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Keys to improving optical sales.
Part 1 of four-part series on improving your capture rate.
By Kayla Ashlee
August 21, 2024
It is said that the enemy of great is not bad; the enemy of great is good. When we talk about ways to increase optical sales, there is a big performance difference between average, good and great opticals.
The average optical will point to the opticians when sales are lacking, thinking that the opticians are the ones who need to close the deal.
The good opticals will place emphasis on the words of the doctor to prescribe the necessary eyewear that make an easier sale for those opticians to close.
It is the great opticals that equip every team member to refine their influence in the patient journey.
Kayla Ashlee leads a workshop with an optometry practice on easy changes to make to create satisfied patients and capture more sales. Ashlee says that how your front-desk team greets patients is especially important to keeping sales in-house.
It’s the WHOLE Patient Journey that Captures (or Loses) the Sale
Ponder the patient journey in your office. Before your patient even arrives there is a good chance they have spoken with a team member.
Then, once in the office they are greeted by another team member. Then another when they begin the exam testing, then typically the doctor, and often handed off to an optician toward the end of the visit.
In most offices, each of these touch points is with a different team member. Each of those patient interactions can carry great influence in the outcome of the visit. ECPs fear coming off as “salesy,” and understandably so!
When a person is not taught a skill, and how to refine it, they have to fake it. When we fake anything we are not living in our true authenticity and people can sense that. When were you taught sales skills in your schooling or training? Exactly my point, never.
Refining Your Team’s Skills Empowers them to be Authentic with Patients
As the founder of Spexy, a training resource for opticals, I work with thousands of independent ECPs to refine their interactions and build trust with patients.
When you refine the skill of sales, your patient is met with a level of authenticity during each interaction they have with your team. Your patient will feel an undeniable level of trust, void of the “salesy” suspicion.
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In this four-part series, we will review common objections patients have, the devastating reactions we are all guilty of, and I will offer refined verbiage that will allow you to change the outcome to patients being excited about purchasing eyewear.
This first part of the series will be focused on the influence available for the front desk, followed by pre-testers in part two. Part three will refine verbiage for the doctors, and, finally, part four will hone in on the opticians. There will be communication gems taught in each section.
Front desk, patient experience coordinator, check-in, greeter…though there are many names, this role is highly influential. They single handedly set the tone for each patient’s visit and serve as the face of the practice.
3 Ways to Improve How You Greet Patients
We are going to cover three adaptations you can implement when you greet your patient that will immediately increase your influence.
“Go ahead and have a seat…”
Let’s stop that right now. When patients come in they are very willing to listen to our direction. So, why would we ever use that influence to give them direction to go sit and wait?
No way! At minimum, after checking in, you should direct them to the optical. The great opticals will have their patient greeted with a smile, ask them if they would like a water or tea, then direct them to the optical by saying something like, “Ms. Smith, I will grab your water and meet you in the optical. Oh, and while you are there, take a look at the new Lafont frames that came in. The colors are stunning!”
Then as you go to grab a water, let an optician know that Ms. Smith is admiring the new Lafonts.
Show them how it’s done.
New patients are a big deal! We should be thrilled when a new patient arrives! Average opticals seek to minimize the paperwork that is done in the office.
Good opticals welcome the patient and ask how they found out about their office.
You can give them a breathtaking experience by letting them know what to expect. Great opticals set an expectation that excites with verbiage like, “Mr. Dawson, I have you checked in. Now let me show you around,” as you step out from behind the counter, “through this door is where you will find the restroom. If you follow me over here, into the optical area you will see the lab over there, this is where our opticians are creating the most amazing glasses. Back down that hall is where the exam rooms are, and where we are standing is our optical gallery! We have curated brands that are very dapper looking. I would recommend looking at how those Orgreen frames are designed. While you do that, I will let Sally know that you are ready to start the testing for your exam and she will come get you shortly.”
“I am only here for my exam. I’m going to get my glasses online.”
Boom! There it is. The moment we hear these words, the look of defeat engulfs your optimistic smile. You nod at the patient and try to muster a fake grin. Then after the exam you hand over their prescription while propping your ego on the fact: it is their right to have their written Rx. Do we have to leave it there, though?
Editor’s Note: Giving the spectacle prescription at the end of the exam is required by federal law in almost all cases.
Approaching with sincere authenticity, you can respond to the request for their script with curiosity. Once the request is made, immediately ask, “Oh! Were you able to find a frame you loved?” If the patient says yes, respond with, “Nice, do you have a picture? I love seeing the latest styles.”
Keep the conversation open with things you like about what was chosen and compare to similarities to the refined styles in your optical and have them try your eyewear on.
If the response is no, then state, “I will make a note of your request, and while you are waiting for your exam I can show you one of the latest trends in eyewear,” and lead them to the optical to show them a specific trend. Rather than hanging your head in defeat the moment an Rx is requested, use curiosity to keep the conversation going.
Tone is essential in these interactions. HERE is a video detailing the ideal inflection and tone to follow in your interactions with patients.
The power of suggestion is unconsciously used in all of our daily interactions. Being intentional about how you speak to patients from the moment they enter your office will not only be portrayed as a concierge level of service, but it will also set a powerful precedent for the remaining interactions the patient will have in your office. This refinement is what adapts the good to great.
Kayla Ashlee is the founder and chief executive officer of Spexy. To contact her: kayla@bespexy.com
