Editor's Note: This post was originally published on August 2015. It has been updated for relevance and richness of content on March 2020.
Your dispensary is where the majority of sales happen for your eyecare practice. When your patient walks out with more than one pair of frames, that can be big benefit for your profits. But everyone in the biz knows that second pair frame sales aren't always easy to come by. The opticians in your practice play a big role in making your final frame sales, but everyone in your practice should be encouraging sales throughout the entire practice.
We've got 4 expert tips to help you and your team overcome your monthly sales goals by boosting second pair sales. What has worked the best for increasing sales in your practice?
The Challenge: Increasing Sales on Second Pair Frames
Fulfill a Need
The best way to increase second pair sales in your practice is to be able to identify and fulfill a need. Sun protection, computer glasses, or recreation frames are all examples of ways to make a second pair sale, but you must be able to identify the need for the patient and not just push a meaningless discount. Write down your recommendations for the patient so it's not just in one ear and out the other. Explain how fulfilling this need will help better their overall vision experience.
Improve Your Optical Hand Off
Second pair sales start in the exam room, not optical. Which makes your optical hand off that much more important. The OD should already be talking to the patient about their options and recommendations before the patient steps foot in the dispensary. Communicating the patient's needs with the optician will help make those sales easier for the rest of the team. Be specific in your recommendations so your patients know exactly what they should be looking for to satisfy that need.
Make it Affordable
Once you're able to identify a need for your patients, tell them how you can help make it an affordable option for them. There are numerous discounts you can offer. Listen to your patient's concerns and that might help you identify which offer or discount might be the most appealing for that patient's specific situation.
Incentivize Your Team
Encouraging team work and motivation with sales incentives can help your staff provide better service to customers in your dispensary. Team goals are a great way to keep everyone working together and helps each team member hold each other accountable for helping meet the goals. Employee incentives can be offered a million different ways. Popular ideas include a monthly team bonus if a goal is hit, $10 bonus for every second pair sale, or a 20% profit for each multiple frame sale.
All you need is 4 weeks before you start making more profit. Read the ebook on how to do it.
