PRACTICE ADVISORS

7 Steps To Trunk Show Success

Planning and perseverance will make the difference between a positive trunk show experience and a poor one

Q: I’M NOT SURE TRUNK SHOWS ARE REALLY WORTH THE TROUBLE. WHAT ARE THE KEYS FOR MAKING THEM PAY OFF?

A: A trunk show can be an undertaking where you produce results that don’t even warrant the time involved in the organization and promotion of the event. On the other hand, we know eyecare professionals who have made more than $80,000 a day with a trunk show. Like most things in eyecare, execution, perseverance, and planning make the difference.

STEP 1
DEVELOP A POSITIVE ATTITUDE

Nothing will kill a trunk show faster than a poor attitude by the eyecare professional. If you don’t think your trunk show will be a successful endeavor, it won’t be. Poor attitudes spread rapidly, so being positive is a very important first step.

STEP 2
GET STAFF INVOLVED

A successful trunk show needs to be an “all hands on deck” event, so it is important to include employees. Often they will provide the most energy and best ideas to make it successful.

STEP 3
INVOLVE KEY VENDORS

Hopefully, you have a good relationship with key fashion frame vendors who can act as partners in ensuring the success of the event. Don’t expect a vendor to all of a sudden become excited about your trunk show when you have not been supporting them, however. It is, after all, a two-way street.

STEP 4
INVOLVE YOUR PATIENTS

The best source of customers for your trunk show is existing patients. Develop a contact list of who came to previous trunk shows, and use social media and even phone calls to market the next one.

STEP 5
THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX

This doesn’t have to be a stand-alone event. We have successfully integrated a trunk show event into a larger “patient appreciation day.” The key is to think creatively and use the events to bring excitement to your practice.

STEP 6
HOLD IT LATE IN THE MONTH

We recommend having your trunk show at the end of the month. If you’re a practice that provides bonuses based on revenue growth, staff will become most excited about the show a few weeks prior to the end of the bonus period. If they start telling patients at the beginning of the month that there will be a trunk show at month’s end, they won’t worry about it affecting the current month’s bonus. If, however, the trunk show was set for early July, for example, staff would be hesitant to promote the event in June for fear it would jeopardize June bonuses. Another benefit to an end-of-the-month date is that it won’t disproportionately skew your monthly revenues.

GRADUAL GROWTH

The $80,000 trunk show we refer to here didn’t happen overnight. It took time to get to that number. The practice only did $8,000 the first year and then gradually—over a 10-year period—hit that $80,000 mark. As it grew, so did the promotional base. Today, these events are an integral part of the practice’s overall success.

STEP 7
ESTABLISH A PATTERN

Rather than a one-time event, trunk shows need to be yearly, quarterly, or semi-annual events. All too often, eyecare professionals try something once and, even if it was a success, move on to another idea. A trunk show is not something you do once, however, and then “throw something else against the wall and hope it sticks.”

The excitement of these events creates a synergistic, positive feeling among patients, staff, and the eyecare professionals involved. You can’t “put lipstick on a pig,” however, so make sure your practice shines and that your dispensary conveys a positive fashion image.

If you follow this simple advice, you’ll find that, through these steps, trunk shows are indeed worth the trouble.

— Allan Barker, O.D., and Greg Stockbridge, O.D., MBA

SEND US YOUR QUESTIONS

Drs. Barker and Stockbridge will answer your questions about practice growth, business management, as well as other issues. Please email your questions to eyecarebizeditor@pentavisionmedia.com