First Impressions Magazine

On the Map
John Bacorn has drawn a successful path in the dental industry, from sales to office design.

The Bacorn File
Raised in: Scranton, Pa.
Age: 64
Company: Leventhal Dental
Territory: Scranton and environs
Lives in: Peckville, Pa.
Noteworthy: 42 years with Leventhal Dental.

When John Bacorn was young, he dreamt of a career in cartographic drafting, that is, mapmaking. Years later, he found himself engaged in dental office design at a drafting table at A. Leventhal & Sons, a dental supplier in Scranton, Pa. In essence, he was mapping out offices for dentists who had just come out of school, who were establishing their own practices or renovating new or existing space. Today, Bacorn continues to map out a career in dental sales, which began at Leventhal 42 years ago, when he took a job in the stockroom for a dollar and a quarter an hour. “I’ve been with some of my accounts so long that many call me ‘Dr. Bacorn,’” he says with a laugh.

Leventhal was founded in 1898 by Abraham Leventhal. Later, his sons Oscar and Joe took over the business. Today, Abraham’s grandson, Jeff, and Jeff’s sons, Scott and Steven, run things. Next year, they will celebrate the company’s 110th year in business.

Recently, First Impressions visited with John Bacorn to talk about his 42-year career with Leventhal Dental.

First Impressions: You’ve worked for one company in the dental supply business for more than four decades. Were either of your parents in dentistry or sales?

Bacorn: My dad was in sales. At one time, he had his own business, manufacturing large rubber mats made from cut-up automobile tires [to be placed outside] church doors and other buildings. But when [World War II] broke out, all the rubber and tires were taken by the military, so he was left without the materials to make the mats. Later, he went on to become a successful tire salesman for Kelleher Tire in Scranton, selling tires from many different manufacturers to garages. I remember going out with him in his truck, as he sold tires.

My mom’s father was a Prudential agent and went on to become a merchant, opening a food and dry-goods store.

FI: What was your first job out of high school?

Bacorn: When I was in high school, there were three choices after graduation: go to college, look for work, or enlist in the service. If you did not enter the service, there was a very good chance of being drafted, and I didn’t want that. So I decided to enlist in the Army in 1961 and attend the University of Maryland under a special program, but was unable to do so because I was constantly relocated. I stayed in the Army for three years and spent about a year and a half overseas. I was a helicopter crew chief, in charge of the mechanics of the unit.

After my discharge, I started attending certificate courses at Penn State. I was in the business course for two years. It was while I was attending those classes that I started at Leventhal, on March 8, 1965.

FI: What attracted you to Leventhal?

Bacorn: I was looking for a job. It was difficult to find one at the time. But I saw an ad in the newspaper for stockroom work. I remember the ad said they were looking for someone in the upper quadrant of their high school graduating class. I interviewed with Oscar Leventhal (Jeff’s father), and I started at minimum wage - a dollar and a quarter an hour. But I made it clear that I wanted chances for advancement.

I started in the stockroom, stocking and dusting the shelves. Then I started managing outgoing orders. When another gentleman passed away, I went into office design work. I had always been good at drafting in school. But I realized there were limitations for me while working inside, and I thought I could improve myself by going into sales.

Leventhal had a very talented technical salesperson in the Allentown area. Oscar Leventhal would have him sit down with me from time to time and teach me the basics of the mouth. I felt [Oscar] might have been grooming me for a sales career. I spent 10 years inside Leventhal Dental before going out.

FI: Can you talk about the transition from inside work to field sales?

Bacorn: I had some trouble adjusting to it. Maybe it was because I was overly conscientious, but I found myself with extra time on my hands. I talked to Jeff’s father, Oscar, and he allowed me to come back inside part-time. So I went back to managing orders and dividing that [responsibility] with another employee who still works there today, Jerry Ritter. After that, I just jumped up the ladder in sales.

FI: What experiences in office design were you able to draw upon when you went into the field as a sales rep?

Bacorn: It made me more versed in the whole aspect of putting a dental office together. I would work with plumbers, electricians, carpenters, to do it. We did as many as five to 12 offices a year; that’s how many dentists were coming out. That would include dentists coming out of the service, internships and residencies; dentists breaking away from existing offices where they had been working; and dentists coming out of dental school. It also included existing office renovations.

We used to have dinners for the dental students to educate them on what was happening in the dental world. Jeff would get up and speak about our company and what we offered. But it was more than just selling them on Leventhal; it was educating them on the dental world and what was available to them out there.

Today, there are fewer dentists coming out. So you may end up with one or two new offices a year and a few renovations.

FI: Can you comment on the differences between today’s new dentists and those who were starting practices 20 or 30 years ago?

Bacorn: They’re starting with more debt from their undergrad work and dental school. So, coming out of school, they’re more cautious about starting a new office. They’re more inclined to associate with another dentist or to work in a residency or internship, or even go into the military.

In addition, it’s more costly for them to go into business today. There’s more equipment, and not only is it more sophisticated, but there’s more of it to buy. Years ago, you didn’t have intraoral cameras or soft-tissue and hard-tissue lasers. And today, dental offices themselves are larger. At one point, a basic operatory was 8 feet by 10 feet; then it went to 9 by 10; then 9 by 11. Today, an operatory can be 10 by 12. That’s because of the advance of computers, intraoral cameras and digital X-ray systems.

Also, there’s more staff in the dental office today than in the 1960s or 70s. You have more staff at the front desk; you might have two hygienists, several assistants and even a couple of doctors.

I think dentists today - and I would include dentists I put into practice years ago, as well as new ones - have a keener awareness of the business end of their practice. They’re looking for a consultative-type of salesperson, and that’s extremely important.

FI: Have you changed the way you approach your customers and your work since you went into the field in the mid-70s? If so, how?

Bacorn: I don’t think I’ve changed the way I approach my customers much. I’ve always believed in honesty and hard work, and putting the customer before myself. I’ve always believed in long-term relationships with my customers, and that has always worked for me.

There are so many new products; I scrutinize them and, if I think one is good, I introduce my customers to it. Over the years, some of my relationships have changed. Because I have known most of my accounts for so long, I still talk to the doctor in many of them. But many of today’s business meetings are with staff people. You need to give them equal respect and time.

FI: Since you began selling, you have seen the advent of the personal computer and the cell phone, among other technologies. How has automation affected the way you do your job?

Bacorn: Its impact has been tremendous. The cell phone allows me to get back to my customers quickly. I receive calls all day long, and I make many calls during the day, too. In fact, if you’re not in touch via e-mail and cell phones today, you can’t communicate with the young dentists, because that’s how they communicate. They speak more through the computer, in many cases, than over the phone.

[Regarding computers], we have recently implemented an electronic ordering system, so customers can order products through the Internet or modem 24 hours a day. We’re enhancing the system, so they can swipe a bar code in their office. This will facilitate ease in placing the order. That’s what you have to be on top of today. And with a laptop, the rep can answer questions about product availability, about substitutions in case of a backorder, about product specials.

FI: Does the availability of electronic order entry take you out of the order-taking business?

Bacorn: No; there are still orders for me when I visit my customers. But it does expedite things for them. And it affords them more time to spend with me to go over specials and new products.

FI: What do you pride yourself on? What makes you good at what you do?

Bacorn: I pride myself on my hard work and my accomplishments and successes with Leventhal. I stay up-to-date on products; I probably go to four or five meetings a year to stay abreast of things. And I have a tremendous amount of experience and background in the field, so I can give my customers good solid advice about what they might be purchasing. And a big thing is honesty and putting your customer first. I do pride myself on that.

FI: What has helped you get up in the morning, every morning, for 42 years?

Bacorn: That’s easy: My lovely wife and four wonderful children. I met my wife, Mary Ann, at Leventhal; she was in the billing department. We’ve been married 38 years. Now she’s a bank representative for PNC Bank. Our oldest child, Debra Ann, is a senior vice president with Citibank in Greencastle, Pa. Her husband, Mark, is a stay-home dad, and I’m very proud of him. They have a little boy, Jordan, who is six; and they’re in the process of adopting a little girl from Guatemala. Our second, Aimee, is a legal secretary in New York City. Our third, Mary Beth, is a fashion designer, having worked in New York City and recently relocated to Vermont. Her husband, Tom, is a corporate lawyer in Vermont. Our fourth, John Jr., is an R.N. in the cardiac care/ICU unit at Virginia Beach General Hospital in Virginia Beach, Va. He recently got engaged to Mary Jo, who is a hospice nurse.

All that keeps me going, and the fact that I like to work. I still enjoy it. I still get excited when I do a new office, and I love the competition. Also, it makes life easier to work for fine people like the Leventhal family. To be in business 110 years in this day and age is phenomenal. [FI]