“You’ve always made me feel like I was your only customer.” For Paul Dubois, those words were the best retirement gift he could ask for from one materials manager.
By Laura Thill
Paul Dubois admits to being somewhat surprised when, 42 years ago, Chuck Evans, then president of Welch Allyn, asked him to bring his wife and infant daughter to his interview for a sales position with the company. Perhaps it was his daughter’s cooperation when Evans reached out to hold her that snagged Dubois the job. Or, maybe it was a hunch on the part of Evans and Vice President of Sales George Blowers that he had the making of an excellent salesperson. Whichever it was, Dubois became Welch Allyn’s third sales rep and, in the years to come, turned his new job into a meaningful, lifelong career.
A ticket out of Utica
For the West Va., transplant, Dubois wasn’t exactly thrilled when his first employer, Gulf Oil, set him up in Utica, N.Y. “Utica is not exactly a garden spot.” he says. So, when a friend directed him to Skaneateles, N.Y.-based Welch Allyn, he was quick to pursue the opportunity. He joined the company in 1971, later moving to Atlanta, Ga., and finally to Charlotte, N.C. in 1991. The original factory headquarters was home to only two other sales reps and, consistent with other medical products manufacturers at the time, did not post the company name on the building. In fact, when he went to his interview with Blowers all those years ago, it took him 1½ hours to locate the building, he admits. “It was located by the railroad tracks, behind a chain link fence,” he says. “I couldn’t believe that was the actual building!”
Since then, Welch Allyn has grown its sales force from three to 200, and has gone from having one factory to four or five, he continues. “And, at some point it started putting its name on the door,” he says.
The early days
When he arrived at Welch Allyn, Dubois brought with him a good amount of sales and service expertise. As a sales manager for Gulf Oil, he worked with the owners of 26 service stations. Still, his move to Welch Allyn proved to be quite challenging, he points out – particularly having to learn about so many new medical products. But, from the get-go, “I had great training,” he says. “For the first six months, I worked in the shipping, assembly and repair departments and learned the products inside and out.” And, because he got to know the people working in repair, once he became a field sales rep (the company’s first rep to cover its Southeast territory), “whenever there was a problem, I knew exactly who to call.”
That said, back in the day, it could be somewhat isolated in the field. “I had no other [field sales reps] for support,” says Dubois, although he is quick to add, “George Blowers was my inspiration and taught me the ropes.” Still, he single-handedly managed a territory that extended from south of Washington, D.C. to east of the Mississippi, and included Louisiana and Arkansas. “I was responsible for hospitals, doctors, medical schools – you name it,” he says. “Given the scope of my territory, one of my greatest struggles was having the time to get around to all of my customers and build relationships. There were no cell phones – just pay phones – and I carried a lot of nickels in my pocket!”
Over the years, Dubois’ territory decreased as more salespeople were added, and then expanded as Welch Allyn’s product line grew. At one point, his territory was reduced from 10 states to five, he notes. “But, when Welch Allyn adopted video endoscopy in the early 1980s, I was one of five salespeople who helped introduce this new technology, and my territory increased to 10 states for the next six years.” Once the company dropped the video endoscopy product line, Dubois returned to the “regular” sales force, which by then was split between the physician and hospital markets. “I joined the hospital division and moved to Charlotte, N.C.,” he says.
Indeed, keeping up with quickly transitioning markets and new technology generally was no problem for Dubois. “I never had a problem learning the products and new technology,” he says. “It flowed from one year to the next. I was always interested in learning the new products and welcomed the change.” Until it came to computers and laptops, that is. “Perhaps the biggest change for me was moving from a notepad and pen to computers to take customer orders,” he points out. On one hand, computers made the job easier. “But, it was huge for me to learn them,” he admits. “To this day, I don’t think I ever fully mastered using computers.” Nevertheless, he learned well enough and “it didn’t affect my ability to make sales,” he adds.
Great relationships
Staying enthusiastic about one’s work throughout a 42-year career is easier than it might seem, notes Dubois – at least it was for him. “I always enjoyed the challenge of sales, [as well as] the company I worked for and the products I represented. When the company you work for continues to move forward with new technology, it makes it much more interesting and much easier to stay enthusiastic.”
Another thing that has kept Dubois motivated for the past 40+ years has been the relationships he has forged within the industry. “I think the relationships I built with both my distributor and end-user customers are what has kept me going over the years,” he says. Indeed, his extensive travel schedule enabled him to stay in close touch with his distributor rep partners. And his relationships with his physician and hospital customers have gone “well beyond work,” he points out. “Over the years, we socialized over lunches and dinners, and talked about our families. I would attend one customer’s company picnics. And, whenever I traveled to Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., I would play tennis with my McKesson General Medical customers and often visit their homes.”
But, perhaps the relationships he holds closest to his heart are those that have evolved within his Welch Allyn family. Along with the help of Chuck Evans and George Blowers, Dubois depended on the mentorship of Lorne Elder. Through the years, Dubois mentored his share of territory sales reps as well, especially those who eventually took over his own territory, he points out. “I have enjoyed some very close, personal relationships with the territory sales reps in the South, who have been great colleagues and friends,” he says. At the same time, these were the colleagues he leaned on to become computer proficient, he adds. And, often, they were individuals who went on to become his supervisors, including Jack Desaro, Jim Evans, Tony Malero, Scott Palmer, Doug Linquist and Chuck Dorsey.
Working closely with industry experts, such as John Moran (Welch Allyn) and Yates Farris (IMCO), has also highlighted his career, as did his experience mentoring David Allyn years ago, he continues. “I still can’t believe his dad permitted that to happen,” he jokes.
Moving forward, Dubois will assist Welch Allyn with its blood pressure conversion project, which he expects to continue for the next year or so. “Besides that, I will enjoy life, family, my grandchildren and the friends I’ve made over the years, both in the industry and at Welch Allyn,” he says. “I plan on playing a lot of golf and look forward to spending more time at home with my wife, Marty, who has been – and continues to be – my greatest advocate. Balancing family and career has always been challenging, especially when I lived in Atlanta, Ga. and traveled about seven weeks in an eight-week period.” That cost him some family time, he points out – something he looks forward to making up today.
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