By Eva Davé
Eyewear can play a large part in shaping our identity, informing how others react to us and hence how we feel about ourselves. This is why it’s extremely important to style your clients in eyewear that they love and which reflects their personality. However, helping your clients choose eyewear which makes them feel both happy and comfortable can be a challenging process.
During my 20 years of experience as an optical practitioner, I have frequently experienced clients who feel both anxious and confused when it comes to choosing frames. Yet when dispensing, our training focuses mainly on the clinical and technical and we are left somewhat in the dark when it comes to styling our clients eyewear. We are part of a profession which has historically been proud of its clinical and technical expertise, but inexperienced regarding its eyewear styling knowledge, frequently relying on instinct only, or falling back on outdated techniques of face shape and colour analysis.
After many years of helping my clients in choosing the right eyewear that they love, I have developed and perfected a unique eyewear styling consultation process. My techniques are grounded in my training as an image consultant and my research of enclothed cognition (how our clothes choices impacts our psychological process), along with my understanding of the fashion and eyewear industry. The process is designed to offer clients a unique personalised experience, as well as maximising the opportunity for multiple pair dispenses. A win, win!
By focusing on the fashion of eyewear, you too can transcend the clinical and assist your clients with their fashion and styling needs, adding huge value to the experience you offer and boosting your customer satisfaction to boot!
Eyewear styling
If we want to enable clients to discover eyewear that they love and which reflects their personality and unique tastes, we have to dig deeper, ask the right questions and listen carefully to what is being said.
To help you with considering how you can develop your own techniques and experience with eyewear styling, here are six key areas in which my eyewear styling course can assist:
1.Making frame selection quicker and easier
How do you choose eyewear for your client? Do you rely on your instinct about which frame will look best, or do you tell your clients to randomly try on a variety of colours and styles hoping they will eventually find something that they like, sometimes getting through nearly every frame in the practice!
My e-learning eyewear stylist course will teach you how to undertake a step-by-step styling consultation, allowing you to consider frame selection needs from the introduction to the final selection.
Investing in training to become an eyewear stylist will give you the skills to innately understand the perfect eyewear which will work for your client. This allows you to speed up the frame selection process, giving your clients confidence and allowing you to spend the rest of the time discussing the important things like which pair will match which outfit.
2. Identify styling personalities
Style personality is an expression of our character and our spirit. It is the essence of who we are and how we want the world to see us and we all have our own unique style personality. It dictates the cars we drive, the pets we choose and our own personal tastes in clothing and eyewear. Some of us are very dominant in a specific style personality and rarely deviate from a particular clothing or eyewear style. Other people, like me, will flow naturally from one style to another depending on mood and lifestyle choices. Hence why we need so many pairs of glasses!
My e-learning eyewear stylist course will assist you in being able to identify the six style personalities, and the specific eyewear styles which will work for each one.
It will also teach you to identify whether your client is dominant in one, or a combination of style personalities, making it easier for you to select and have conversations about eyewear which works for your clients’ different looks.
3. The MAGICAL impact of colour
Colour is transformational! The correct colour worn on the face has the ability to dramatically enhance your clients’ appearance. The wrong colours, however, can cast dark shadows on the face, highlight fine lines and wrinkles and may even appear to make the skin appear dull and grey.
We also have our own personal relationship with colour. Some people are naturally drawn to certain colours more than others. In fact 85 per cent of buyers place colour as the primary reason they purchase a product.
The key to being a great eyewear stylist is combining the colours which your client loves as well as which enhance their appearance.
Being able to assess your clients colour type and move them away from safe blacks and browns or the “one pair which goes with everything” mentality is one of the best ways to help your clients love their eyewear and open their minds to multiple pairs for different coloured outfits.
My eyewear styling course will enable you to learn how to quickly and accurately assess your clients dominant colour type, as well how to instigate conversations about the psychology of colour in relation to the image they are trying to portray, perhaps in business or just in life.
4. Forget face shapes, focus on unique features
The current face shape rules which are doing the rounds online and in optics/ image circles are outdated and restrictive. Most people do not fit into a specific face shape, and this the reason so many optical and image professionals struggle in this area.
The eyewear stylist course includes a new system of facial analysis to help you focus on the unique face in front of you. It is designed to be used in combination with your client’s unique style personality to enable you to not only select flattering eyewear for your clients, but to open up the possibility of multiple shapes and styles that they will look great in.
5. Look the part
Having an understanding of style enables you to look the part so you can align with your ideal clients. Like attracts like, and we take advice from people we trust. Since training as an eyewear styling consultant, I have learnt how to dress for my body type and know which glasses look good on me. I have become the expert my clients need me to be – someone they can trust to make them look good. So I need to look good myself.
If you are not wearing glasses, or if you are not comfortable in your own clothing style, then your clients will find it difficult to take style advice from you. Whereas if you understand how to use eyewear to enhance your own appearance, your clients will sit up and listen and your co-workers will take you more seriously.
Through my eyewear styling course, you will learn how to style yourself effectively and be an inspiration for your clients.
6. Multiplicity
Training as an eyewear stylist will help give you the knowledge and confidence to effortlessly have conversations with your clients that enable you to sell multi pairs based on the different style and colour choices they require. You will become known as the styling expert and selling multiple pairs will not only come easily and naturally, but both you and your clients will love the experience.
In 2014 my average dispense value was £120. Since incorporating styling consultations into my practice, my average dispense (value) per styling consultation (ADV) has risen to £900 plus and is still growing.
How I can help you?
My styling course will give you the language to speak like a stylist, top tips and tools to help you sell multiple pairs, increase your ADV, help you choose the right stock and colours and help you and your team look the part and become brand ambassadors.
But don’t just take my word for it:
‘’Eva is the ultimate styling guru in the eye care industry. Her practical approach to eyewear styling, addressing consumer needs and identifying new growth opportunities for optometry practices is having a major impact to many businesses across the globe. Eva is an incredible leader in the eyecare industry as she has a refreshing take on how business can take their eyecare management to a whole new level. I highly recommend you register for her eyewear styling academy course.’’ OB Malope, business strategist and global speaker and managing director of Vision Stryt South Africa.
Be the inspiration with eyewear styling!
Eyewear styling academy
My course is the UK’s first e-learning certified eyewear stylist course for the optical industry which equips you to boost your average dispense value, enhance your practice credibility, make frame selection easier and creates a stream of happy clients.
Key benefits of eyewear styling:
- Stand out from competitors by offering a unique styling consultation.
- Significantly increase your average dispense value.
- Become THE optician for eyewear and styling advice.
- Build customer loyalty through the eyewear selection process.
- Create an unparalleled experience for your client.
- Learn to stock eyewear your clients will love.
By enrolling on the course, you will learn how to:
- Identify the six different style personalities and the matching styles of eyewear for each.
- Analyse your clients dominant colour type quickly and accurately from hair, skin and eye colour.
- Understand the psychology of colour and use this to enable clients to feel great and create different impressions.
- Learn the seven steps of facial and feature analysis to select eyewear that flatter your clients.
- Understand how to effectively stock your practice in eyewear styles and colours for your unique clients and for maximum revenue.
- Carry out the step-by-step process of a styling consultation from introduction to the final selection.
In addition, you will also receive:
- Professional qualification certified by CPD.
- Downloadable resources and guides.
- 24/7 access to all course materials.
- Ongoing support and advice.
The course is often described as transformational and we frequently hear about how we are transforming and empowering our clients’ lives.
TESTIMONIALS
“Your course has been so enjoyable and has really made me rethink how I dispense. I was both challenged and inspired at the same time. The increase in average order value resulting from my new approach to dispensing has already paid for the course!”
Sheryl Doe, MD Allegro and Optical Dispensing Optician of the Year 2019.
“The course has instilled confidence and theory into my eyewear styling, with my first consultation being a multi pair purchase and going over my current average dispense value by more than £1000!”
Annica Clarke, FdSc OD , Clark Family Eyecare.
To find out more, go to: eyewearstylingacademy.com/dispensing-opticians/
or contact Eva directly at info@eyewearstylingacademy.com
The Eyewear Styling Academy has been crowned champions in the ‘Optical Supplier of the Year’ category at the UK Industry ‘Optician Awards 2020’.
