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Thread: How do you talk pricing with patients?

  1. #1
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    How do you talk pricing with patients?

    Hello all! Hope your holidays are wonderful so far.

    How does everyone talk the language of pricing with patients? Do you just mention pricing verbally, do you write it down on post it notes, do you have a form? Some sort of computer software?

    How about pricing strategies? Do you have a good, better, best or do you have 5 progressives with 5 ARs that you educate the patient on all you have to offer? Do you package and bundle?

    Thank you for the help, looking to change up how we currently do things.

  2. #2
    Master OptiBoarder DanLiv's Avatar
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    Package pricing including premium progressive, material, and premium AR at a single price. I write out the prices including our U&C and their insurance adjusted fees, and have a quote sheet I can fill out for them to take if they need to consider. I explain the benefits of the recommended lenses, and if there is no serious price objection discussion is done. I have lower cost options to fall back on if I care to, but I rarely do. I find a sufficiently confident explanation of the benefits and quality of my preferred lens design persuades those willing to listen of the value of the product and my service. Having single go-to packaged lenses streamlines everything for both my staff and my customers, and we can spend more time discussing why our lenses are great, instead of discussing what other lesser options we can do instead.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by DanLiv View Post
    Package pricing including premium progressive, material, and premium AR at a single price. I write out the prices including our U&C and their insurance adjusted fees, and have a quote sheet I can fill out for them to take if they need to consider. I explain the benefits of the recommended lenses, and if there is no serious price objection discussion is done. I have lower cost options to fall back on if I care to, but I rarely do. I find a sufficiently confident explanation of the benefits and quality of my preferred lens design persuades those willing to listen of the value of the product and my service. Having single go-to packaged lenses streamlines everything for both my staff and my customers, and we can spend more time discussing why our lenses are great, instead of discussing what other lesser options we can do instead.
    Bingo, this is the winner. The less options, the better.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by DanLiv View Post
    Package pricing including premium progressive, material, and premium AR at a single price. I write out the prices including our U&C and their insurance adjusted fees, and have a quote sheet I can fill out for them to take if they need to consider. I explain the benefits of the recommended lenses, and if there is no serious price objection discussion is done. I have lower cost options to fall back on if I care to, but I rarely do. I find a sufficiently confident explanation of the benefits and quality of my preferred lens design persuades those willing to listen of the value of the product and my service. Having single go-to packaged lenses streamlines everything for both my staff and my customers, and we can spend more time discussing why our lenses are great, instead of discussing what other lesser options we can do instead.
    Yeah, it sounds REALLY antithetical to educated patients and stuff I typically am wildly about, but from the business aspect of things, presenting a holistic package price point just simplifies and streamlines interactions (which means you are able to service more patients faster) and honestly, they're trusting you to use your experience about what works. I usually just present it as "for the progressive with anti-reflective and transitions, it comes to $XXX. Breaking down "oh, it has Crizal Rock instead of Crizal Avance" or whatever is, frankly, a distinction the patient doesn't really care about. I hate being this cynical about things, but from a business perspective, packages save you time and boost your sales, and are nice easy numbers that you can quickly present to patients. Insurance throws all this out the window, of course

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    Master OptiBoarder AngeHamm's Avatar
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    It's really nice to have an all-inclusive package that includes a digital PAL good enough to service most prescriptions. The giant leap forward in the quality of entry-level digital PALs has been a massive boon for us and for our patients. our package PAL and SV lenses are often more affordable, and of a higher quality, than a lot of insurance plans offer.
    I'm Andrew Hamm and I approve this message.

  6. #6
    Master OptiBoarder DanLiv's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by juno View Post
    ...Insurance throws all this out the window, of course
    Not at all! They just have a different single fee than private pay. Who cares that when we bill it we have to break everything down, as you said the patient doesn't need nor care about all that. Sure when you tell them the lens is $300 with their insurance, some will say "hey I thought I get free lenses!", but that conversation is the same whether you package prices or not. Heck, it's the same conversation with a private pay when you tell them the lenses are $800 and they say "but I can get them for $200 from Costco". You have to go into detail about the features and benefits of your products and service to convince them of the value. But you don't have to break fees down into all their constituent parts. I have literally only about 1 out of 1,000 customers actually press me on this and asks for a line by line breakdown, which in those cases I oblige, but I try to never develop my practices to handle the 1 when it inconveniences the other 999.

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    What's up? drk's Avatar
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    When in doubt, do whatever DanLiv tells you. He's got all things worked out.

  8. #8
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    We have 3 packages and customers typically choose the middle package.

    Prior to that we divided it into Design/Filters & Coatings.

    They both work but having 3 packages is the best way to go, less confusion and decisions are made easier and faster.

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