CLINICAL

  OPTICAL

IMPLEMENTING IDEAS

USE THESE TWO STEPS TO GO FROM CONCEPTION TO EXECUTION

AFTER EVERY lecture I give, a few people come up to the podium afterward with questions. These are the people who are most likely to implement some of the ideas I presented. But then again, I’m never really sure that even this group will follow through. That’s the problem with ideas; they can be great to listen to, but it’s the execution that is difficult.

Let me share two numbers with you to help you implement good ideas into your practice.

FIVE MINUTES

The first number, five minutes, is the length of time you have to set in motion a good idea. That may mean something as simple as writing a note to yourself (e.g., “bring in high-end frames”) or making a phone call.

This simple first step requires what has been called “activation energy.” If you can’t summon the energy to “activate” yourself to write your good idea, you will likely forget it, and it won’t be implemented. Some of my best ideas come to me while riding my bike, and I’ve learned to carry my phone with me so I can stop and enter those ideas before I forget them.

72 HOURS

Now, comes the hard part: the follow through. Research shows that if you don’t begin implementation of an idea within 72 hours, it will never get done. If you have a long list of ideas, say after a CE meeting, pick the one that addresses the biggest problem your office currently faces, and see it through to its completion.

PRIME EXAMPLES

Need some ideas for your optical? How about these:

• Increase your revenue per patient by building lens packages. To get patients on board with your recommendations and boost sales, create tiered packages in good, better and best options.

• Update your frame board merchandising. Walls of frames that all look the same are not conducive to buying. Remove some of those pegs, put in some shelving, add unique props and point-of-purchase displays, group frames by collections, and keep the frame board dust-free.

• Enhance the optical sales floor with better lighting. We just added a bank of recessed LED lights in the ceiling and put LED tape light strips to the underside of our glass shelving along the back. It has transformed the optical. The frame colors pop, and it looks like a new office. It was the best $2,000 I ever spent.

• Bring in some high-end frame lines. Do you think a $400+ frame will scare away your patients? A higher price point is just what some of your patients are looking for, and it will make your $300 frames look like a bargain. Pick two or three new frame lines, and experiment with them.

Do any of these ideas sound interesting? You’ve got five minutes to write one or all of them down, starting . . . now!

TIME’S UP

The goal of this magazine, — and, I imagine, the reason you subscribe to it — is to improve your practice’s bottom line. So, after you’ve finished reading it, take five minutes to write down the best ideas for your practice, get them started within 72 hours, and you’ll be on your way to positive change. OM

DAVE ZIEGLER, O.D. is a senior partner at Ziegler & Leffingwell Eyecare in Milwaukee, Wisc., and a fellow of the American Academy of Optometry. Email him at daveaziegler@gmail.com, or visit tinyurl.com/OMcomment to comment.