By Laura Thill
For David Vann, the last 42 years in medical products sales have left him all the wiser.
It would take a lot more than a challenging start to hold David Vann back in medical products sales. In fact, 42 years ago, he had no idea what a catheter was, he admits. But, by following the lead of his colleagues and setting – and adhering to – some realistic goals, he turned a learning experience into a successful, decades-long career.
Expect the unexpected
A sales career wasn’t always on Vann’s radar. While attending the University of Alabama, his focus was on college sports. A dedicated UA baseball player, he deeply respected the university’s coaches. “If you Google my baseball coach, Joe Sewell, you can see the professional baseball records he holds,” he says. “For example, he held least strike outs in a season with over 500 at-bats. Coach Sewell was a great mentor and an amazing man.” So was head football coach and athletic director Paul William “Bear” Bryant, he adds. “Coach Bryant had a basic formula for success that I have tried to live throughout my life.” It went like this:
- Have a Plan.
- Work Your Plan.
- Expect the Unexpected.
For years, Vann was confused by Bryant’s last point: to expect the unexpected. Once he began selling medical supplies, however, it became quite clear. “What Coach Bryant meant was, be ready for anything; be willing to adjust and change; and never stop moving forward with your plan,” he says. “Whether in sports, business or life in general, if you live by this formula, you will always have a great chance for success.”
The early days
Forty-two years ago, Vann “did not know medical sales opportunities even existed,” he says. “I needed a job coming out of college and I felt that a career in sales was for me. My girlfriend at the time, Kathy, (now my wife of 42 years) had a brother, Mike, who was the warehouse manager at Gentec, a division of Foremost McKesson in Birmingham, Ala. I interviewed about five or six times for a sales trainee job, and finally got it.” His first day on the job, as he toured the warehouse, he learned what a catheter was, he adds.
“The first couple of years were very challenging,” Vann says. “My territory was in the Southeast corner of Alabama, where I had never lived and did not know anyone. I had two main competitors, one of which had sold medical products there for 12 years, and the other for eight years. There were many days the first two years when I would ask myself what was I doing there and why was I doing it?
“One thing that helped me tremendously (other than the support of the people I worked with) was setting short-term goals,” he says. “We all had annual goals, and often quarterly and monthly goals as well, but I needed to know whether I was successful on a daily basis.” So, each day, he would record the following goals on a spreadsheet, along with his results:
- Number of calls. “Sometimes, I would play games, like refusing to let my car go home until I had made that number of calls. It sounds silly now, but at the time it worked for me!”
- Number of orders generated.
- Specific sales dollar amount.
- Specific gross profit dollar amount.
Each week, he set weekly goals for the number of manufacturer reps he would work with and raised his sales and gross profit goals. “These goals informed me if I had a successful day, or if I needed to double up on sales calls the next day,” he says, noting that he stayed with the territory for 12 years. “I had great customers, who in time became great friends,” he says. “It was my customers who motivated me to do the best possible job I could for them.”
In 1980, Gentec Birmingham was acquired by Bedsole Medical, which, in turn, was acquired by Henry Schein in 1998. Through it all, Vann “never changed jobs,” and he attributes his longtime success as a sales rep – and later as director of sales – to the “many good people I have been able to lean on through the years, from my sales peers and managers to our manufacturer supply partners.
“I received some great sales tips from both distribution sales reps, as well as manufacturer supply partner sales reps,” he says. “I was also fortunate to have managers along the way who helped me understand the importance of organization and time management, and people who encouraged me to believe I could do anything I wanted. Finally, our educational training, which originally came from ASTA (later to become HIDA), provided us with great product background.” With the introduction of HIDA, training expanded to include sales skills, knowledge of the customers’ needs, guidelines for working with manufacturer supply partners, etc., he adds.
Throughout his 42 years in the industry, Vann found himself constantly adapting to change. From managing his own territory, he advanced to regional sales manager, zone general manager and, eventually, director of sales. “I have been very fortunate to have filled most of these positions under Henry Schein,” he says. “Henry Schein has given me the opportunity to work with many different departments within the company, as well as with people across entire country.” In turn, these opportunities have enhanced his business and personal relationships, including those with his customers, colleagues and manufacturer partners, he says. “I cannot thank everyone at Henry Schein enough for the relationships they have allowed me to build over the years.
“I have experienced four different sales cycles in my 42-year career, all of which have been dictated by industry changes and customer needs,” he continues:
- In the 1970s, customers needed someone to provide consistency and take care of their needs. They looked forward to their sales reps’ visits.
- In the 1980s and 1990s, customers needed sales reps who could keep them updated on new products and technology.
- In the early 2000s, customers needed sales reps who understood their changing needs and could bring them the best products ad solutions to meet these needs.
- In the later 2000s, customers needed – and continue to need – trusted advisors who can provide efficient healthcare solutions to help them run their entire business.
Attitude counts
If there’s one thing that hasn’t changed for Vann since joining the medical products industry, it’s been his strong relationships – both with customers and sales reps he has mentored. “I love to help people,” he says, “If you focus on helping people, and take pride in what you do, good things always follow.” As Nick Saban, current football coach at the University of Alabama, recently said, ‘It does not matter what you do; it’s your attitude about doing it.’ He used the example of working as a street sweeper. If I were a street sweeper, I would want to know I was the best street sweeper in the world. That’s a pretty good philosophy!”
Vann considers himself fortunate to have worked with so many talented sales reps through the years. He has learned much from his colleagues, and has enjoyed paying it forward by mentoring newer sales reps at Henry Schein. “As with many things, the toughest part about being successful in medical sales is getting started,” he says. “You must be persistent and patient at the same time, and not many people are good at both.
“In the past, when I mentored new salespeople whom I knew were doing the right things and working hard, my main goal was to try to keep them focused on the future rather than the fact that it would take a while for them to build their territory to where they wanted it,” he says. “The great pleasure I received from working with so many talented salespeople is that they taught me there is more than one way to be successful.” All reps may require the same basic sales skills to do their job, he says. But, those who focus on their unique personality, rather than imitating others, are the ones who likely will build customer relationships and gain success, he adds.
Family time
Ironically, Vann has discovered that one of the most challenging parts of his career has been to balance work demands with time spent with family. “I have been very fortunate that my wife, Kathy, is very understanding and that our children, Jamie and Tyler, always accepted the fact that although I often worked long hours, I made it a point to be with them as much as I could,” he says. “I am fortunate that they were willing to work through this with me. Kathy helped me with my job many times over the years. She and I have always communicated well together, which has been key to our success together.”
Today, Vann’s childrenare successful adults themselves, both of whom live nearby with their own families. (Jamie and her husband, Forrest, and Tyler and his wife, Lauren.) And, after 42 years of taking care of physicians and their practices, he has plans to retire and focus on his family, including his four grandchildren (Mary Katherine, Emily, Allie and Gunner). “I am excited to spend more time with them before they grow up,” he says.
“I am fortunate to be retiring for the right reasons,” he continues. “Kathy and I share the same hobbies and do many things together. Now we’ll have more time for that.” In addition to enjoying the company of his adult children and their families, he looks forward to spending more time with his mother, Shirley, who just moved home after living in California for 35 years, and visiting his aunts, Fifi and Corty, in Delaware.
That’s not to say it will be easy to part with his sales career. “What I will miss most is the people,” he says. “I will miss our Henry Schein team members. I will miss the customers. And, I will miss working with our supply partners and organizations like HIDA, NACHC, MGMA etc. But I will always have the memories that all of these people helped me build over the past 42 years, and I thank everyone for that.”
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