Dispensing Frontiers
Buying the Right Frames
Frames are a big investment. Here's how to ensure that your buyer is investing wisely.

BY LEONA MEDITZ

Think about it: Your optician probably spends $50,000 of your money for frames each year. How do you know he's doing a good job? Who trained him to buy? Can he explain why one frame costs $89 and the one next to it costs $189, even though they look alike?

Opticians who haven't been trained to buy product often just buy what they like -- from the salesperson they like the most. You can end up with product that won't sell and patients who can't find a frame they like, costing you thousands of dollars.

As national sales trainer for a large optical chain, I learned how professional buyers purchase product. In fact, because I found no substantive training programs, I created my own. Here, I'd like to share some of the strategies I teach optical buyers -- so you can help ensure that your buyer is purchasing frames that will sell.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT VENDORS

Are the vendors you're currently buying from appropriate for your patient base?

Lesson: You can't buy from every vendor. Vendor selection should be determined by the number of times that vendor's inventory turns, not by free business lunches.

Strategy: Choose no more than 10 vendors (5 is optimal) and be loyal to them. To choose appropriate vendors, analyze what you're offering your patients and determine how well this matches the demographics of your patient base. Determine the number of frames you currently offer, in terms of:

• line (for example, Armani is one line offered by the vendor Luxottica)
• type (metal, plastic, rimless)
• sex (men's, women's or unisex)
• retail price range (less than $89, $89 to $109, $109 to $149, $149 to $209, or more than $209).

Divide the number of frames in each category (purchased during the last 12 months) by the total number of frames purchased, to find the percentage of your inventory dedicated to this category.

ILLUSTRATION: AMY WUMMER

Next, determine which demographic each category is intended to appeal to and compare this to your practice's demographic mix. This will tell you if you need to add or delete vendors to match the frame mix to your practice demographics. (Be careful not to duplicate demographic appeal. For example, Safilo, Luxottica, Logo and Marchon all design for similar demographic groups.)

Finally, consider factors such as product name recognition, micro niches, volume discounting, co-op marketing and return policies when making your final vendor selection.

BUYING THE RIGHT FRAMES

Even if you're buying from the right vendors, your buyer still has to choose individual frames for the right reasons.

Lesson: Buying is not about saving money -- it's about making money. Opticians often focus on the best deal when they should be matching frames to patient demand.

Strategy: Focus on the needs of your patient base, not on the deal. Your buyer shouldn't worry about discounts, postponed payment programs or packaged promotions -- at least until he knows for sure that your patients will buy the frames.

Lesson: Purchases based on spur-of-the-moment emotions are not likely to be well thought out. If frame reps "drop by" to show your buyer what's new, he'll probably buy emotionally.

Strategy: Learn who your patients are and how they buy. Then, create a frame matrix that matches product to demographic types.

Start with a demographic analysis of your patient base. Print out a Zip code list of your patients. Then visit CACI Marketing Systems' Web site and plug in your Zip codes at http://demographics.caci.com/mapdata/free.htm. (You'll need "Zipit" on your computer to use this free program.)

CACI's program will provide more than 61 lifestyle characteristics for each Zip code, such as education, household income and buying patterns, so you can see the psychographics of your patient base (i.e., what motivates them to buy).

Strategy: Know the features, advantages and benefits of every frame before you buy it. Use the "Five F's" when choosing frames:

• What makes this frame Fit well?
• What makes it Fashionable?
• What makes it Function well?
• What's special about the Finish of this frame?
• Is this frame made of a special Fabric or material?

Unless you're buying for price alone, every frame should have features in three of these five categories.

BUYING THE RIGHT QUANTITY

Does your buyer have a budget? How does he decide how many frames to purchase?

Lesson: The quantity you purchase should be based on recent sales data -- and a plan. Your goal should be to carry as little product as possible and still have a good selection.

Strategy: Create a budget. First:

Determine how many frames you need to have on hand. Assume that 80% of the patients who buy glasses from you will buy a frame. Then divide by two, because most patients buy frames about every 2 years. Does the number of frames you have on hand roughly match this number?

If you carry just 50 frames too many, you will have spent $2,000 unnecessarily. Invested elsewhere, that money could earn your practice substantial income.

(One exception: Even a small practice should always carry at least 600 frames to ensure a good selection.)

Determine how often your inventory turns by dividing the number of frames sold by the number of frames in your inventory. (The more often your inventory turns the more profitable you are.) If the number of turns is less than two a year, you're losing sales.

Strategy: Calculate how many times a year a vendor's inventory turns to determine the quantity you should purchase. Ideally, a vendor's product should turn faster than your total inventory. If it turns more slowly, either change the style mix or delete that vendor. (You'll need at least one quarter to determine how often the product turns and to evaluate the role of the line in the entire mix.)

BUYING FOR IMPACT

Present frames so that patients will notice them and be drawn to them.

Lesson: A single frame is too small to make an impact displayed alone. That's why professional buyers never buy "onesey, twosey" frames.

Strategy: Always buy frames in kits with no less than 3 frames. Don't be concerned that the green one won't sell -- that color could be what draws the patient's eye to the kit. Besides, what matters is the total number of frames sold from that kit, not whether the green one sold.

• Mix up sizes, but match popular colors with popular sizes.
• Always keep frames in the kit grouped together.
• Always file largest to smallest on frame boards. This will help patients "zoom in" on product that attracts them.

MANAGING YOUR INVENTORY

Does your buyer know how long each frame has been sitting on the display? Does he replace a popular frame with the same frame after it's sold, or with something different?

Lesson: If you don't know how frames are selling, you can't know what to buy. Many buyers are haphazard about monitoring frame sales. Without tracking, your buyer has to keep re-inventing your inventory model.

Strategy: Use an "open to buy" system. Date your frame purchases so you can tell how long a frame has been sitting on the shelf. This is helpful in three ways:

• If a frame hasn't sold in 3 months, you can decide whether to return the frame, tag it and leave it for another cycle, or discount it. Without this information, unpopular frames may sit on the shelf and take up valuable space indefinitely.
• This system allows immediate replacement of sold items with the same frame. (This is logical, yet buyers often replace winners with something different.)
• Replacing frame for frame guarantees you'll always maintain your budgeted number of frames.

TRAINING COUNTS

If your buyer needs training, you'll have to find (or develop) a comprehensive program that will teach your buyer to create a frame matrix, evaluate existing inventory, choose vendors, choose frame styles and track results. (As part of my own course, I also coach buyers through the process of vendor selection on the floor at Vision Expo.)

Like any kind of training, this is an investment, but it will pay off in profitability, satisfied patients -- and peace of mind.

For more information about professional buyer training, e-mail Leona Meditz at leona@rollinm.com or visit her new Web site at www.mmgmnt.com.