Bill Neumann joins First Impressions
Dental Sales Pro founder appointed vice president of dental markets
The acquisition of online networking site Dental Sales Pro and the appointment of its founder, Bill Neumann, as vice president of dental markets for MDSI (publisher of First Impressions) marks a new era for First Impressions as well as MDSI’s approach to the dental market.
Neumann began his dental sales career in 2003 as a territory manager in eastern Pennsylvania, Delaware and central and southern New Jersey for Coltene/Whaledent. He was named Rookie of the Year and Alpen Sales Representative of the Year in 2004, and Sales Representative of the Year in 2007. In addition to his sales responsibilities, he became a sales trainer in 2007. Prior to joining First Impressions, he was promoted to district manager handling the Northeast district.
While engaged in his work for Coltene/Whaledent, Neumann recognized an unfilled need in the industry.
"The dental industry is a very small industry; it is much like a family," he says. "Very few people ever seem to leave the industry. In my day-to-day sales activities, I discovered a genuine need for dental salespeople to connect with each other. I met people who had profound insight, others who had great questions, and some who just wanted to share stories. I saw what an impact social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace were having on the general population, and I knew that the dental industry would benefit from a niche social network."
So, while building his territory as well as raising a family, Neumann created Dental Sales Pro. "My vision for Dental Sales Pro was, and is, to be the place for people in the dental industry to connect; share thoughts, ideas, sales techniques and news; and have some fun. Salespeople are islands, and I looked at Dental Sales Pro as a bridge, a place for these islands to connect."
For distributors, Dental Sales Pro offers a place to talk about products, markets and selling skills, says Neumann. For manufacturers, the site offers an opportunity to get their message across to their partners, who are pulled in many different directions,
"Dental Sales Pro grew much quicker than I had originally anticipated," he says. "I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly membership grew, mostly by word of mouth. A special shout-out goes to all those who have contributed in some way to the site, with discussions, videos, pictures and private e-mails of encouragement.
"The key to Dental Sales Pro is the candid contributions by members. This candor is what keeps people coming back for more."
Members of Dental Sales Pro will be able to access First Impressions’ Weekly Drill e-mail newsletter from Dental Sales Pro, while First Impressions readers will be able to comment on articles through the Dental Sales Pro site.
Neumann says that the acquisition of Dental Sales Pro by the publisher of First Impressions will give him time and resources to promote and grow the site. "I am fortunate to be partnering with MDSI. They see the future of the dental industry clearly and understand what it takes to be on the cutting edge. There are some exciting new products that MDSI and Dental Sales Pro will be launching together. I look forward to redefining dental industry media with them."
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