IcareLabs Blog

Author and motivational speaker John Maxwell once said that “everything worthwhile is uphill." While this is a true and profound statement, I don't think that it is something that most of us do not know. So many great quotes speak to this same subject. For example, John Hawkins once said that "if success were easy, everyone would do it."

But why is it this way? Does success have to be hard? Why are the best things in life often difficult to obtain? We could get deep into the weeds with this subject and never find our way out. To avoid this, let’s narrow it down a little. Let’s simply look into being just a little bit more successful in your optical business.

Everyone wishes they could boost their sales, right? Increasing revenue for your optical dispensary is as easy as 1, 2, 3 when you use the good/better/best rule of optical sales, educate with needs-based conversations, and shoot those shots for 2nd pair sales. Let's take a look at how implementing this strategy can have a major impact on your bottom line.

The PracticePlus program can be your complete office solution for your patients. From help with your in-office displays to name brand lenses and no-glare coatings your patients will love.

The program also includes easy to achieve goals that provide lifetime rebates for your optical. Right now, you can even get double your money back through the end of 2020!

Selling is simply about having a conversation with a person and helping them improve their lives. What other industry offers a better life improvement than ours? A recent study showed that people prioritized their vision over any other part of their bodies. We would rather lose limbs than vision.

We get to help create better vision for our fellow human beings every day. There are not many better callings than what we get to do. It should be rewarding, easy, and stress-free but we all know it often isn’t. So what can we do to try and keep it simple and not lose the sale?

In January of this year, I posted a blog hoping to draw your attention to 3 important drivers of your business to focus on in 2020. These were capture rate, retention, and increase your average sales price (ASP) per sale.

Who could have foreseen the events that have transpired in our world over the last 5 months? The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken all of us to the core. Most non-essentialbusinesses were closed down for some period of time; many for months.

The optical industry was hit as hard as any. Most offices closed to all but emergency services. Opticals were shuttered or left to just do repairs and adjustments. Overall the industry saw up to an 85% reduction in sales. We are coming back strong but still learning to live in the new normal. While we could debate whether all of this caution was warranted or not, the facts remain, we all lost sales. Increasing your optical capture rate has never been more important than now.

With the start of easing restrictions put in place due to the Coronavirus pandemic, there has never been a better time for your optical business to focus on value products, house brand lenses, and house brand no-glare options. Many Americans have found themselves with tighter budgets than usual. These products give you the ability to lower your price points while keeping your margins intact. 

Across the USA and the world, many of us find ourselves at home or with reduced hours due to the current Covid-19 pandemic. We should all absolutely take this extra time to finally get some of those things at the bottom of our to-do lists done around the house, make more memories with our loved ones, and do a little bit more self-care as well.

Even after adding all of that and more into our schedules you may find yourself with the need for something to do. Why not add in some extra optical training for yourself too? Essilor and Shamir have provided two great options that are free for a limited time to help scratch your optical itch during these times.

2020 is undoubtedly the year of all things optical. IcareLabs wants to make sure you not only meet your optical sales goals for the year, but we want this to be the best year you have ever had!

You, like many others, use the new year to make resolutions and/or promises to make changes in your life. Making a resolution is the easy part, sticking with it is another thing altogether. This is why there is a waiting line at the gym in January and by June you would be surprised if you had to wait for a machine. The number one reason that resolutions fail is that we treat them like a sprint and not a marathon.

We try and make too many or too big of changes that are just too hard to stick with. Let's focus on some small doable goals for 2020. Keep it simple and have some fun. 

What is blue light?

Blue light is at the bottom end of the visible light spectrum with the shortest wavelength and the highest energy. Blue light is often referred to as violet or violet light. Blue light is just above ultra-violet (UV) in the light spectrum.

Blue light is defined as visible light ranging from 380 to 500 nm. In some circles, blue light is broken down further into 2 segments – Blue-Violet (280 – 455) and Blue-Turquoise light (455-500nm).

Before we get to breaking down the blue light products that we carry here are a few key points you need to know.

With all of the options available in lens designs and materials, we truly are working in the golden age of optics. Never has there been more options and custom designed products to cover the vast array of our patients' needs. From specialized Single Vision products for young readers to fully compensated digital progressives offering wide field of views.

While we get plenty of training on these new products I find that many of us question when to use high-index lenses and why. Many do not understand the benefits and fear the drawbacks. 

In this brief article, I hope to clear up some misconceptions while giving you some parameters of when to use high index.