Eyewear Sales Reps

[charan]

So how do the eyewear sales reps choose the stores they visit? i've always been curious about this because i use to work in a high end area and we'd be getting sales reps walking in the store all day long and we always had the knowledge of the new product on the market, but now my store in located in the 'not so high end' (east side) of the city and we have to actually call the sales rep to visit us and we dont even know how many are out there that we dont know about. I have to consistently be on the web to get the new info on the eye wear market, which realistically is the reps job, i wonder if you guys have the same issue.

[scottster]

I wish I was in your shoes! No reps just jumping in for no reason? Sounds like heaven! JK, I think if the word gets out that you're looking for reps in your area, they will magically appear. Thru the ever-present hedgerow gossiping that seems to be the norm in our industry I don't think you'll be waiting long for them to be pop in. Good luck!

[Richard Scot]

So how do the eyewear sales reps choose the stores they visit? i've always been curious about this because i use to work in a high end area and we'd be getting sales reps walking in the store all day long and we always had the knowledge of the new product on the market, but now my store in located in the 'not so high end' (east side) of the city and we have to actually call the sales rep to visit us and we dont even know how many are out there that we dont know about. I have to consistently be on the web to get the new info on the eye wear market, which realistically is the reps job, i wonder if you guys have the same issue.

Great question. For several years I represented Carl Zeiss Optical, mostly before Zeissola. About 80% of the time, calls were pretty well planned in advance. We had data which showed who was a significant buyer or bought a little, steadily, over time. These people got the bulk of our support, whether by appointment or just on a regular call cycle. We also worked very closely with our supporting laboratories.

Here's how a haphazard crap shoot might look: You're in an area and done with appointments for the day or waiting on the next appointment with some time to burn. After a quick search you play roulette and make a rather cold call. 20% of these people are thrilled you came with new info, 20% go out of their way to act like jerks so you take your business card back (yes, I've done it :angry:), and the rest are somewhere between curious and indifferent, maybe setting an appointment or offering to see you next time through town.

My suggestion to receive more personalized attention, and maybe a free lunch, too: Call your main laboratory and have them send the latest info and/or their own rep, or the rep of a manufacturer they work with closely. If they have no one or don't pass along the message, find a more supportive lab.

You might also call or email the companies with something intriguing and have them pass along your contact info to their closest rep with a message indicating some sort of urgency. That should get someone's attention and you'll likely get a call pretty quick. If not, find better, more responsive suppliers.

Best luck to you!

[David_Garza]

I wish I was in your shoes! No reps just jumping in for no reason? Sounds like heaven!

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[hcjilson]

So how do the eyewear sales reps choose the stores they visit? i've always been curious about this because i use to work in a high end area and we'd be getting sales reps walking in the store all day long and we always had the knowledge of the new product on the market, but now my store in located in the 'not so high end' (east side) of the city and we have to actually call the sales rep to visit us and we dont even know how many are out there that we dont know about. I have to consistently be on the web to get the new info on the eye wear market, which realistically is the reps job, i wonder if you guys have the same issue.

The web is a great place for information but it's a large place for a reasonably narrow search. I have found the publications of 20/20, Vision Monday, EyeCare Business and other publications to be wonderful sources of new products and lens developments. You would do well to subscribe to them.

[opticalcathy]

Being an eyewear rep for 25+ years, this I can answer and it depends on alot of things.
1.) Most reps work in a cycle, so if they have other accounts in the cycle and have time they will cold call around the territory. If they have no other appointments in that area they are not going to go, time and gas.
2.) If in the past that office treated them rudely, canceled appointments when they got there, had high exchange rates, didn't buy enough to pay for gas, they basically got dropped off the cycle. If they don't know there is a new buyer, you have to call them.
3.) Reps can pre-judge too, so if that office had an old buyer that wouldn't give them the time of day or the product didn't sell through due to staff, they are going to avoid.
4.) The best way to get reps to come back is to book your next appointment when they leave.
5.) Not so nice areas- Personally speaking as a rep, I really liked not so nice areas, because it was less competitive, many reps would not go. (ie. Compton, East LA) Not knowing the area, I would assure the reps you will walk them to and fro to their car, see them in daylight hours. My accounts in not so nice areas always did that with me.
6.) Parking- Always an issue when you are dragging sample bags.

[Chris Ryser]

Being an eyewear rep for 25+ years, this I can answer and it depends on alot of things.
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Perfect Post...................valid for not only 25 years....................give it double that. :bbg: