Same Side of the Frame Board

How reps and opticians can make more of the time they spend together

I sold two Burberry frames on the same day to two very different patients. One was a college student who loved seeing Taylor Swift in Burberry. The other was a 75-year-old man who connected with the history of Burberry trench coats during World War I.

The same brand meant something different to each of them. I couldn’t have predicted which detail would matter, but knowing both gave me something to talk about once I noticed what drew them in. Without those brand stories, I might not have made either sale.

I’ve worked on both sides of the dispensing table. When there’s a patient waiting and the rep has another office to get to, it’s easy to write the order and move on. But what happens after the order is what both of us care about. We want the frames we put on the board to find their way to patients who are excited to wear them.

That’s where a rep’s brand knowledge can make a difference. An optician can see a frame’s shape and color and assess how it fits. A rep can explain how a design detail connects to the brand’s history or where a patient might have seen the brand recently. When I was dispensing, those were the details I could use the next day with a patient the rep would never meet. Reps can add value to a regular visit by bringing one story or current brand highlight the team can pass along.

There’s also a bigger conversation to have about what’s happening in the optical. When you’re seeing patients all day, it’s easy to go months without stepping back to ask which brands are earning their space, which frames have been sitting, and what patients keep asking for that you don’t carry.

Reps live in quarters — they spend a lot of time looking at what’s selling and what’s changing, and they see how different practices respond to similar challenges. If a brand is slow in your optical, ask your rep, “Which styles are doing well in practices like ours, and how does that compare with what’s on our board?” Your rep can share what they’re seeing across the region. You can tell them what patients actually say when they try the frames on. Together, you can decide which styles to replenish, what to try next, and what’s taking up space.

The same goes for challenges beyond the frame board. If patients are leaving to shop online, a rep may be able to share how another practice made complete-pair pricing easier to understand. If your team is struggling to explain the value of a premium or luxury frame, ask your rep to spend 15 minutes working through the objections your staff actually hears. Many reps have been opticians themselves — even those who haven’t have seen ideas succeed in one office and fall flat in another — ask them what made the difference.

It takes effort from both sides. Reps, come prepared with something new and relevant to share. Ask what the practice would like to improve and listen before offering an idea. Opticians, give your rep a specific challenge to work with. “We keep hearing that our glasses cost more than patients expected” gives you both somewhere to start.

At your next appointment, set aside a few minutes for one thing you’d like to improve. Agree on something to try and check back at the next visit. You’ll probably still write an order that day. Maybe the conversation reminds you to add a size patients keep asking for or replenish a style that’s always selling out. The next time a patient comes in looking for that frame, you’ll have something on the board to show them. You might even have a story to share when they try it on.

Article written by Britt Scott