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Low Vision Low Down - May 2010
LVD Survey
Low Vision Division CE Courses at Vision Expo West
International Vision Expo Offers Discount for TS2 Registration
Exhibitor Webinar
Public Affairs & Advocacy
International Standards Organization Sponsorship
‘On the Road Sales Coach'
Summer Sales Camp
Guiding Your Accounts through the Buying Business
LVD Members
Low Vision Division Member Survey Results
Low Vision Division members were recently asked to participate in a survey to better understand perceptions of current programs, as well as gauge usefulness of potential LVD programs.
Patient education was cited by LVD members as the most useful program the LVD has to offer. The chart below shows how LVD members rated other programs' usefulness.
Survey respondents were also asked to rate how useful they thought a series of potential low vision division programs would be to their business. Respondents said programs to train sales professionals (83 percent) and programs to educate on telemarketing to expand business (67 percent) would be the most useful to their business. Based on these results, the LVD will launch a series of free sales seminars designed for the low vision device sales professional.
Unaided, LVD members were asked to share ideas to help grow and expand the low vision market. Some of these ideas included increasing public relations and advertisement efforts, organizing attendance at low vision shows and educating consumers on current low vision tools and aids. These ideas, as well as the rest of the data collected in this survey, will be used to inform future LVD ideas and programs.
Low Vision Division CE Courses at Vision Expo West
The Low Vision Division will sponsor the following continuing education courses at International Vision Expo West. Contact Rene Soltis, senior director of meetings and education, at RDSFOCUS@aol.com for more information.
Thursday Oct 7th
21-304-S
8:30 to 9:30
The Economics of Primary Low Vision Care
22-304-S
9:45 to 11:45
Demystifying low vision: A guide for examination and prescribing
23-304-S
2:45 to 3:45
10 Tools and Tips to Growing Your Low Vision Practice
24-304-S
4:00 to 6:00
Low Vision Case Management: Overcoming Patient Objections
International Vision Expo Offers Discount for TS2 Registration
The Vision Council is continually looking for ways to help improve your company's overall performance. To help you achieve your goals, we invite you to join us in Boston, Massachusetts to attend TS2: Total Solutions Marketing for the Exhibit and Event Professional. This three-day exhibitor education event taking place July 13-15, is designed for both seasoned tradeshow managers wanting to take their exhibiting results higher and tradeshow novices who want to get up to speed fast.
We have negotiated a significant discount on your company's registration to attend TS2:
- Go to: www.ts2show.com/vision
- Enter the priority code: VISION
- Select any conference package and receive a 15 percent discount - a savings of more than $100!
- Go to www.ts2show.com/passport to download and print your exclusive shows specials booklet which includes discounts, product launches and raffles only available to TS2 attendees.
In addition to taking education and visiting the extensive exhibit hall designed to help you improve your exhibit and event marketing, you can look forward to several networking events. Events include a "Welcome to the Boston Block" party on Tuesday night and dinner hosted by The Vision Council show department followed by the"TS2 Mash-up Mixer" bar crawl on Wednesday night.
Need more incentive to join us? Follow International Vision Expo on Facebook and enter to win one of THREE grants to attend the TS2 conference for FREE. You'll also receive a sizeable travel stipend to help offset your costs.
Exhibitor Webinar
As an exhibitor, you are faced with hundreds of tasks and details to make your trade show marketing program effective. But what areas do you need to focus on to ensure success? Shorten your trade show learning curve with 10 insights gleaned from over 20 years of trade show marketing experience.
Register now for "10 Things I Wished I Knew Before I Started Exhibiting" on Wednesday, May 19 from 11:00 am - 11:45 am and you'll gain valuable insights about:
- Trade show marketing expectations
- Exhibit design
- Budget busters
- Booth staffing
- Lead management
Contact Danielle Fralen, show coordinator, at dfralen@thevisioncouncil.org for more information.
Public Affairs & Advocacy Update
The Public Affairs and Advocacy (PAA) department recently met with members of the blind and low vision community seeking joint opportunities to promote low vision priorities on Capitol Hill. Partnering with other advocacy members in Washington will provide The Vision Council with a greater opportunity to educate lawmakers on the need for low vision care in the United States.
This education will also help to ensure that low vision devices are exempt from the medical device excise tax included in the health care reform law signed by the president. While the bill signed excluded eyeglasses from receiving the tax, greater clarification is needed from the administration to know whether the carve-out from the tax is extended to low vision devices. The tax is not scheduled to be implemented until 2014 which will provide The Vision Council ample time to educate the Department and Secretary of Health and Human Services on the need for exclusion from the tax.
Maintaining a vocal presence on Capitol Hill is an imperative part of the political system. In order to keep an open dialogue with our elected officials and leaders within the vision care community the PAA department has begun implementing an increased use of our federal fundraising efforts through VisionPAC. VisionPAC is a federal political action committee used to make contributions to keep our leaders in vision care in Congress. Soon, members of the VisionPAC team will be contacting The Vision Council members for authorization and other parts of the fundraising process. We hope to make this year a major success and for those who are interested in learning more about VisionPAC, please click here.
The Z80 standards committee and its administrator, The Vision Council, are pleased to host the 2010 International Standards Organization (ISO) meeting in Las Vegas just prior to International Vision Expo West.
ISO is the world's largest developer and publisher of international standards. ISO standards focus on the development, manufacturing and the supply of products and services. The ISO SC 7 Ophthalmic Optics meeting occurs once every 18 months and is a working meeting that attracts the leading technical experts from around the world. As you know the standards process serves as the critical foundation for everyone in the optical community.
In order to make this a first-class affair we need your assistance. Becoming a sponsor allows you to support 140 leading technical experts from around the world who set the ISO standards for the products you sell. We have established a variety of sponsorship opportunities allowing you to display your commitment to the international standard development process. For more information, please contact Amber Robinson at arobinson@thevisioncouncil.org.
Free Sales Professional Training for Members of The Vision Council
Mark your calendar for the next "On the Road Sales Coach" training session. The free quarterly sessions are conducted as topic-specific conference calls which are supported by tools and resources for sales professionals to stay on top of their game.
Based on attendee feedback and the high demand for the program, The Vision Council has introduced several changes and additions for 2010. The calls are conducted as 1/2 hour power sessions to reduce sales professionals' time commitment without sacrificing quality of content and new guest coaches have been added to offer diverse viewpoints and share best practices.
The remaining 2010 "On the Road Sales Coach" sessions include:
- Wednesday, June 2: "Expanding Current Customer Business"
- Wednesday, September 1: "Chameleon Sales Techniques"
- Wednesday, December 1: "Eliminating and Overcoming Objections"
The sessions will be held at 8:00 a.m. EST and 11:00 a.m. EST to allow sales professionals on both the east and west coasts to participate before they begin their day. The training is led by industry experts and serves as an open forum for sales professionals to brainstorm and share best practices.
To register for the free sales training courses, please contact Amber Robinson, member services coordinator, at (703) 740-1094 or arobinson@thevisioncouncil.org. An agenda and dial-in/web information will be provided upon registration.
The Vision Council to Host Summer Sales Camp
The Vision Council is pleased to present a new training event, "Summer Sales Camp" which will be held in Alexandria, VA on June 17-18, 2010. An extension of the "On the Road Sales Coach" program which has trained over 600 sales professionals, the "Summer Sales Camp" is a mini-camp designed for sales people from all segments of the optical industry who want to enhance their sales skills and increase their earning capacity.
Presented by well-known optical trainers, Mike Karlsrud, M.ED, ABOC and Rene Soltis, FNAO, ABOC and senior director of meetings and education for The Vision Council, this day and a half program will focus on the principles of "selling by design"TM including tips, tools and techniques to:
- Understand the overall sales process from qualifying to closing
- Dissect the psychology of sales - why people buy and how you tap into that emotion
- Manage the "No": strategies for overcoming objection
"We know from our ‘On the Road Sales Coach' conference calls that sales professionals are continually looking for ways to polish their skills," said Soltis. "The interactive format of the ‘Summer Sales Camp' will give the participants an opportunity to discuss and develop new techniques in an engaging and supportive environment before heading out to the field."
Due to the hands-on nature of this program, space will be available on a first come basis. Please visit www.thevisioncouncil.org/summersalescamp to view the agenda and to reserve your spot. An early bird rate of $299 is available when registering before June 4; registration will be $349 after that date. The registration fee includes meeting materials, daily snacks, continental breakfast and lunch on Friday. The "Summer Sales Camp" is available to members of The Vision Council only.
For more information, please contact Amber Robinson, membership coordinator for The Vision Council, at (703) 740-1094 or at arobinson@thevisioncouncil.org.
Guiding Your Accounts Through the Buying Process
Sales Tips from Rene Soltis, FNAO
You have your own selling process, but your main job is to help your accounts through the buying process. Consider the situation from the customer's point of view. Make sure you understand their business, their customers, and untapped potential.
First, your accounts should determine their needs. Help your customers understand their needs by asking questions about their business problems and opportunities. Do their product/service offerings match their current customer base? What markets can using your products attract? Help them understand the costs of these problems or the potential gains of the opportunities.
Second, your accounts will try to find the best solution. Customers will want to research various solutions and develop their own criteria for what's necessary and what's merely nice to have. They'll focus on comparing their options, so make sure you know what they need and how you can best compete. Ask questions to determine not only what your accounts buy from their vendors, but why they buy from them. Start a log to determine the top three buying criteria for each of your accounts: is it price, service, quality, style, technology, availability, spiffs or relationship?
Third, they will commit to buy. Be ready for the fear that most customers feel right before they commit. The more money involved, the greater the fear. It is important to craft a plan to assure the sell through of your products. Be proactive immediately after the sell in and analyze each account's marketing and merchandising possibilities. Begin to train staff on scripting dialogue to communicate your products' features and benefits and develop brand positioning and sales strategies.
Finally, they will evaluate the solution. To be happy with their purchase, customers must have accurate expectations of your product and must know how to get the most out of it. Make sure they have the information and support they need to be satisfied.
Bottom line: be informed, stay connected, plan for sell through and always provide exactly what you promise!
Success Quote: "There are four ways, and only four ways, in which we have contact with the world. We are evaluated and classified by these four contacts: what we do, how we look, what we say and how we say it." Dale Carnegie
For more information on sales training, contact Amber Robinson at arobinson@thevisioncouncil.org.
Low Vision Division Members
The LVD currently has 22 members. Do you know of a prospective new member? If so please contact Amber Robinson, The Vision Council manager of member and technical programs, at arobinson@thevisioncouncil.org.
