BUSINESS

  PERSONNEL POINTERS

CHANGE THE NARRATIVE

IT’S NOT ABOUT SELLING; IT’S ABOUT EDUCATING PATIENTS

IN MY experience as a corporate trainer, doctors hate selling, but they love helping others. Guess what? Selling is helping others. After all, patients look to you and your staff for recommendations on their eye health and eyewear. So, change the narrative from “selling” to “educating” patients. Once you and your staff realize you’re actually doing the patient a service, you will see results.

Here are some tips on how to get staff on board.

1 FOCUS ON PREVENTION

When recommending services, you want your staff to educate patients on “how” these services can prevent negative outcomes.

For example, when scheduling an appointment for the patient, the staff member should say, “A comprehensive eye exam is like a yearly physical, except it’s just for your eyes. The exam is not just about the refraction, but also about detecting ocular changes through time.”

To create staff “buy-in,” perform an eye exam on each member and explain what, specifically, you’re doing and why. Then, provide examples of instances where you’ve caught something early enough to treat it before the damage was too extensive.

Use the same approach when it comes to special testing, such as OCT.

2 FOCUS ON PROTECTION

In the optical, protection and quality are your top priorities.

For example, when discussing sunwear, the optician should say, “Just as UV exposure can damage the skin and sunscreen protects skin from this damage, UV exposure can damage your eyes as well, and sunwear is important to protect your eyes from this damage.”

To create optician “buy-in” here, show him or her the consequences of over exposure to the eyes from UV. Then, he or she won’t hesitate to recommend sunwear to all your patients.

In addition, premium lenses and frames can increase the out-of-pocket cost for patients. But like any other product, you get what you pay for. For example, when discussing frames and digital lenses, opticians should say: “Our office believes in offering the best quality designer eyewear and latest technology in lenses and coatings to ensure the best vision possible for your prescription.”

To get staff on board, have them wear a low-end frame with plano lenses from the dollar store for 30 minutes. It will likely be full of distortion. Then, have them switch to a pair of high-quality frames fitted with AR lenses. Even if the latter is not their prescription, they should be able to tell a huge difference in both the quality of the lens and the comfort and fit of the frame. Also, have them wear what they sell! It’s a proven fact that when staff members wear a product they believe in, they have an easier time recommending it. This firsthand knowledge will help your staff educate patients on the difference of good quality and poor quality eyewear products.

VISION EDUCATION

You and your staff are not in the business of “selling” products and services; you are in the vision education business. So, educate patients about their eye health, and recommend the best products and services in order to provide them with the best care possible. It’s what they expect. OM

TRUDI CHAREST R.O., A.B.O., is the president and trainer for Total Focus Training & Consulting, as well as president and founder of Jobs4Ecps.ca, an online eye care job site. Visit tinyurl.com/OMcomment to comment on this article.