I have posed some questions and shared some important research and articles. Now it is time to dive in and talk about actual tips to enhance the selling experience and make sure you have the tools to sell luxury eyewear.  Every tool and tip I discuss will have one ultimate goal – to make a connection with your patient and thus give you the ability to sell higher priced, luxury eyewear.

 Tip #1:  Educate, Educate, Educate

Education is a big theme throughout my writings and speeches (and of course with my own internal team).  We all have new things to learn and we should be learning something new almost every day.  Education does not end when we leave school or graduate. It continues forever and if we are not learning or educating at retail, we will be left behind by the stores/practices that focus on this every day.

Education tips to consider when developing your strategy:

• Work with your staff and patients ONE on ONE as much as possible.  Individual attention is the best form of education.  For what it is worth, I always did better in school in the classes where the teacher paid individual attention and I did not feel like a “number/name” in a large room.

• Keep on training the staff: Have weekly meetings, lunches, breakfasts.  Make it fun, have some contests. Write up silly quizzes and give out even sillier prizes.  The more the staff knows about ALL the product lines, the more you will sell.  And the more everyone knows about the luxury collections, the more you will increase your average retail selling price.
• Invite your sales representatives as often as you can:  No matter how much you teach and study, you still have 10+ collections to think about and sell.  No one knows the details on products better than the company selling them.  See point 2 above and invite your sales representative to do as much training as you want.  Trust me – they will happily come in and do it (and if not, stop carrying the collection).

• Pay attention to the details: Training is one thing.  The details are another.  When selling any luxury product, the consumer wants to know details.  They want to know why a specific product is special, why it costs more than the “popular price” frame on the board.  The devil is in the details!

• Make learning easy:  Develop small bullet point reminders about collections.  Key in on features and benefits that make a collection or an item special.  If you do not have time or need help, ask your sales representatives to do this for you.  But do something.  And again, make it FUN.

• Share: Last but not least — make sure to share all of this with your patients.  Remember – they want to be educated – not sold.

Education is the building block.  With the right focus on teaching and training, you will soon find it easier and easier to sell higher priced, luxury products. And you will develop a long-lasting connection with your patients.