Start a Dentist Supply and Repair Business
By Eric Hammer
Like most businesses, dental clinics require lots of supplies.
They need drill tips for their drills, disposable medical supplies
and of course equipment as well. You can make a tidy living by
supplying them through a dentist supply and repair business.
The way it works is that you go around to local dentists and
arrange for them to sign a supply contract with you. You in turn
purchase the supplies in large quantity from the manufacturers
and then sell them to the dentists in your area who happen to
need these supplies. In essence, you are the middle man in the
dentist supply chain.
Another important aspect of this business is the repair of
equipment. Just like equipment at any other office, dentists’
drills and other equipment do break down occasionally and they
need to be repaired. A big part of running a dentist supply business
therefore is also offering to repair equipment that has malfunctioned.
In fact, one place we saw actually turned the repair side of
the dentist supply game into a franchise business all its own,
offering a franchise where you simply take care of repairing
dental equipment rather than selling equipment and supplies.
How Much Can You Make?
According to Payscale.com, the dentist supply business consists
of a number of different jobs, with the lowest paid being a customer
service representative for a dentist supply firm (average salary
around $29,000 annually) and the highest paycheck going to a
regional sales manager, who pulls down $90,000 per year. A sales
representative, which you would likely be as someone who runs
a dentist supply business earns an average of around $42,600
per year.
Ways to Make More | Related Opportunities
| Tips
If you like the idea of being a sales representative but dentists
make you nervous (it happens to lots of people), you may also
want to consider working as a medical supply sales representative.
The concept is basically the same, except that you sell medical
supplies instead of dental supplies. Another possibility for
working both with dentists and doctors (and which will also offer
you an additional earning stream if you combine it with being
a dentist supply sales representative) is a drug salesman. There
are thousands of medications on the market and dentists especially
need to have some on hand to administer in their clinics, so
you can sell them to dentists while also expanding to hospitals
and pharmacies which need to keep stocks as well.
In general, it pays to be a friendly person who can talk to
almost anyone. You are in essence a door to door salesman and
as such, you need to be able to charm your way past the receptionist
to talk to the dentist who actually makes the purchasing decisions.
Qualifications / Requirements
There are no formal qualifications for this job, however you
may need to obtain licensing in order to sell dental supplies
in your state. In all cases, it will be extremely helpful to
have a background in dentistry since you need to understand what
the various supplies are that your customers will need.
First Steps
Consider taking a job as a dentist’s assistant at first
if you have no experience in the world of dentistry. This will
help you to learn what the supplies are and how they are purchased.
You should also check on the competition in the area to make
sure there is room for another dental supply business. Finally,
consider working with a franchise which will help you to break
into the business and to get new business.
Resources
Gaebler: How to Start a Dentist Supply Business
– A good article which can help you learn more about the
business.
Hayes Handpiece Franchises – This is a
bit different than the franchise above as the Hayes company deals
specifically with the repair side of the equation whereas Dentists’
Choice deals primarily with supplies.
EzineArticles: How to Save with Dental Supplies
Wholesale – This is not really about creating a dentist
supply business. Instead, this encourages dentists to purchase
their supplies directly online. However, this article is useful
for one reason. It will help you to learn what dentists need
to purchase regularly so you can gain a better understanding
of the business.
|
