Your patient has had an eye exam; the doctor has written a prescription for new eyewear; and the patient has headed to your dispensary and picked out quality frames. Four bases and you've scored a home run, right?

Scoring a home run in eyewear means rounding five bases, and that last base-premium lenses-is what separates World Series eyecare pros from the rest of the dispensing league.

How do you make sure that every patient interaction turns out to be an eyewear home run? It's all in the pitch, of course! Patient education that begins with a recommendation from the doctor-based on a lifestyle needs assessment-is the only way to make sure you don't strike out.

"Presenting premium products is about communicating in an understandable language," says Rene Soltis, a Bethlehem, Pa., optician who serves as Vision Council of America's national training consultant.

"Think feature, then benefit," Soltis says. "You need to be able to tell a story: 'Here is the feature, and this is how it will benefit you and meet your visual, lifestyle, and cosmetic needs.'"

What are the chances, for example, that the patient will be enticed by this description of a premium lens? "The aspheric design of this progressive lens will eliminate peripheral distortion and enable you to see at varying focal lengths."

Try this: "This lens will give you more natural vision. You won't see that line across the lens like you do with bifocals. You won't look like your grandmother and you'll be able to see at varying distances, so you won't have to compromise your current lifestyle!"

The next step toward finishing the play is to make sure that the patient knows about all the available options.

"Dispensers have a professional responsibility to present all options and choices so the patient can be an informed decision-maker," Soltis says.

In other words, don't prejudge the patient. It will cost you a valuable customer. "Consumers today are either confused, unaware, or courted by the competition," Soltis says. "If you don't tell them about the new lenses, someone else will."

In order to hit those home runs every time a patient walks into the dispensary, it is also important that everyone in the office delivers the same message and understands the objective of the practice. In other words, they must work as a team in every sense of the word.

"Most dispensers will list features, but they don't think about what's in it for the patient," Soltis says. "Patients have to have a reason to spend more money on lenses, so it's up to the dispenser to show them the benefit of each and every feature and let them decide on the value. EB