High-End Hopes
Is the high-end more recession-resistant? Can top-down selling help you fill your pockets and bounce back from the tough economic times? How do you train your employees to successfully use this sales technique? The answers to these questions and more...
By Erinn Morgan

Ding dong! The witch is dead. The U.S. recession has been officially declared as over. Or is it? A recent BizWeb poll reports that the majority of respondents (55 percent) say they think the worst of the U.S. recession is not over yet.

"It is definitely getting better," says Melle Pinchak, head optician at the upscale Urban Eyes in San Francisco. "The beginning of the year kind of picked up. But then we were up and down all year. July was a good month. Really, we've been oscillating since the beginning of 2003."

Many eyecare professionals agree that one area of the industry--retailers of high-end eyewear--is definitely less affected in tough economic times. Why? Partly because consumers are still focused on purchasing quality goods that will stand the test of time.

"It is absolutely more profitable to focus on the high-end," says Nicki Harrison, practice manager at Advanced Vision Care in Bethel Park, Pa. (a suburb south of Pittsburgh). "People will still spend on these items even in more difficult times. In our area, people are very brand-name focused. The designer names and brands--they just sell on their own."

As a result, a number of dispensers are repositioning their practices to include more high-end product. In addition, many are employing the top-down sales technique where higher-end product (in both frames and lenses) is presented first to customers.

"We use top-down selling as our main sales technique," says Carol Canada, central frame buyer for Vision Care Specialists, which has five locations in the Denver metro area. "We start at the top and get the patients excited about the features and benefits of the high-end products."

Should you consider a shift to the high-end? Would top-down selling benefit your bottom line? Read on, as dispensers share their experiences and successes on this front--plus tell us how to train the sales staff to handle this special segment.

Upscale eyewear is unique in that its fans will still show loyalty even in difficult economic times. This holds true in many luxury categories. "People with money usually don't care about a recession," says Charlie Tetro, general manager of The Eye Gallery, which has six locations in metro Atlanta.

In addition, most upscale customers are not willing to sacrifice quality, no matter what the economy is doing. "The high-end was definitely affected somewhat by the recession--but customers still wanted quality," says Vision Care Specialists' Canada, whose frame selection ranges in price from $100 to $1,600. "People were into quality, but not as much into the name."

Urban Eyes' Pinchak agrees. "People are more prone to still buy quality--so the bad economy is not that much of a detriment. This is why the high-end is more recession proof."

Interestingly, however, Tetro notes that some high-end customers do yield to the recession's directions--not because of financial difficulties, but because of social pressure. "Eventually with this group, being frugal becomes a trend," Tetro says. "People feel everyone is hit, so they shouldn't be spending money either. It becomes a fashionable thing to be thrifty."

On the other hand, the opposite is true when times are good. "They come in and say, 'Oh, you have a $1,000 pair of glasses. I will spend the money for those.' People get snooty and snobby in good times. They want to outspend the other person," Tetro says.

Because high-end eyewear sales are typically more stable than the rest of the industry, some dispensers have shifted their focus to this end. Advanced Vision Care decided it was time to make the move after building a new facility in 1997. "We shifted to higher-end product when we moved," says Harrison. "Since then, we have focused on premium products here. We didn't have room to present them properly before."

The change has been a profitable one for this dispensary. "People just seem to want to buy quality and things that last," Harrison says. "Designer eyewear is the one piece of designer wear that they can say they have and feel good about it. You can spend $200 on a designer frame and really get your money's worth out of it. The designer eyewear is very affordable compared to the clothing they are selling."

One more boon to high-end eyewear is its ability to bounce back quickly from down times. "We see things bouncing back now pretty quickly," says Canada. "In other recessionary times, the market was a little more sluggish in coming back. This time it is coming back really fast."

If high-end is your game, then top-down selling is your friend. Why start with the $100 core product when you have sophisticated, stylish, unique, premium frames and lenses to show off?

"Our goal isn't to find the cheapest thing we can put on people," says Al Shook, owner of Hearst Opticians in Fort Worth, Texas. "Top-down selling is something that is innate, that is always done here."

Getting started is easy. Armed with the proper knowledge about your luxury frame lines--and their specific features and benefits--begin by showing the customer an upscale style first. One note: Be sure to show a frame that is still somewhat reasonably priced, not your $4,000 diamond-encrusted 24K gold showstopper.

"When they come out to the dispensary we might not start off with the $1,400 frame. We will focus on a $400 frame and go from there," says Canada.

Diversity is also key here. If you are only showing the customer $400 to $600 frames, they may become suspicious of your motives. Mix things up and show a $400 style and then a $200 style. This way the customer will also become familiar with the differences between higher-quality and lower-
quality products.

"We mix it up and go back and forth between higher-end and lower-end frames because you can scare them if they feel you are pushing them into the high-end," notes Canada. "We want them to be happy and not feel forced."

The premium product topic can even be brought up prior to the trip to the dispensary. "The doctor here does some pre-selling in the chair, which helps," says Canada.

TRAINING 101

How do you train your sales staff to use top-down selling with your customers? Begin by educating them about the key features and benefits of all your high-end frame lines and premium lens products. Armed with this knowledge, they can impart the true value of each frame they are presenting.

Dispensers note that the staff is usually receptive to learning about and selling high-end products. "It's a lot more fun to sell the high-end designers' frames than a big company's core product," says Canada.

There are two prongs to training for Vision Care Specialists' sales staff, which is comprised of about 22 people in the chain's five locations. "The manufacturer's reps come in and do training and motivational seminars," she says. "I also go around with new pieces and talk with them about it. It is a constant process, even with the veteran staff members. Like anything, people can get bored and they need to be reminded of the exciting things out there."

Training is similar for a new employee. "We train them to do top-down selling," says Canada. "With a new employee, we would go over all the lines in detail. We talk about what Swarovski is and what the brand means."

Canada also uses training brochures and books Vision Care Specialists has developed that are a compilation of information that they find to work and also from the reps.

"We tell the new trainee, 'Here's what we like to sell, get excited about it, show it, it's jewelry.' It is important for them to understand that while not many can afford a Judith Lieber bag at $3,500 many can afford a $300 Judith Lieber frame. It is an accessible way for people to own a designer fashion accessory," Canada says.

The Eye Gallery's Tetro trains, in part, by having a discussion after every sale. "We try to explore many points," he says. "Did the person leave feeling they spent too much? If the employee lost the sale, we look at what they could have done to make the sale. Are multiple pairs a possibility with different customers? We look at everything. But it all comes back to the fact that service is the most important thing."

At Advanced Vision Care, Harrison relies on her reps to provide in-depth information on lenses and more technical frames. She also subscribes to all the industry trade journals so employees can keep up-to-date on the latest advances. "We have a staff lounge downstairs and we put out all the trade journals there for employees to review," she says. "They are constantly looking for the new and better stuff. We really want to be on the cutting edge of everything."

The bottom line, however, is to get your staff excited about selling high-end eyewear. Once this is accomplished, top-down selling will be a natural instinct. "My staff just really likes selling the higher-end stuff and they get excited about it so they show it first. That is the key--they have to be excited about it," Tetro says.

Armed with an arsenal of high-end eyewear and premium lenses, a properly trained sales staff, and a focus on top-down selling, your dispensary just may be bulletproof--or at least well prepared--in an economic downturn.