As an eye care professional, you partner with many different companies for many different reasons. Each of those companies likely have some kind of representative responsible for maintaining that relationship and ensure you have everything you need to be a successful partner. However, reps can sometimes seem like a distraction, especially with random drop-ins. Gina Wesley, OD, MS, FAAO, shared her recommendation for getting the most out of your partner reps.

Set Clear Expectations

In any relationship, it works best when both (or all) parties understand what to expect from the other party and what the other party expects from them. Setting those clear expectations up front helps to smooth out any confusion later on and hopefully helps to get the partnership up and running.

• What You Want
  • New information about products, services, or the partnership
  • Education
  • Rebates
  • Help with their products in the practice
  • Relevant goals for their products/services your team can work towards
• What You Don’t Want
  • Random drop ins
  • Expecting to see doctors without previously scheduled meetings or appointments
  • Meetings on your busiest days

Delegate Effectively

Another way to make sure your practice is getting the most out of your rep partnerships is by knowing when you (the doctor) should be involved and when you can elect a staff member to meet with the rep for you. This is a great opportunity to designate a “program champion.” This is the person on your team who manages the relationship with the company rep and, therefore, manages the success of that company’s program in your practice.

The program champion will be the point-of-contact for the rep, scheduling everything through them who then relays the information to you. Your program champion knows what needs to involve you, so they can make those scheduling decisions on your behalf. Additionally, they can help facilitate the programs and educate other staff members on the protocols, helping to take even more off your plate.

Ensure Your Team Is Included

One of the most important things to establish with your reps is that your team should be included as much as possible in their “perks.” Instead of treating the doctor(s) to dinner, bring in lunch for the whole team. Instead of grabbing a coffee with the doctor(s), bring in coffee for the staff as well. Lunch-and-learns are a great way to make the most out of a rep visit.

Get the Most Out of Your EyePromise^® Rep

As an EyePromise partner, you’ll have a local Regional Account Manager dedicated to your practice and ensuring its success with our program. Your rep can help you with almost anything you need, including:

• Ordering product and/or marketing materials
• Education for doctors and staff members, including general eye health and product-specific education
• Best practices to ensure your success. They see other practices that are just like yours, so they can help you fast track your success but telling you what they already know works and, perhaps more importantly, what doesn’t.

It’s easy to brush partner reps off as an inconvenience or distraction, but they can be some of your more powerful assets when you work with them. Contact your local EyePromise Regional Account Manager and find out what they can do for you.

Don’t have a rep? Contact our Customer Support team to become an EyePromise partner!