Asking the Right Lifestyle Questions
This OLA-sponsored roundtable offers strategies from the experts
By Alex Yoho, ABOM

For this discussion on asking lifestyle questions, we've brought together several lab veterans who have insight into our industry. Here they share their thoughts on a dispensing method that can truly build your business. O.R. "Bud" Bargman is chairman of the board of Hawkins Optical Laboratory in Topeka, Kan., and has been with Hawkins for more than 50 years. Brian Goldstone is owner of Express Lens Lab in Fountain Valley, Calif. Art Waite is sales manager with Winchester Optical Corp. in Rochester, N.Y. Roger Bullock is owner and president of Gold Optical Enterprises of Fayetteville, N.C., and Paul Zito is a former president of the OLA.

With some offices, lifestyle dispensing is as natural as breathing, while others just haven't picked it up--and may be suffering because of it. The point of lifestyle dispensing is to expose the patient to eyewear solutions that complement the way they live. Some dispensers think it's too hard to sell that way, while others have built business by enhancing the quality of their patients' lives.

Here's what these veteran OLA members have to say:

Bud Bargman: Yes, many do. One method that brings the best results is the doctor making recommendations during the eye exam and dispensers following those with even more recommendations.

Art Waite: Many still don't grasp the concept or do not feel that it's relevant. However, what we see is that those who practice lifestyle dispensing seem to be more consistently successful.

Roger Bullock: The accounts that do lifestyle dispensing grow their practice, the ones that don't just seem to drag along.

Paul Zito: Lifestyle dispensing is more important today than ever. It is the dispenser's responsibility to meet the needs of their customers. If they fail to accomplish this, consumers will find someone else.

Does a dispenser have enough time to cover every need?

Brian Goldstone: Every patient is different. The Internet and consumer advertising have played a strong role in educating consumers on optical products. Therefore, some patients know exactly what they want when they visit our customers, while others need more time to cover everything from frame and lens selection to tints and coatings. Most of our customers are multi-taskers, meaning they are responsible for fitting, phones, dispensing, insurance billing, ordering, pre-testing, and contact lens training--just to name a few responsibilities--yet they manage to educate their patients.

Waite: Each situation is different, but if there is not a plan, a methodology, then there is a lot of unproductive time.

Bullock: I don't think there's enough time to do a good job. There's a fine line between how much is enough and how much is too much time. If you take too much time, I think you can overwhelm the patient. So it's real important to find out as much as you can about their needs before you begin. You need to be able to ask pertinent questions, and you have to know what your products are and what they do for the patient.

Waite: Some suggestions are follow-up notes and dollars-off coupons for a lens style with a time-sensitive date for use.

Bullock: The main thing is to have good communication with your patients and let them know that you're available and approachable, so if they do have a problem they can come to you knowing you will resolve it.

Zito: Database marketing is critical. By keeping accurate records of occupations, hobbies, and unique visual needs, and then sending out targeted flyers or e-mails, eyecare professionals can introduce a new variable-focus reading lens to an architect or wraparound Rx sunglasses to a golfer.

What questions would a dispenser ask to determine the patient's eyewear needs?

Bargman: They should first make a quick analysis of the prescription. The patient should be asked about visual tasks and current eyewear use--computers and outdoor activities should be included.

Goldstone: Here's one example: The other day, one of our accounts had a patient who refused to purchase a new frame, and would not give up her old one while new lenses were made. Arrangements were made to send her to our lab so she could wait while lenses were fabricated. By taking a few minutes and listening to the patient, I was able to uncover the fact that she was not happy with her executive trifocals and was interested in photochromics. We were able to offer her a thinner, lighter photo-chromic trifocal. We collected the additional revenue from the patient and sent it to our customer.

Asking questions, listening, and directing patients toward appropriate eyewear choices is the key to patient satisfaction, repeat business, and financial success.

Waite: Have every patient fill out a lifestyle form that asks a variety of questions ranging from everyday needs to sports and hobbies. If this form follows the patient through the various steps in the office, everyone he or she comes in contact with can potentially influence the patient's thoughts regarding eyewear.

Bullock: Once you resolve what you want to do for the clear lenses, then you do what you need to for the sunlenses or special purposes.

Zito: A dispenser must get inside the patient's head and view the world from his or her perspective.

Is there a successful pattern that works well?

Bargman: Look for short questions that lead to short answers in order to help the patient understand and obtain visual comfort.

Goldstone: The best information is uncovered with the doctor while the patient is still in the chair.

Waite: Refrain from looking like you're selling a second pair. Instead concentrate on meeting needs.

Ironically, when this is accomplished, the patient usually purchases multiple pairs of eyeglasses.

Goldstone: Having the patient complete a lifestyle questionnaire when they sign in for their appointment is the first step. Then, ask questions based on the responses to direct the patient toward appropriate choices.

Waite: The OLA lens center, coupled with the lifestyle survey, opens up a variety of conversation points.

Zito: Ask questions like: "What do you do for work?" "How many hours per day are you on a computer?" "Are you constantly in and out of buildings?" "What are your hobbies?"

Bargman: Keep explanations simple and focus the conversation on visual benefits and comfort. Letting a patient steer the conversation is counterproductive. Scripts can be found in the OLA Vision Care Handbook. They can be useful, but they must be presented smoothly. An experienced dispenser will be flexible and be able to deviate from the script to adapt to the situation.

Waite: Scripts are helpful, especially when there are multiple dispensers or when a business has branches. It is important that everyone on staff is conveying a similar message.

Goldstone: Dispensers should emphasize the importance of the doctor's recommendations. I'd say: "If you had an infection, and your physician recommended antibiotics, you would not question his advice. You should heed the advice of your eyecare professional in the same manner."

How is the OLA helping you and your customers do a better job?

Bargman: The OLA has just completed a lens center, which with proper education and use will be an asset in lifestyle dispensing.

Goldstone: The display shows what an OLA lab is capable of providing. It has helped our marketing efforts by increasing sales from existing accounts and helping us capture new ones.

Waite: The OLA provides a number of pieces that we use--the lens center, the lens menu, its "Perspective on Lenses," the progressive lens identifier, and the managed care book. Plus, it's developing a staff-training manual.

Bullock: The OLA is a great benefit to dispensers as well as labs. It's a forum where people can go for information--about products, for literature, for advice, and for education about dispensing.

Are there any types of eyewear needs that are not being addressed?

Bargman: Eyewear needs for the elderly. This is one of the most rapidly growing markets, yet one of the most neglected.

Goldstone: Managed care is an issue. Dispensers must know how to maximize revenue from managed care patients, while at the same time accommodating their needs. In turn, labs need to have special programs for their accounts that accept managed care programs so that their customers can remain profitable. The labs, while accepting a reduced profit, will benefit in the long run from the increased overall volume.

Bullock: We're missing the mark considerably on the different computer lenses available. Everybody has computers today, and almost everyone over 40 can benefit from this type of lens. If dispensers just had something made up that they could show patients, computer eyewear would sell itself.

Sports eyewear is another overlooked area. Most dispensers only have one or two styles, but if they would put in an assortment, just being able to show them would help.

What can lifestyle dispensing achieve?

Waite: Lifestyle surveying and dispensing is the only true way to assess patient needs and to meet all of their expectations. The key is: Don't prejudge, but do forget about "selling" a second pair. Instead, focus on meeting needs and expectations and demonstrating benefits. When this is done effectively, you actually do sell more pairs.

The patient is well served, feels good about the investment, and will frequently tell others about positive experiences.

Bullock: Today, everyone wants to idiot-proof everything. That's great, but it has created a generation of unskilled people. This is a dangerous situation to be in because consumers today are educating themselves before they come to the dispensary, and they are not going to be railroaded by an uneducated dispenser.

Sure it's important for the doctor to bring up various products, but if the dispenser isn't quick to address the things that patients see on TV and so forth, the consumer will find a place where they will.

Does lifestyle dispensing work? Yes! And if you haven't tried it in your office, give your OLA lab a call and see what they can do to jump start your profitability.