Essilor Experts Delivers Training to Build Trust and Boost Sales

One of my favorite things about this profession is that it’s constantly changing. It’s happening rapidly, and we know that more change is on the horizon. Even with this ongoing evolution, our practice has earned a reputation for staying on the forefront of new technology. It’s the culture and expectation that we work on building each day. It’s the best compliment when patients come back again and ask me, “What’s new this year?”

As such, I’m always interested in opportunities to differentiate my practice. That’s why we got involved with Essilor Experts from its start. Integrating new technologies is just the first piece of the puzzle. I’ve found that I’m more likely to be successful when my staff are onboard and engaged.

The Essilor Experts program keeps us informed and trained to be better prepared to help our patients. Essilor Experts see 11% stronger traffic growth, 17% better retention growth and nearly double the lens growth of non-Essilor Experts*.

NEW 2026 OPPORTUNITIES

Essilor Experts continues to develop and offer more features to its members. I’m excited about some of the new releases this year, especially the no-cost Ultimate Warranty benefit. We paid for this before, so now it’s an added benefit and immediate savings. This shows how EssilorLuxottica stands behind its lenses, and we can pass along this substantial value to our patients.

This year, Essilor Experts is also expanding its training benefits. I’m always interested in providing more education for my team and learning new techniques to provide a positive experience to our patients. A well-trained staff helps us more smoothly run our business. Essilor Experts continues to be a reliable source of education and has been for many years.

BETTER STAFF EDUCATION, BETTER PATIENT EXPERIENCE

Education is an investment in our team that goes a long way. It’s a win for both patients and staff when we provide more specified training on products and their benefits. Staff members are more confident in conversations with patients with a better understanding of the products. They can make recommendations that are the best match for patients and their lifestyles.

Essilor Experts keeps us up to date on new releases and technology, so we don’t miss a beat. I always sit in on the training sessions, too, because I want to be more knowledgeable when I prescribe what I think is best for the patient. I also enjoy being there for the team bonding experience. We are there to represent our doctors and practice, and there is power in bringing our whole group together. It’s good for our patients, the practice and, in turn, the profession.

 PREPARED FOR PRODUCT LAUNCHES

The Essilor Experts program also helps us hit the ground running when new products are launched, preparing us in advance. My practice has been incorporating myopia management treatment options for many years. We’ve been patiently waiting for the release of Stellest. When it launched in November, we already had early access to Stellest and training. This allowed us to get started right away with a background on the product and materials to share it with our patient base. We can determine our approach and develop our packages and presentation before a product launches.

We had been talking with our patients about the future opportunity with a product like Stellest. This is an awesome technology, and that conversation generates excitement. Then we were able to be on the cutting edge with its release. It was nice to finally have this product in our office, and we are continuing to see a lot of applications with it. 

One patient in particular stands out: a young child whose myopia had been progressing rapidly year over year. We had discussed currently available treatment options with the family in the past, but they were not comfortable with contact lenses or atropine drops. We also mentioned that Stellest was on the horizon. When it became available, they were ready and eager to begin. Both parents expressed a strong sense of relief knowing there was finally a solution designed specifically for long-term eye health. Their experience reinforced the value of being prepared and able to act immediately when new technology becomes available.

CRUNCH THE NUMBERS

I’m constantly monitoring our practice metrics to see how our practice is performing in alignment with our goals. For those who are not as deep into the data, the Essilor representatives can provide a great snapshot of your practice with its connection to the GPN business insights dashboard and database.

I continue to take advantage of this review with my representative because it’s always good to get another opinion on key metrics and our performance in the previous quarter. That’s a huge value add for the average doctor who may not take the time to step back from the exam room to focus on the business. These reviews through Essilor Experts show you your own numbers as well as advice on strategizing how to successfully use the many available benefits.

During one business review, we noticed that we were missing opportunities to maximize our package rebates due to an increase in usage of a cheaper and lower-end antireflective coating. We used that information to track down that a new optician was using a cheaper antireflective in our packages because they believed it would save both the patient and the practice money when in fact it was costing us both. The biggest takeaway was to use our data to confirm that our optical strategies are being implemented properly. With these discoveries, we can quickly correct our course of action.

DEVELOP YOUR EXPERTISE WITH ESSILOR EXPERTS

Essilor Experts can help you develop a reputation that patients rely on and trust. Our patients know that we’re on top of what’s new, from Stellest to Varilux XR Track and beyond. As a result, they are more accepting of following our recommendations. They want to be the first one to try new products. This keeps patients committed to our practice and helps our sales grow over time.

* GPN: October YTD, 2024 vs 2025 GPN, Sample Exams x Lenses 2023+

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