A Dental Salesman Never Dies
My parents were both actors. Look them up! My father was actually known and successful, with over 200 screen appearances, separate to the stage work.
There are some sayings about actors never dying; they just play older people. Look at the terrific Christopher Plummer, the late Eli Wallach and Mickey Rooney. They never stopped.
I’ve often been asked why I did not enter show business. My answer usually was that I did; I’m a salesman. Only difference of course is that I am not my product. An actor only has himself up there. The successful actor is typically extra-chuffed, for he himself is the successful product. Look at the other end: the unsuccessful actor just sits by the phone, waiting. Takes job perhaps as a waiter – anything that he can abandon suddenly when that phone rings.
We salesmen have to know how to act. We learn our lines, and then have to repeat them sometimes 100s of times, in a manner that seems real to the potential customer. Some of us are more ‘theatrical’ than others, but our success rate will judge that.
And some of us have difficulty retiring. We build up this dental world around us, and then are expected to go potter in the garden. I’ve been in the dental business now for 54 years…
It so happens I do like pottering in the garden (well, on our lovely roof garden overlooking Tel Aviv). Or just sitting there, reading – or staring. I also love playing tennis – almost every day. I love being part of a happily-growing family. I love my collection of antique drinking glasses, biking along the beach or through the park – and doing nothing. THAT’S my definition of retirement: doing something ‘cause you want to, not because you have to.
And I want to continue working, continue what I know I’m good at, continue to see the international dental world I built around me.
A few months ago, I left American Eagle Instruments. I had done my job, establishing the line throughout Europe. I had done a good job. I was known as ‘Mr American Eagle’. But it was time to move on. And UBrush! fell into my lap!!
It all started a year ago at the Dutch Hygienists’ conference. On one of the stands I espied a very pretty lady, surrounded by excited hygienists. Her name: Malou de Kok (‘the cook’). As Dutch as could be (she likes to say with a smile). And a hygienist herself, albeit very successful. Owns a large dental office which employs several dentists. Was a fashion model in the past, still could be, but has developed into a fashion designer, specialising in clothes for ladies in the medical/dental fields.
So, what caused the hygienists’ excitement? Malou was introducing the UBrush! Simply told, it’s an electric INTERDENTAL toothbrush. ‘Why didn’t I think of that’, many say. Or. ‘I’ve always wondered why no one thought if it before’.
First there were toothbrushes (mainly for the easier-to-reach tooth surfaces). Then came the electric versions, from A-Z. The interdental areas were always a problem: toothpicks, dental sticks, floss, manual brushes with an enormous variety of handles and angles. The interdental area is known to be the critical part to keep clean. But it was always difficult to motivate the patient to use whatever was recommended. (One of the reasons why hygienists will always have a job: no one cleans properly).
Malou not only studied the subject, she went on to solve the problem. She designed the UBrush! and had it produced.
I bought one from Malou immediately. My wife, Aviva, was the first to use the Ubrush! In Israel. I could say she’s our # 1 salesperson. She tells EVERYONE! It’s so user-friendly: the LED light helps her see exactly what she’s doing. The vibration keeps infections away. The easy-in-the-hand unit brings all areas of the mouth into easy reach – even from lingual to labial/buccal when ‘that piece needs pushing out’.
It’s fun!
It’s what everyone should be using right after the basic tooth-brushing. You’ll notice the effect within days.
So, back to me….Malou needed help with the expansion of the company. We (I and a couple of others) joined Malou to form a happy family which is now marketing the UBrush! all over the World.
Retirement? Not a subject.