Document Your Big Shopping Trip
You’re not just an optical retailer, you’re a tastemaker scouring distant markets, like Vision Expo West, and maybe even SILMO. Build excitement for the goods you’re bringing back by posting a video. Capitol Hill Vision in Seattle, WA, shows how it’s done: facebook.com/CapitolHillVision.
RETURNSPushback With Vendors
Like all businesses involved in retailing goods, the owners of Bakersfield Eye Care Optometric Center in Bakersfield, CA, have made mistakes with lines that seemed sure to be a slam dunk but instead turned out to be bricks. Co-owner Dr. Son Nguyen says they cried a little at first when they had to mark them down 50 percent. Then they got a little more audacious. “We asked some of our new vendors to give us 90 days to see how our patients liked their product. Surprisingly, companies bent their policy to give us better exchange rates and even 100 percent money back guaranties to try out their lines.” Lesson? “If you don’t ask, you’ll never know,” he says.
Credit CardsCommon-Sense Security
Most banks have accommodating policies for card theft. However, it can still be a pain to cancel a card and all its automatic payments. Nerdwallet writer Virginia McGuire designates a credit card exclusively for payments. “I keep that card … well-hidden. If my wallet takes a walk without me a third time, I won’t have to change the payment information on my Netflix account yet again.”
saying ‘no’ Stick to the Script
Have trouble saying “no”? Ron Friedman at Harvard Business Review suggests creating some stock phrases that you can use almost reflexively. A good “no script” uses the phrase “I don’t” instead of “I can’t” whenever possible, makes the no about the request, not the person asking, and makes it easy to include a reason. Your “script” could be something like, “I don’t have the budget right now to donate because [we’ve committed our community budget to helping the local high school], but I’d love to help you out with something in the future.”
productivityDefeating Your Own Purpose
Here’s a sobering thought: If you work more than 50 hours a week, you’re probably not getting more done than someone who works a lot less. That’s the conclusion of a Stanford study, which found that productivity per hour declines sharply when the work week exceeds 50 hours. After 55 hours, the drop is so large “there’s no point in working any more.”
eyewear selectionEstablish a Consensus
When frame vendors call on Vision Health Institute in Orlando, FL, they find themselves pitching their wares to an entire staff meeting. “We have ALL the staff members involved with frame selection, whether it’s a new line or existing line. This usually ensures we do well,” says co-owner Dr. Mark Perry.
This article originally appeared in the July-August 2017 edition of INVISION.