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Boosting optical sales through patient engagement and value communication
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By Mark Hinton,
President and CEO of eYeFacilitate
Oct. 30, 2024
In the typical optical dispensary, the staff sees each patient as few as one time over the course of 12 to 18 months.
As a result, capture rates need to be high for the practice to reach its peak level of success. But, in many optical locations across the U.S., the capture rate is running lower than it could be, and patients are walking away with a prescription to purchase elsewhere.
But this doesn’t have to happen, with a few tactical changes in the dispensary, a practice’s optical, sales can be boosted to move the practice closer to peak performance.
There is, of course, an art to fulfilling more Rxs in the dispensary, and yet it’s not that difficult to make this happen, whether it’s prescribing and filling multiple sets of glasses, including prescription sunglasses, or even fulfilling an annual supply of contact lenses or selling plano sunglasses.
One place to start is by looking at the concept of “value,” which has become a hot topic in the world of retail and healthcare today. But what’s sometimes lost is how to best express what the “actual value” or “comparative value” is for the patient in the optical department.
I’ve worked with hundreds of practices around the country, and it’s fascinating to me to observe what often happens in the dispensary.
When wrapping up the conversation and eyewear selection process, it gets to the point where the final decision is going to be about the cost. And the optical specialist says something to the effect, “After your insurance, your total is X.”
Then, there’s a giant pause, and the patient slowly replies, “I need to think about this.”
The optical staff person responds, “I understand,” or, “We’ll be here for you when you need us.”
Stress the ‘Savings’ to the Patient
Here’s where the concept of comparative value comes into the picture.
The concept of “comparative value” comes into play when the staff member or the doctor explains to the patient what the purchase was going to cost before their vision plan benefits or savings are considered and then they need to know what their portion of the purchase is, and lastly, their savings.
The key there is the patient’s portion, or their contribution, not their out-of-pocket cost for the purchase.
Finally, the patient needs to clearly hear what their savings are in the transaction because people buy savings. People need to make a deal and they need to feel like they’ve won. It has been that way since the Silk Roads were first introduced as trade routes and people bartered.
Our buying-selling process today is based, to an extent, on the primacy of bartering. What do I get for this? What’s the value? Or that’s more than I want to spend.
What triggers the excitement or the enthusiasm in the brain about a purchase is the feeling that we’ve won. We got a deal, or we received savings on a purchase. This can include savings/benefits from their vision plan, not their medical insurance.
These factors all make a difference when it comes right down to what the patient is going to be asked to spend.
The important idea is that the patient needs to know they are going to experience some form of savings on their purchase, and this should come last in the conversation, so it stands out.
For example, someone could ask the patient, “Do you want to put half down now and half when you pick up? Your total after your insurance is going to be $800, after $700 in savings with your vision benefits.” The conversation really needs to lead the patient to the idea that the purchase would have been $1,500 without the vision benefit, but they just saved $700.
Sample of how this would sound?
Building Stronger Patient Relationships
Another key to building a successful dispensary is to work hard to develop deeper relationships with every patient. People, in general, buy relationships. If they like you, they’re going to work with you. If I trust you, I’m going to work with you. I want a relationship.
The optical dispensary is no different and the staff should follow this idea more stridently. One way to do this is by using the patient’s preferred name, their nickname or the way they want to be addressed whenever we’re addressing them in our optical. We should use their preferred name between three and five times throughout the encounter.
For example, “Karen, that’s a really good question.” We should be constantly connecting with the patient because people like to do business with people they like.
What I find when observing teams in practices is that sometimes the patients don’t know that the optical department actually belongs to the doctor whom they’re seeing as a patient. They think that the optical dispensary is a separate business altogether.
That’s a misstep that should be changed in order to further the concept that “people buy people” and the practice is working together as one team. I don’t change my attorney every time I need a new attorney, and I don’t change bookkeeper every time I need bookkeeping.
I don’t change those professionals because I trust them. They have a value. It should be the same thing with our optical dispensary.
The Flexible Financing Option
In eyecare, the sales process is about educating, encouraging and enabling patients to do what’s best for their vision. It begins with determining the patient’s need and then providing them the information and solutions that enable them to say “yes,” with the knowledge and satisfaction that they’re doing what’s best for their current AND future best vision.
In addition, be thrilled to offer a financing option – such as the CareCredit credit card – to patients. You will be surprised at how many want and need this service. For instance, spreading out the payments may allow many patients to experience new products that better serve their needs.
Many patients have never had prescription sunglasses, and it can be a life-changing moment. And, how ‘bout desktop multifocals?
People also like being smart with their money, which is where flexible financing can be important.
With a new prequalification check and a streamlined application process that patients can privately complete on their smartphone, CareCredit is a quick and easy solution for many patients.
In the end, the best solution is to keep it simple in the dispensary. Assume the sale to the patient is progressing and just make it simple by explaining the bottom-line savings for what is a necessity or must-have in order for them to enjoy their best vision.
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Mark Hinton is Chief Executive Officer and President of eYeFacilitate, an advisory firm based in Bristol, Va., and a graduate with honors in Ophthalmic Dispensing & Engineering Technology from Hillsborough College in Tampa, Fla. He has owned and developed successful ophthalmic practices for almost 40 years. |
