'Close deals on the spot'

OLD FORGE, Pa. - An in-store selling center for lift chairs has been so successful for Golden Technologies and its provider customers that the manufacturer has expanded the concept to scooters.

Golden's “Mobility Flagship Selling Center,” which debuted at Medtrade in October, features a tower to showcase graphics and literature, and a ramp to showcase a scooter. Connecting the two: A seven-foot high bar with hanging signs that describe how “Scooters Help You.”

“The growth in sales is substantial,” said Pat O'Brien, director of marketing. “We've seen dealers whose sales have grown 20% with the selling centers.”

Golden debuted the center for lift chairs at Medtrade in 2010 with an eye toward expanding the concept to other cash-friendly products.

The centers help increase sales because they arm dealers with everything they need to help customers make buying decisions, whether it's an array of fabric swatches for lift chairs or custom colored shroud kits for scooters, O'Brien said.

“It allows dealers to close the deal on the spot,” she said.

Providers who have the centers in their stores are considered “Authorized Golden Flagship Dealer Showrooms.” As authorized dealers, Golden compares their sales figures from year to year and gives them rebates based on a percentage of their growth, O'Brien said.

“There have been instances of rebate checks in excess of $1,000,” she said. “They can do with that whatever they want.”

The centers aren't free, but the cost to providers is only a fraction of what it costs Golden to manufacture them, O'Brien said.

“We have our skin in the game and the dealer has to have their skin in the game, too,” she said. “Plus, when you give away merchandising displays, they end up in the back office, which doesn't do anybody any good.”