effective in my travels.
“I remember Dick Wuebker coming down to work with me one time. I had him travel with me during a normal week. He said something to the effect, ‘Is this what you normally do, or are you just trying to run me into the ground?’ He could see I was not having much fun, and not really being as effective as I could. I would stay out for two weeks at a time and that was very hard on my new wife, Linda.” Wuebker taught him some lessons on how to balance work and his personal life.
Eventually, Moorman was promoted to regional manager, national sales manager, vice president of sales and, ultimately, vice president of distributor relations.
Mentors
Moorman has a hard time pointing to just one person as a mentor. “There have been so many that have had a big influence on me,” he says. At the top of his list are his father and mother. “My father died when I was 15. My mother, Sylvia, was always a great sounding board for me as well. Any time I would complain or wish for something to change, she would say to me, ‘Dick, if wishes were horses, then beggars would ride.’ She always made me realize just how good I had it. No one worked harder than Sylvia.”
Others include:
- Jim Eiting. “In the early years, Jim’s principles of management were a major influence. The one thing I learned from Jim was to be curious. He was the most curious man I ever met. Jim was a guy who would ask you a question, and you would wonder why he asked it. Then about two weeks later, you suddenly realize why he asked it.”
- Scott Fanning, former vice president of sales and marketing, Midmark. “He was instrumental in instilling the ‘win at all costs’ mentality. ‘Play by the rules and win, and if the rules have not been written yet, be the one to write them.’”
- Don Kitzmiller, former executive vice president, Midmark. “[Don] was the champion of relationships. No one commanded a room better than Don. He helped show me the need for showmanship in selling.”
- Denny Monnin, retired territory rep. “He helped me a great deal in the early years. He taught me that if you say you are going to do something, you do it. No questions asked, even if it might hurt you personally. Never break a commitment. He also showed me just how much humor plays a role in success. He was always quick with a joke and a story, and there was not a customer that did not like Denny. Denny was really my early trainer that actually taught me the business. He can take a situation and break it down to simple, common sense. All through my career in sales and management, Denny was my go-to sounding board. He still is a source for me to check my thinking.”
- Jack Carew, former I.E. Industries sales trainer, who later started a sales training firm, Carew International. “He was instrumental in teaching me the science of sales. He was the gentleman who actually brought to Midmark the creativity we have always been known for. He was adamant about not doing what he called ‘card-carrying calls,’” that is, calls that begin and end with the rep handing the prospect his or her business card. “Jack was instrumental in saying, ‘You have to do something new, creative.’” Carew’s “Dimensions of Professional Selling” training courses were the basis for Midmark’s “Power Meetings,” where many in the industry were trained to sell. “These ‘Power Meetings’ were not just about Midmark, but about selling in general,” says Moorman. “I personally have trained more than one thousand distributor reps at our Power Meetings over the years. Many who were distributor reps at the time are now on the manufacturing side, and to this day, they thank us for the training they went through all those years ago.”
“There are so many in the industry that have had an impact,” says Moorman. “Jim Stover, Bob Barnes, John Sasen, Mark Seitz, Bill McLaughlin Sr., Yates Farris, Chad Kelly, Ralph Falls, Brad Connett, and the list goes on.”
Lucky man
“I remember when Anne Eiting Klamar first came onboard to run the company,” he recalls. “She asked me, ‘Dick, do you consider yourself a lucky person?’ To which I answered: ‘Absolutely!’ That holds true to this day.
“I do not think there is a better industry to be a part of,” he says. “As big as our industry is, it still seems to be a close-knit community of people. Between manufacturer and distributor, we are truly making a difference in peoples’ lives and their health.”
Relationships still matter, he says. “There has to be the element of trust between a manufacturer and distributor, and both need to feel that the other is really trying to work in the best interest of the other. There has to be a very high level of integrity. There have been many changes to how we work together, yet relationships and trust are still as important as they were in the past.
“It is probably more important today, with the advent of GPOs and the transparency around pricing in the marketplace. As pricing is no longer an advantage for any salesperson, the relationships established between manufacturer and distributor are of paramount importance.”
Moorman feels lucky for his family, as well.
“My lovely wife, Linda, and I have been married a little over 40 years. She is the reason I am still here. I owe her a lot, as she sacrificed a great deal to allow for my success. There are not enough good things to say about her. I love her dearly.”
Their son, Josh, is an accomplished dog trainer. “I live a bit vicariously through him. He has put two retrievers into the AKC Master National Hunter Hall of Fame and has trained multiple Master hunters. He has become a wonderful young man who I am very proud of.”
Their daughter, Amanda, “has blessed us with three grandsons” – Cole, Reed and Brooks. “She and her husband, Tommy, are terrific parents, and the grandkids are a blast when they are here.”
Moorman’s oldest brother, Donnie, passed away a couple of years ago, but he still has six sisters and two brothers. “I guess Mom and Dad didn’t have a lot to do on those cold nights in Ohio,” he says.
Role model?
“I took my first airplane ride to Atlanta with I.E. Industries [now Midmark],” recalls Dick Moorman, vice president of distributor relations for Midmark, and recent inductee into the Medical Distribution Hall of Fame. “There was a rep at the time who was leaving, but he had pretty much stopped producing and had made the decision to move back to Ohio.
“I remember it vividly – that first ‘training run’ with the rep. I took a cab to the Holiday Inn in Norcross, Ga. The rep said he would meet me for breakfast the next day at 10 a.m. I thought, ‘Breakfast at 10 a.m.? What the heck.’ He showed up at about 10:30, and I was ready to go. He said, ‘No, sit down and let’s have some breakfast and let’s talk.’ Well, he was my trainer who was going to show me the ropes.
“We sat down to breakfast and the very first thing he asked me was, ‘Dick, do you believe in God?’ Somewhere along the way this gent ‘got religion.’ Now don’t take that wrong, as I am a Christian and a man of faith. But this was totally out of place.
“His training consisted of showing me where the three dealers in Atlanta were located. We went into General Medical, Durr Fillauer Medical, and Brooks Burke Surgical Supply.
“Here is the thing: We never met with any people. He told me, ‘What I do here is go into the salesman room and put literature in all the reps’ mailboxes.’ He explained that is what this job is about – getting them literature. I was just a bit baffled by the experience. So that evening I called my boss, Don Kitzmiller, and explained what took place.
“He said, ‘Just come on back.’”
Denny Monnin on Dick Moorman
After graduating from high school, Denny Monnin took a job as a milkman for Meyer’s Dairy in Minster, Ohio. (Monnin retired in 2014 after 38 1/2 years with Midmark.)
“My job was to deliver milk, eggs, butter and chips to homes and grocery stores,” he recalls. “We also delivered to the Minster Machine Shop, where I had to have three seventh- and eighth-graders help me each morning before school. One of my helpers was a seventh-grader by the name of Dick Moorman.
“I would pick them up at their homes at 7:30 each morning, head to the machine shop, drop them off at three different doors. They had a walk-through route where they would set off a pint of chocolate or white milk, or orange juice, here and there, and pick up empties [from the day before]. I remember telling them to smile, say good morning, but HURRY UP. I must say Dick was always ready; did his job thoroughly; and knew the meaning of getting the job done and right.”
Moorman was hired by Midmark just six months after Monnin. “Since I had six months experience, Dick and I traveled together during his training,” says Monnin. “To be honest, looking back on it, I’m not sure who was training whom. Dick was so good at training salespeople on how to cover objections and how to work meetings.”
Monnin recalls working a dermatology show with Moorman. “I had a doctor come by the booth, and I asked him if I could show him some equipment, and he said he wasn’t interested. The doctor kept walking down the aisle, and Dick was on the other end of the booth. The next thing I noticed, Dick had this doctor lying on a power table talking and laughing. After about 1 1/2 hours, he wrote up an order for $40,000, signed with a down payment.”
Moorman’s work ethic and dedication to his company are among his greatest gifts to the industry, says Monnin. “He taught us to work hard so we could play hard. Dick is a serious person when it comes to work, but he knows how to have fun with his customers also.”