Building Manual Wheelchair Sales

Manual wheelchairs are a mainstay for many mobility providers, yet sales reps spend little time analyzing how to sell them, according to consultant Alison Cherney, president of Cherney & Assoc. Here is her advice for boosting manual wheelchair sales:

• All wheelchairs are not built the same. Understand the differences in the manual wheelchairs on the market, and differentiate yourself from other HME companies by becoming an expert in different product line segments.
• There are a number of reasons that people need manual wheelchairs. Do you know the top diagnoses for these chairs? Can you tell what they are for Medicare patients? For Medicaid patients? For commercial patients? The best way to "sell" a chair is to talk about specific patients. Sometimes referral sources don't think about manual chairs; help them find the patients who need them.
• Think about bundling for patients who need a manual wheelchair and other HME products. A post-hip patient, for example, may need a manual chair as well as bath items. Work with referral sources to offer packages to patients, and promote them to referral sources by diagnoses.
• Consider which brands are best for what situations. Many HME companies standardize their brands, but they are not always the best brands for patients.
• Make sure the brands you carry are the ones your patients want. Remember that for baby boomers who have the extra money to spend and for patients who are image-oriented, looks do sell.
• Offer to order chairs if people want them. Can you show patients their wheelchair options? Make the sale personal. Then patients will love your business, and happy patients mean happy referral sources.

• Read the main story "The Opportunity Is Out There," to learn how an aging population and active lifestyles drive the manual wheelchair market against funding issues and bidding uncertainty.