Are we really doing the best job possible to increase wheelchair sales and make our customers happy? The answer is, not usually. Can sales in this product line be significantly improved? Yes, absolutely. Here are six ways to make it happen.
- Set wheelchair and accessory sales goals.
First, take a look at your wheelchair sales over the past two years. Figure out the percentage of your total wheelchair sales and then examine how your staff does with selling accessories. Are wheelchair sales going up or down? If sales are up, that is a positive sign since the overall wheelchair market has been growing. If sales are down, then your organization isn't keeping pace with the overall market.
Next, take a look at wheelchair accessories. Does your organization sell more or fewer accessories per wheelchair sale? Does this differ with standard and power wheelchair sales? Does it differ by type of payer, including cash sales? The accompanying table may help you analyze your firm's wheelchair sales in greater detail. For a more in-depth analysis, add specific data on types of wheelchairs or accessories.
After you have taken a look at the past trends, set some realistic goals for your business. With the total home medical equipment market growing around 10 percent a year in the United States, a 10 percent increase in sales would be achievable. You will need to consider whether or not you will focus on wheelchair sales to referral sources and/or managed care organizations in the coming months. Also consider whether or not you will be promoting retail sales in your markets through advertisements, billboards or other promotional strategies. Set a goal that represents realistic growth, but one that is attainable by your organization.
Goals are important to set by product line because they focus the entire organization, including your salespeople, customer service and retail staff, on specific tasks. Organizations that set goals by product line do much better than those that keep things open-ended or unspecified.
- Get the right people in place.
We work in a relatively complex industry, and referrals to our businesses come through a variety of means, sometimes through sales reps, sometimes through word-of-mouth between customers.
It is both expensive and time consuming to generate referrals; once we get a referral, we need to take the best care possible of each and every customer who comes to our business.
Customers who need a wheelchair are generally very confused about what they want, and they certainly do not know what options they have in accessories. When customers call or come into your store, they need to be greeted by the best hostess you can put forth. Whether this person is in your retail store or on the phone with your customers, he or she needs specific attributes to be successful.
These attributes include the ability to adjust quickly to the customer's communication style, identify the person's needs by asking the right kind of questions and the ability to exude a high enough sense of confidence that the customer will trust what they are saying.
How many times have you answered the phone at night and had a young person who can barely speak English start giving you a telemarketing pitch? How many times have you been in a store wanting to purchase something and the salesperson rattles off features and benefits but never asks you what you want? These are examples of people who do not have the attributes to make a professional sale.
Take a close look at your own customer service and sales personnel. Call your business and see how well the phone is answered. If calls aren't handled well, make a change in personnel or get the person trained. Don't lose business because you have the wrong people in place; get the right people and keep them trained to answer all of the technical and reimbursement questions people will have about wheelchairs. Make them experts, and your business will develop a strong reputation for knowledgeable customer service.
- Training is a process, not an event; keep them trained.
As more and more wheelchair bells and whistles have become available, training is not always up-to-date. Rely on your manufacturers to provide your staff with training on the technical side of wheelchairs and accessories. Make sure that your staff understands the reimbursement issues with Medicare, Medicaid and any managed care contracts you have in place. Make sure they understand your cash/retail sales policies and are adept at walking customers through which items are reimbursed and which items are not covered. Then get them the best sales training possible.
While salespeople have some natural attributes, there isn't one salesperson in the business who couldn't be more adept at adjusting his or her communication style to a customer's style, learning how best to ask questions and handling objections in a professional manner.
People have different ways of communicating. They tend to focus their conversations on one of the following areas: ideas, facts, people or getting things done.
For example, a customer who prefers to talk about facts will want to understand all of the facts about the wheelchairs and accessories. People with this style like to understand the pros and cons of various options. They take more time to make a decision. By contrast, customers who want to talk about ideas like hearing about the most innovative options available. It is important for salespeople to understand their customer's style and reflect that understanding in the way in which they speak to that customer. By doing so, they'll get a much better response.
Another area of difference in communication is the way in which people want to focus on benefits. It is critical to find out if customers are interested in the quality/performance aspects, the image/reputation aspects or the financial aspects of the products. If, for example, your salespeople are focusing on quality and the customer wants the products with the best reputation, there can be a disconnect and benefits will not be understood. This slows down — or stops — the buying process.
When salespeople talk about the right kinds of benefits, customers are interested — and they purchase more products.
Learning how to ask questions is critical to selling wheelchairs and accessories. The first step in the sales process is to ask open-ended questions to determine the customer's communication style and benefits interests. For example: “What are the areas of interest that you would like me to focus on today in terms of making sure you get the right wheelchair to fit your needs?” Customers will answer this question with their concerns or the areas they want to focus on in the conversation.
After the customer's needs are identified, it is then important to develop a series of closed-ended questions that are focused around fitting the wheelchair: “For how long will you be using the wheelchair every day?” “Will you have a caregiver available to help you use the wheelchair?”
There are many questions that need to be asked to fit each wheelchair to the customer's needs. Make a list of these questions, and make sure that your staff understands which accessories fit which needs.
- Change the attitude.
Increasing wheelchair and accessory sales may require a huge shift in staff attitude. While there is a natural struggle between salespeople and operational/customer service staff, all staff members must have a positive attitude regarding accessory sales. They must understand that making sales appropriately and meeting customer needs is good for the company and customers.
I recently visited a client's store where the manager had to let an employee go because she had the wrong attitude. The employee was an old-time HME retail salesperson who thought it was wrong to “sell” accessories to customers. She thought it was too capitalistic.
What she failed to understand was that customers want the right wheelchair and accessories to make their lives easier. There is nothing wrong with asking customers what they want and need and then matching up what they get. Make sure the attitudes you have in place are consistent with growing the product line.
- Think about incentives.
Incentive plans are good for all product lines, especially wheelchairs and accessories. Not only should salespeople have an incentive to grow the business, but the retail salespeople and customer service staff should have one as well. Employees should be rewarded for achieving positive results for the company.
A good incentive plan is one that establishes a base line of sales and then rewards for sales above those that have been done in the past. Consider incentive plans for every person who is responsible for closing sales with customers and influencing product-line growth.
- Monitor results.
Lastly, monitor results. Keep your sales team and other staff informed about their sales performance. Set up monthly meetings to discuss the things that are working for the product line and those that are not, and make appropriate changes. When you “up level” your staff and give them what they need to be successful, product-line sales will be above market sales growth.
Note: In early February, CMS introduced 49 new mobility billing codes, including the bundling of certain wheelchair accessories, to replace current coding. To view the new codes, visit cms.hhs.gov/suppliers/dmepos.
Alison Cherney is president of Cherney & Associates in Brentwood, Tenn. She can be reached by phone at 615/776-3399 or through the company's Web site at www.cherneyandassociates.com.
| Product Line | 2004 Medicare Net Revenue | 2004 vs. 2003 | 2004 Managed Care Net Revenue | 2004 vs. 2003 | 2004 Cash Sales | 2004 vs. 2003 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Wheelchairs | $50,000 | +10% | $60,000 | +8% | $10,000 | +10% |
| Initial Accessory Sales | $20,000 | +20% | $25,000 | +15% | $1,000 | +10% |
| Follow-up Accessory Sales | $5,000 | +10% | $10,000 | +20% | $2,000 | +20% |
| Power Wheelchairs | $70,000 | -5% | $100,000 | +25% | $10,000 | -10% |
| Initial Accessory Sale | $10,000 | -10% | $20,000 | +15% | $1,000 | -10% |
| Follow-up Accessory Sales | $10,000 | -10% | $15,000 | +5% | $1,000 | -10% |
In the table above, the product lines are broken into three major categories. These include wheelchair sales, initial accessory sales (meaning sales at the time of wheelchair purchase) and follow-up accessory sales (meaning customers are contacted via telephone or mail and they purchase accessories at a later date). As this sample analysis indicates, the company has shown growth in standard wheelchair sales and accessories. It has, however, seen a decline in the Medicare power wheelchair and cash payer segments.
