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A new look at old problems

Making Your Reps Work for you

By Erinn Morgan

Are you in a good relationship? With your frame sales representative, that is. Since many frame buyers deal regularly with 15 or more reps at a time, it can be difficult at best to build solid relationships.

But, for better or worse, frame reps and frame buyers are entangled. “I always say to my reps, ‘We're both in this to make money—we're a team so let's work together,'” says Nancy Knoth, frame buyer for the nine-location Park Nicollet optical chain in Minneapolis. “It seems to work well.”

Today, many frame sales representatives go above and beyond simply showing frames. Many offer assistance with sales tracking, inventory, and returns, plus special services, such as arranging window displays, putting on trunk shows, and even cleaning their frames on your board.

We've developed this guide to optimize the connection with your sales reps.

HOW MANY, HOW OFTEN?

Many ECPs report that they see a large number of sales reps on a regular basis. “I see around 20, which is even more than a few years ago,” says Knoth, who notes that she sees most reps every four months. “It's definitely too many.”

Still, a large number of frame buyers find that they need to work with a bigger number of reps to fill their product needs. “We work with between 15 and 20, and we usually see each one about every three to three-and-a-half months,” says Diana Fleetham, manager of The Optical at 50th and France, a high-end optical boutique associated with an ophthalmology group in Edina, Minn.

Seeing frame reps, on average, every three to four months, enables ECPs to keep up to date with new product releases, discuss how the frames in that rep's collection are selling, and to pull discontinued styles from their boards.

“I like to see my reps every 12 to 16 weeks to keep the product on the board fresh,” says Nicki Harrison, the practice manager at Advanced Vision Care in Bethel Park, Pa., who sees 15 reps on a regular basis, plus a number of others at trade shows. “This works well with their cycles and they almost always have new product then.”

WHEN TO SCHEDULE?

Seeing 15 to 20 reps each and every few months can take up a huge chunk of any frame buyer's schedule. Frame buyers can employ a variety of timesaving, organizational tactics. Knoth chooses to see reps twice a week. “I only schedule reps at 9:30 in the morning because they always show up on time,” she shares. “I've also learned the lesson to not see more than one a day. Buying for nine stores, you get a little nutty—you can't even see the frames anymore after a few appointments.”

At Advanced Vision Care, Harrison sees reps one day a week on Wednesdays. “It has worked well for me that I limit what day they can come in—I set that day aside for this specifically,” says Harrison. “I see two to three reps that day; my brain gets fried after more than that.”

While most rep appointments can be completed in about an hour, “That includes the buyer being interrupted frequently by the phone, customers walking in the door, and just BS-ing. The actual time spent looking at frames and doing the buying is probably 15 to 20 minutes,” says Kyle LePack, a regional manager for Safilo USA (who manages 16 sales reps throughout Tri-State area) and a sales rep for New York for Armani Eyewear. Multiple-line sessions can require up to three hours.

HOW TO STEER?

Frame buyers preparation is key for appointments with sales reps. “We come to the table with printouts showing our current inventory and sales,” says Knoth. “I also make sure that the reps are only showing me new product and that they pull all discontinued styles.”

Harrison “prints out her inventory information before the rep comes in. “And I have my opticians manually check things with the printout,” she says. “My reps love me because they don't have to convince me that something sold three or four times.” Because she is not on the floor selling, Harrison has a meeting with her dispensers before reps come in so she knows how the line is faring.

“Being prepared makes things go so much faster and smoother,” she says. Lastly, before each rep meeting, she and her staff pull all of the frames that are more than six months old and discuss them with the reps. “We don't always return everything, but we discuss it,” she adds.

Some buyers bring the dispensary's opticians in the appointments themselves. “We have three opticians that work here and we all sit down with the rep and buy together,” says Fleetham. “We all have the same optical philosophies, but we like different styles. It takes a little bit longer, but we constantly hear from our customers that we have a great selection. The reps have fun and they love it. They just know they can't schedule anyone after us.”

Sales reps offer a wide variety of extra services of which frame buyers can take advantage, from customized P.O.P. and merchandising help to putting on trunk shows and cleaning up their frame areas. Are you taking advantage of the business-boosting extras your reps offer?

“We love the merchandising help,” says Jessica Reyes, ABO, NCLE, manager/frame buyer at Clairmont Nichols Opticians, a business with two high-end optical shops in New York City. “We have one fabulous rep who comes in and organizes and straightens all her frames on a regular basis. She also sends us customized P.O.P. and if we have a problem with invoicing, she will call and take care of it. All of these services save me time.”

That extra mile might even include finding frame buyers the best pricing. “Some reps keep on top of if we can get a better deal through them billing direct with a 30-, 60- or 90-day payment plan or by going through a buying group,” says Fleetham. “That is one thing we don't have the time to figure out.” FB

A DAY IN THE LIFE

Ever wonder what your reps do all day long? Here's a rundown of a typical day for multi-line rep Donna Hawley, a Minneapolis-based independent sales representative. 4 a.m.: Up and in the shower, have coffee, put final items in overnight bag. Car was loaded last night with samples and account files. 5 a.m.: Leave to travel three hours for 8 a.m. appointment. It's snowing, but roads look OK according to TV weather channel. 8 a.m.: Arrive at account, bring in eight sample bags. It's freezing cold and windy; I'm going to look a little haggard by the end of the day! Do inventory, pull discos (discontinued frames), show collections with constant interruptions—buyer has to take care of patients coming out of exams and walk-ins—she is alone so I help her out by styling some patients and answering the phone. Finish orders, write returns, schedule next appointment, take bags to car. Noon: Drive 1.5 hours to next account. Eat sandwiches in car and return calls. 1:30 p.m.: Buyer is sick, but I take inventory, write return for discontinued frames that I pulled, and leave her a note about a possible order that I will “OK” with her by phone the next day. 2 p.m.: Drive two hours to next city with several accounts. Return calls and make note to look for back-ordered frames in my sample bags for two accounts. 4 p.m.: Stop at account, do inventory, write order-return, chat with doctor and staff, show family photos, etc. 5 p.m.: Arrive at hotel, bring sample bags into room with overnight bag and computer. Sample bags come inside because accounts don't like to touch frozen frames and they fog up when they try them on—theft is a factor also. Go to hotel restaurant for soup and return to room. 7 p.m.: Exhausted. Look for backordered frames for accounts in bags—found one—call account and leave a message that I will mail it tomorrow (I keep mailing boxes in my car). 8:30 p.m.: Asleep!