Strategies for Surviving
Today’s Optical Business
Ed De Gennaro
Richmond, Virginia
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Ed De Gennaro
Director of Professional Content &
Executive Director, ORBA
First Vision Media Group
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It’s All About Controlling the Rx
There are only so many Rx’s out in the market
The business that controls the flow of Rx’s is the
one that will be successful
How will you get your share of this market?
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How may people wear ANY form of eyeglasses?
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How may people wear RX eyeglasses?
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• What’s the % or AR usage?
• What’s the % of photochromic usage?
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How many pairs of eyeglasses were sold in
the last 12 months (ending June 12)?
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What was the average price of a frame in
the last 12 months (ending June 12)?
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How often do people buy eyeglasses?
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How many people had refractive surgery in
the last 12 months (ending June 12)?
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What’s the average price of a pair of plano
Sunglasses In the last 12 months (ending June 12)?
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What’s the average price of readers in
the last 12 months (ending June 12)?
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How often do people buy OTC reading glasses in
the last 12 months (ending June 12)?
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How many pairs of readers glasses did people own
in the last 12 months (ending June 12)?
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Knowing Your Business
Do you have a business plan (strategic plan)?
Helps focus your team
creates clear targets for everyone
How to develop one
As a team
Creating “professional product objectives”, not sales
goals
Why does this work?
What do you pay them for?
Spiffs? Commission? Bonus?
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Mission
Goals
Docs
Goals
Optical Dispensary
Goals
Administrative
Assistants
Objectives
Docs
Objectives
Optical Dispensary
Objectives
Administrative
Assistants
Strategies
Administrative
Assistants
Strategies
Optical Dispensary
Strategies
Docs
Vision
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Objectives
Objectives “operationalize” the goal
Objectives are measurable
Phrase them in action terms
"Increase the level of rimless sales by 5%
Reduce lateness by 25%
Set a performance standard in the objective
"By March 31st, ......
Make them as clearly understandable as
possible
Use as many objectives as needed
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Remember ….
An objective has a performance standard and a
date
Increase sales of rimless eyewear by 15% by June
30, 2006
Decrease errors in the finishing lab to no more than
2% within the next 90 days.
Improve staff morale to 90% by the end of the year.
Increase sunwear sales to 20% of all eyewear sales
within 180 days.
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Implementation Strategies
Define the procedural steps needed to
implement the objective
Ex. Who does what, when, how, for how long, for how
much, in relation to who, etc.
Develop as many implementation strategies as
needed
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To Ensure Success …
Evaluate, Refine, Adjust
Start by keeping it simple
1 page is enough
1 long afternoon or day or planning is enough
Appoint someone to monitor results
Meet each week to review results, share ideas,
etc. (chains do this EVERY DAY!)
PROVIDE TRAINING!
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Knowing Your Business
You can’t improve what you don’t measure
Manual system?
Software system?
Which is best?
Benchmarks
A helpful yardstick for knowing your business success
Examples:
AR – 29% Photochromics – 17% PALs – 58%
What are your numbers?
What would you LIKE them to be?
So how do you get there?
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What should you measure?
Gross income
Net income
Average sale
Cost of goods by category (frames, lenses, etc.)
Specific product sales percentages
For the office
By optician
Lab costs
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Business Models
No doc and no referrals from docs
Referrals from docs
Having a doc in your office
Photo courtesy of Carl Zeiss Meditec
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Rx Release Rule
40 years old and still in force
Is it a dead issue in the optical world?
GPO Web site, “federal regulations” tab
PART 456—Ophthalmic Practice Rules
(Eyeglass Rule):
16 CFR Part 456
Some provisions …
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Rx Release Rule
On the ORBA Web site:
The rule
Sample Warning Letter to Prescriber
Sample Warning Letter to Seller
The Eyes Have it – Get Your Prescription
How to use these
Hand them to patients
Mail
Web site
Ads?
Bruce’s Body Shop in Richmond
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Doc Pros and Cons
Pros
Cons
You now generate your own scripts
Your business’ reputation is now
linked with the doctor
Less worry about losing customers,
since they are right there to capture
If you’re set up properly, you can
accept vision care insurance
For some plans, that means the doc has to
be a 51% owner of the business
You’re not the majority partner any
longer
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Some Issues
Linda’s situation
Separate door - legally separate
Sharing of staff
Space
Who pays for the equipment?
Does the doc pay rent?
CHECK THE STATE OPTOMETRY REGS
VERY CAREFULLY
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Finding a Doc
How to find a doc if you want one
ORBA blog topic
Newspaper
Optometry colleges
Contacting the state optometry association
Asking local ODs
Craig’s List!
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How to Avoid a Bad Situation
Dr. is a poor refractionist
Dr. is not booking enough scripts
Your capture rate is really low
CREATE A SOLID CONTRACT!
Everyone needs to know and understand the
expectations going in
Build in methods to resolve disputes
Build in a method to dissolve the partnership
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Is it Really Worth it?
You’re the only one who can
answer this!
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Vision Care Insurance
VCI was developed for optometry, not opticianry.
It STILL is!
VCI put optometry on the map
MD vs OD fees years ago – ODs did it for less
Now at parity - Equal pay for equal service
VCI has forced the price of eyeglasses much
higher
To provide the discounts required, you have to mark
up your eyewear pretty high
Many offices use close-outs for this market
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Why Take It?
To serve the consumers in your market
Many locations have heavy amounts of one kind of
VCI in their area
Some offices specialize in lower end sales
Business is business – why turn it away?
EyeMed webinar by Arnie Edelman
VSP – IOBs filing claims out-of-network
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Your Own Insurance Plan?
ILOV project
Kirkland Opticians’ strategy
A national plan?
This would be a good project for ORBA
With enough members, this is possible
Similar to Rexall and IGA
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Revenues Outside of Insurance
Professional fees for opticianry?
ODs did this over 25 years ago when
1-800 CONTACTS began
Optical Society of Western NYS is doing it
Charges for repairs, adjustments, PDs, fitting
measurements, etc.
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Tracking Your Business:
If you don’t know what is selling, who it is being
sold to, and where those customers came from
you cannot effectively manage your practice.
The basics:
frames
lenses
add-ons
referral sources
Knowledge IS Power, AND Money
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Use practice management software (OfficeMate, EZFrame)
hard numbers, either via software or hand counting
0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0% 30.0% 35.0% 40.0% 45.0% 50.0%
None
Quickbooks
Quicken
Microsoft XL
Peachtree
OfficeMate
Compulink
RLISYS
Other (please specify)
17.9%
47.4%
1.3%
3.8%
2.6%
9.0%
3.8%
5.1%
2.6%
29.5%
Source: ORBA, 2010
HOW do you track these things?
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What do you need to know?
And what does it tell you?
Frame sales: How many vs how much is on your board?
Less than 250
250-500
500-700
700-800
800-900
900-1000
1000-1250
1250-1500
Over 1500
2.6%
22.1%
20.8%
16.9%
10.4%
5.2%
5.2%
9.1%
7.8%
Number of Frames Displayed on Frame Board
Source: ORBA, 2010
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Lenses: The minimum you need to know
Are you spending too much time calling too many labs?
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5 or more
15.4%
28.2%
20.5%
16.7%
19.2%
How many optical labs did you use in 2009?
Source: ORBA, 2010
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Thanks for attending!
Ed De Gennaro
Director of Professional Content &
Executive Director, ORBA
First Vision Media Group
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