Pediatric standers may not be the most important product line carried by Wheelchairs Plus, but the Grand Rapids, Minn, dealer finds them to be one of its most promising.

“Pediatric standers are 10% of our total business, and we see a lot of growth potential with them,” says Gary Dullinger, a member of the National Registry of Rehabilitation Technology Suppliers (NRRTS) and the person in charge of marketing and institutional sales for Wheelchair Plus’s Waite Park, Minn, branch. “Once parents become educated about the product, they are very often interested in acquiring it.”

A selling point is the ready adaptability of newer pediatric standers.

“We can very easily customize the latest standers to suit users’ highly individualized needs,” Dullinger says. “One manufacturer has just come out with a model that is about the most accommodating I have ever seen where customization is concerned. It even allows us to build into it an amazing amount of room for growth without compromising user functionality.”

Dullinger likes pediatric standers for another reason: They are quickly obtained from suppliers. Consequently, he need only maintain minimal quantities in stock.

“Our supplier can get us just about any make and model of pediatric stander within a matter of hours,” he says. “That gives me the freedom to keep no more than a few on hand at any one time, and at that just for purposes of demonstrations. This is advantageous because we don’t tie up capital in inventory and then have to worry about whether it will move.”

The equipment also is generally very low-maintenance, another positive in Dullinger’s opinion.

“Maybe a retaining pin here or there will break after a lot of hard use, but that’s about it,” he says. “Otherwise, they are quite durable and dependable.”

Specialized in Rehab
Wheelchairs Plus positions itself as a rehabilitation-specialized outfit, so pediatric standers make a good fit for the firm.

“Unlike other HME companies in this area,” Dullinger says, “mobility equipment for us is not an add-on to a core business—oxygen, for instance. We do only mobility equipment. And because that is our focus, we do it exceptionally well.”

Wheelchairs Plus was started in 1976 by Dick and Chris Schedin, the parents of a special-needs child, who were dissatisfied with the limited range of pediatric mobility products and poor caliber of service provided by vendors then serving their rural Minnesota locale. The Schedins hoped the dealership they launched in response would spare parents in similar straits the frustration they themselves endured.

“The company from the beginning specialized in reliable, personal service that included the fitting and adapting of children’s wheelchairs and other mobility devices,” Dullinger says. “Later, Wheelchairs Plus expanded its focus to include products and services for the adult and geriatric markets. Today pediatrics accounts for about 50% of our business, and we serve only the areas of the state outside its major metropolitan areas.”

Asking for the Sale
Pediatric standers have proven to be a profitable investment for Wheelchairs Plus, Dullinger reveals. Prices start at around $500 for a basic rig and top out at around $3,000 for models of peerless quality equipped with lateral and hip guides, custom supports and cushions, and various accessories such as trays, he says.

Wheelchairs Plus mainly promotes sales of standers by mentioning them in conversations with parents during the process of evaluating a child for a wheelchair or other mobility products.

“We ask if they’ve ever tried standing their child and if they know about standers,” Dullinger explains. “If they haven’t tried standing and don’t know what a stander is, we have an opportunity to supply the necessary education to bring them up to speed. If they already know what they are, we will ask a few pointed follow-on questions to gauge whether there are any gaps in their knowledge that we need to fill.

“We also try to find out as much as possible about the parents’ goals for their child so we can match that child up with the right product. Next, we show them some of the different types of standers and explain the comparative advantages of each. We also discuss prices. Finally, we ask for the sale. We have a good closure rate, and it’s getting better because more and more parents are coming in already thinking about standers based on a recommendation given to them by their child’s therapists.”

Only about 10% of the parents who order standers from Wheelchairs Plus pay for them with cash out-of-pocket. The remainder rely on insurance or special-funding sources, Dullinger says.

“As with any mobility product for children, strict attention must be paid to providing funding sources with detailed documentation of the stander’s medical necessity,” he says. “They want to know how this stander is going to benefit the child. Generally speaking, having a child stand up is very important to his or her overall health, especially where cardiovascular and respiratory issues are concerned. But the funding sources are going to want to see a lot of specifics about exactly what is going to occur medically when you put this particular child in that particular stander.

“That means working closely with the child’s therapists and physicians to develop such specifics. But it is well worth the time and effort.”

Rich Smith is a contributing writer for Dealer/Provider.