Providers can thank the real estate market if they are seeing increased demand for patient lifts and ramps.
In a better real estate environment, an older or disabled person would likely sell his or her multi-level home and downsize to a smaller ranch. But with many people “upside down” in their home mortgages and few prospects of selling, they are looking to make their current homes more accessible.
Paul E. Johnson, vice president of sales, marketing and service at Harmar, suggests the suffering real estate market as an explanation for higher product demand, but adds that consumer awareness of the products remains low.
“Many lift products are easily adaptable to a house with few or no modifications,” Johnson says. “The whole idea behind these products is that you don't have to build a new house or put in an elevator shaft. People are living in their dining rooms because they don't know about these products.”
Unfortunately, lack of consumer awareness also plagues the related market for vehicle lifts. One survey estimates that around 60 percent of consumers are not aware of vehicle lift products, says Cy Corgan, national sales director of retail mobility for Pride Mobility Products. This lack of awareness makes it especially important that providers include displays at their locations to show how easy it is to transport a scooter or power wheelchair. It is also helpful to have a vehicle onsite equipped with a lift to demonstrate it to the consumer, Corgan says.
The opportunities for cash sales from the various lift and ramp products could help to offset profitability declines in other categories tied to competitive bidding. MJ Sonnenfeld, vice president of sales for ramp maker Prairie View Industries (PVI), says HME providers should not wait for customers to ask for a ramp. “Most people don't know the options out there to make their lives more accessible,” he says.
“For every chair and scooter sold, there should be a ramp sold,” Sonnenfeld states. “But now it's more like there is a ramp sold for probably every 100 chairs. It should be mentioned to every single customer.”
End-users who don't buy a ramp along with their wheelchair or scooter are likely to go to other sources, maybe even family members, to build a ramp, he says. “Is your son-in-law qualified to build it? Is it strong enough?” he asks.
As competitive bidding has stripped margins, more HME providers are looking to ramps and lifts as an opportunity for cash sales. “Now people are coming out of the woodwork saying, ‘Can we sell ramps?’” says Sonnenfeld.
Mobility Beyond Medicare
Harmar is boosting its training and support programs to expand providers' knowledge of its lift products and the installation skills needed to ensure the end-user has a good experience. The manufacturer also provides guidance in local building code requirements.
While he acknowledges providers may have some concerns about getting into lifts, says Johnson, these products “represent cash sales, which may be the only source of profit in the future as competitive bidding drives the profit out of core products.” Many providers also think lift products are hard to sell. Not so, says Johnson, and Harmar seeks to be an “enabler” for providers.
“The Medicare rules are intended to get you around the house, but they aren't built around getting out of the house and to other places,” he notes.
Harmar's product line for the home includes stair lifts, bath lifts and vertical platform lifts. Coming out this month, the Sierra model is a new inclined platform lift to serve the growing home accessibility market as an effective solution to overcoming the obstacle of stairs. According to Johnson, the small-profile lift accommodates 500 pounds and costs about $10,000 installed.
“Dealers need to be clear to end-users about the benefits of these products and about the dealer's value in installing and supporting the products,” says Johnson. “We call our dealers ‘partners’ because they are a critical part of our business and their expertise is needed now more than ever.” Johnson says providers should also understand the demographics: Baby boomers are just starting to retire and represent a 10 percent annual growth in the customer base for the foreseeable future.
Providers are responding well to the opportunities in the market, he says, as reflected by the demand for Harmar training. The company has doubled the number of its technical and support staff and now holds weekly training sessions.
Harmar offers a line of mobility lifts and accessibility products, including vehicle lifts such as its AL560 universal lift, which accommodates a range of power chairs. The lift doesn't require straps or manual intervention; one-switch operation and a drive-on/off platform make the automatic lift easy to use.
Building In Reliability
Sonnenfeld says PVI teaches providers to use suggestive sales and point-of-sale materials to help customers with ramp decisions. The company provides educational display tools such as posters to allow potential buyers to see how the ramp looks on various slopes. The manufacturer also uses YouTube videos to educate customers on its products and to explain how ramps can be assembled.
“We want to make sure the customer gets information, whether online or from the supplier,” says Sonnenfeld.
PVI offers folding ramps from 5 to 12 feet for vehicles or buildings. The company's 6-ft. single-fold ramp can be carried in the back of a truck or van, and the 6-ft. multi-fold model fits in the trunk of a car and can be broken into two parts (17 pounds each) for transport.
In testing to meet Underwriters Laboratory (UL) standards, Sonnenfeld says, “We had to hold four times the weight rating without breaking. For a 600-lb. capacity ramp, we had to put 2,400 pounds on the ramp without any product failure.” The higher weight capacity helps to limit liability for providers, he adds. “Often these products are used improperly, and we want to make sure we build in enough safety features so the user doesn't get hurt.”
The company also recently expanded into larger modular systems and has introduced a vehicle lift and carrier line.
As the product category grows, Sonnenfeld advises providers (and their customers) to seek out products that offer an extra level of safety and security, even if they cost more.
“Price is always an objection because it's a cash sale,” says Sonnenfeld. “But there's enough value built into these products that dealers can make the sale if they are trained properly by the manufacturer.”
PVI works with some aging-in-place construction companies that do home assessments related to renovating bathrooms or widening doors to be more accessible. The companies sometimes include ramps in a total renovation package.
“In the retail world, three key words come to mind — tell, show and involve,” says Sonnenfeld. “If you tell me I will listen, if you show me I will learn and if you involve me I will buy. Let me touch and feel and learn with you, and I will buy. As the industry shifts into retail cash sales, the dealers who really make it will be the ones who really involve the customers.”
Expertise and Resources Needed
Pride's Corgan offers a word of caution for HME providers looking to get into vehicle lifts, however.
“Vehicle lifts may not be the easiest cash sales to become involved in,” he advises. “It involves more than just selling the products. Providers need to be well-equipped and have the technical service staff to install the products. Providers also should educate themselves about how these products interact and affect the vehicles [they are used in],” he adds.
Pride offers training and certification on its products and provides education around the country using company experts to enhance providers' expertise.
More than other cash categories, mobility lifts require that providers commit resources and understand exactly what's involved, Corgan says.
“If [providers] are willing to put resources and time into it, vehicle lifts could be a good business for them,” he says. “The growth we expect in power chairs will increase the need to transport these products. The category will continue to grow, but [providers] need to understand what they're getting into.”
Corgan recommends asking power chair and scooter customers how they plan to transport their new mobility device. Providers must understand the needs of the customer, show various options and provide demonstrations, he says. Another approach is to provide literature about vehicle lifts when delivering a mobility device to a customer.
Pride's line of lifts (formerly branded as Pride Silver Star), includes interior (mounted in place of third-row seating of SUVs or vans), exterior (used with Class II, III or IV trailer hitches) and boom-type lifts (used with pickup trucks).
The company's Backpacker AVP (adjustable vehicle platform) is its smallest version of an interior platform lift and works for small crossover vehicles such as the Honda CRV or Toyota RAV-4. The platform adjusts from 42 inches down to 34 to fit into the smaller vehicles.
In its ramp line, Pride offers solid and single-fold ramps available in a variety of lengths and plans to launch a multi-fold (tri-fold) model. New rubber threshold ramps offer a means of navigating uneven household surfaces including small steps and doorways. A modular design with a dovetail locking system allows a threshold transition of 1 to 3 inches.
To Sell More, Ask More Questions
Andrew Bayer, senior product manager, automotive division, Bruno Independent Living Aids, recommends that providers educate their sales staff and train them to ask more questions to increase sales of vehicle lifts. These cash sales can range from $1,500 to $3,000 and offer good margins, Bayer says.
Failure to ask customers how they will be transporting their mobility device not only loses the lift sale but, in effect, sends them to the Internet to buy a product, says Bayer. Recommending lifts should be part of the mobility sales process, he believes.
Bruno makes more than 20 models of vehicle lifts in a variety of capacities and styles to fit vehicles from sedans, minivans and crossover vehicles to SUVs, pickup trucks and full-size vans. The company also offers stair lifts and vertical platform lifts for the home.
Its most popular crane-style lift is the Curb-Sider (with over 50,000 sold, according to the company), which can lift up to 400 lbs., can be installed on the right or left side of a vehicle, and which is transferable from a minivan to an SUV to a pickup. The Curb-Sider VSL-6900 works with the very large bumpers and sloped rear design of modern vehicles, Bayer says.
“They keep making the openings smaller and smaller,” says Bayer, but the Curb-Sider's design enables even large mobility devices to be lifted into the vehicle.
Bayer says Bruno's vehicle-specific mountings simplify installation, and every installation has been tested by the company's engineering team. “We know if it is a difficult install or an easy install,” says Bayer, who adds that installs typically involve a “medium level of technical capability.”
He notes that Bruno offers a training school, “and providers will find that if they send somebody, it's not that difficult to install [these lifts].”
Bayer suggests that HME providers could also foster relationships with van conversion companies, which could perform a lift installation or even refer people to the provider for products they don't offer.
EXPERTS INTERVIEWED
Andrew Bayer, senior product manager, automotive division, Bruno Independent Living Aids, Oconomowoc, Wis.
Cy Corgan, national sales director of retail mobility, Pride Mobility Products Corp., Exeter, Pa.
Paul E. Johnson, vice president of sales, marketing and service, Harmar, Sarasota, Fla.
MJ Sonnenfeld, vice president of sales, Prairie View Industries (PVI), Fairbury, Neb.
