Selling Up: Is This an Effective Tool or Not?

[rfischer]

In an article for VM magzine Melinda Wirth wrote about selling up.
She said:
Prescription and lifestyle go hand in hand, and explaining the benefits of a lens in relation to a patient’s activities sometimes means more than just describing the lens features. Optician Michael Tiernan of Tiernan Opticians, San Carlos, Calif., believes the dispensing process “starts with an interview about the customer and his or her visual needs. Then we apply products relative to those needs, and start first with lenses. We go right to the basics: single-vision, multi-focal, special-application — computers or single-vision reading.” He adds, “Analyze the prescription. Visualize what type of lens would best suit their prescription.”
Is this a good way to sell by basically upselling or would the approach of offering the best frames with the best lenses in a so called package deal to the patient. What is your opinion.:bbg:

[Texas Ranger]

rfischer; that's not a bad approach; when dealing with clientele new to your shop, established customers are a bit different, but irregardless, it is quite important to know and understand the client's visual lifestyle, relative to their refractive error. Sometimes I see myopes with a 1.50 add on the rx, with the word "optional" written by the doctor; why is that? most folks with similar refractive errors have quite similar needs; I think it is so important to interview folks about their lens prescription, we analyze and interpret what the lens is expected to do for the pt. discuss options, such as Crizal, Transitions, polarized sun lenses. and, btw, we discuss sun lens options first; sunwear is quite important in Texas, year round. now, with an understanding of what lens desires and needs we're dealing with, we can begin the frame styling process, with the client understanding what their lenses will cost, how long it will take to process them, and issues of poor frame selection are pretty much eliminated...we do however package price lenses...saves a lot of time and trouble..

[PAkev]

Never yet had a patient come in personally requesting:

A 3 pc square blue titanium frame size 52-20 with 145mm temples - A polycarbonate Transitions Varilux Panamic lens ground to a 2.5 edge thickness with Crizal AR and polished edges. Specifying a 32OD 34OS PD at 21mm high. etc etc etc.

My point being, people like to appear intelligent in making their purchasing decision but in reality most know very little about new optical technology. I've found the biggest challenge is to establish the comfort zone where they humble themselves to the point of understanding how you can help them see and/or look better.

Folks come to us because we are professionals and should be able to have a comprehinsive understanding to apply our experience and meet their optical needs. This means informing patients of all appropriate options. There are certainly many "Order Taker" optical places for those other folks who don't value our professional ability and they have their own host of problems to deal with. Personally, I like to leave the parking lot each night knowing I made a difference.

Kevin

[Cindy Hamlin]

rfischer,
I find that technique works very well. Especially with bifocal wearers. In order to effectively recommend you must first know their lifestyle, working conditions, etc in order to make the best recommendation for them.

[bren_03825]

Selling up is a very effective tool, as when you but ask a few questions, and let the pt. become aware of new technology, and materials, they will for the most part, buy better products, and we make better profits.

[Darris Chambless]

"Selling Up: Is This an Effective Tool or Not?"

Um, only if you want to stay employed or get a pay raise in the future :)

Seriously, that pretty much sums it up. The people writing these articles are trying to present it to opticians in a fashion that will not offend them. Opticians typically don't like to be told to "Get out there and SELL!" So you put it in terms that explain selling in techinical sounding terms and viola` :)

Is it an effective tool? You better believe it. BUT it is difficult to teach someone to sell via written text and not everyone has it in them to sell but it is as important to optical as getting a seg height correct. Up selling is how you keep satified clients by putting them in better quality products and making them feel like it was their decision to do so. They're happier, your happier and your employer or bottom line is happier and that's what makes the world go round in the optical industry.

Take care,

Darris c.

[rfischer]

I'm sorry I did not word the article quite the way I wanted it to go.
What I wanted to find out is, do you find it much harder to sell up
then just presenting it in a package form. Another words as Ralph
Drew used to say, "Always start from your best product and you can always work your way down, but present your best first.
Anotherwords if you have a very good frame such as the memory flex and you believe it's the best for the patient start with that. Put another way, If your selling Premium lenses, with A/R and what ever with a premium frame that retails say around $375.00
and that is your top of the line, that is the way most companies want you to sell. They shroud in it all this cloak and dagger but what it comes down to is, how much money can you bring in to establishment. Now I don't agree with this but it does seem the way Optical is going. That is why you have shoe people and pant people running optical's who have no idea what a PD or what a seg height is, all they know is the botton line.:(

[Darris Chambless]

Hello rfischer,

I see what you're saying so let me see if I can explain it well enough without getting off track.

First and foremost whether opticians want to admit it or not Optical is ALL about sales. We don't do refractions, rarely charge for repairs and almost never charge for our time, so what's in it for us? Answer: The monetary value of the sale. That's it in a nutshell but let me explain a little further because it makes opticianry sound so "cheap"

We want to perceive ourselves as professionals and think that making sales is beneath us. The problem there is who has the knowledge to sell to the patient if not us? You wouldn't want someone without the knowledge to sell something that would be almost impossible to make or difficult for the patient to wear would you? Of course not. The funny thing is that many of the "sales types" can learn to be opticians if only in the minimum sense of the word but very few "real opticians" can learn to be good sales people, that or they refuse to learn to be sales people because they feel it's beneath them.

I too had to learn this very valuable lesson when I went out on my own in the optical biz. My business partner had a sales background and would sell whatever to whomever and it use to annoy me to no end because I was of the impression that you sold the patients only that which they "needed." I soon learned that I was actually the one deciding what I thought the patient needed and not giving them the chance to decide for themselves. Once I presented the patients with everything on the menu, so to speak, it was amazing how thrilled they were with all of the choices they had and how satisfied they were with the final product. Needless to say I never spent a whole lot of time having to trouble shoot non existant problems or deal with disatisfied customers after that.

If you think that taking care of the bottom line and the emphasis on sales is a downward spiral effect for optical then ask yourself this question: "Where does the money to employ or pay me come from?" As much as I would love to believe that my money comes from the sheer magnatude of my brilliance in optical theory and my professional status it just doesn't :) It comes from the sale of products and services just like every business on the face of the planet. If you want to get paid you have to make money. If you want to make money you have to sell it, plain and simple.

I hope that helps, and yes you can be a professional and still sell stuff. You can't practice your craft until you have something to practice on and guess what? You can't practice or keep practicing until you get it sold.

Take care,

Darris C.

[Laurie]

Hi,

I agree that being great at sales is just as valuable as having a thorough optical knowlege base. Dispensers who bark at that are missing the boat.

When I dispensed full time, I always showed the best first. (sometimes that included a frame worth $6,000.00 or more!) We all know the stories of when people were incorrectly judged by the way they were dressed, etc. If we always assume that everyone wants the best, we will sell better products.

At Eyequest in Chicago, Ed Degennaro, Ed August and I did a 3 hour panel on "how to be the best optical salesman you can be". The room was packed, and people were not offended by the term "sales".

Eddie D came up with a great term:

OPHTHALMANSHIP

A combination of ophthalmic knowledge and salesmanship.

They are both essential.

I think we need to do a better job as a profession to get the fashion message out, though. Recents surveys indicated that people in US replace their eyewear based on Rx change, or broken part. Rarely was fashion mentioned, which leaves us lots of room for growth if we jump on it.

2 cents,

Laurie

: )