TIPS FOR FINDING VENDING MACHINE LOCATIONS
Snack & Soda Vending Machines
Either you can find
vending locations yourself, or you can
hire a vending machine locator to do it for you. This information deals
with finding them yourself.
When you talk to prospective accounts for
vending machines, remember not to go after the best ones first because if
they can tell you are brand new to the vending business they will not be very
interested. At least you can get comfortable talking about the business with
accounts that really are not important and that way you can learn what to expect
and how to approach locations that would be great for your vending machines.
Vendors use all
types of creative ways to get new
vending location accounts from paying the manager a bonus to get in,
paying a commission, bringing goodies for them to try and get hooked on, getting
references from other businesses they already service for vending, or maybe just
being extremely professional.
This account has
probably had poor service or faulty vending machines in the past. The most
important thing you want to show them is that you are not like the last vendor
they had. Now, that guy probably said much of the same stuff you will say, but
then his service performance continually dropped or his
vending machines were nothing but problems. So, you cannot just have a good
talk. You have to show them that everything about you and your vending business
is professional and above the rest.
Some good points
are:
You own the vending
machines and they can reach you personally anytime
They will not have a route driver that really does not care about their service
You will keep the
vending machines clean and filled.
You will keep brand
name products in the machines that they like: not just what you are tying to get
rid of.
You can give them a
customer survey to help find out what their employees really want. However,
do not buy everything on the list unless several people select it.
Your vending
machines look excellent and are not a big eye sore.
Your vending
machines are reliable and if there are any problems you can be there within xx
hours.
You will not put
expired products in their vending machine (if they find one, they can get a
double your money back guarantee)
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You do NOT want to
approach these vending location prospects in a suit and tie. If they think
you are a salesman, the manager will not come out to talk. Dress business casual.
You want to have a
vending business card (preferable a nice one to appear that you are more
professional than the other vending companies)
If you hand out any
materials, make sure they look professional like you have a real business. If
someone knocked on your door out of the blue with nothing but photocopies of all
their items, would you feel safe hiring them? First impressions are everything!
You want to find
out what they like and Do Not like about their current vending machine service.
Then use those points in a proposal that you will drop off later.
You want to go in,
make a quick 3 minute pitch about your vending service and ask to see their
current vending room or machines. This will give you an idea of what type of
equipment you need, what prices they currently have, how the appearance of your
vending machines will improve their look, etc.
You may want to
take a picture of their vending machines, computer paste it into a proposal that
also shows how the area would look with your vending machines instead, assuming
there is a big improvement.
If they are
somewhat interested after the first unexpected talk, you will want to bring them a
bag of goodies (see more
vending tips) when you drop off the proposal so that their employees get
hooked on the unique items that you provide which they do not currently have in
their vending machines. You want to cater to your clientele. If it is an
upscale office, you want to include items they like rather than your everyday
chips and candy bars. If it is a healthy looking group, you may want to include
Protein Bars, Low Carb bars & Candy, etc.
Keep in mind that,
for
snack & soda vending, blue collar workers buy more than white collar. Also,
men buy snacks & candy more than women.
When you present
these items to them, make sure your vending business projects a professional
image. Do not just throw them in a paper bag. Find some cheap basket to display
them in and leave with them. Or buy a $1 table cloth at Wal-Mart to lay them
out on and make a statement so that all the employees notice the goodies as they
come through! Lay your vending business cards around & it will probably stay on
the table a few days. This way, they do not see you for 5 minutes and then
forget about you!
If you can create a
buzz in their office about your service, you will get the vending account.
More than what you
say, IT IS ALL ABOUT PRESENTATION.
Those tips are
really the most important things. Now for what to say:
You may be able to
get an idea from the employees of how good or poor their current vending service
is. Then, you know how to approach the manager. Usually the manager, Human
Resources person, building manager, or service manager (car lot) handles the
vending machine account decisions.
Normally you can
just ask what person you should talk to about their vending machines for that
location. Once you get to that person, use those tips to tell them why you will
provide the absolute best vending service they will find without sounding full
of bull. Like I said, they do not believe what you say as much as what you show
them. In this first encounter, your goal is to interest him / her enough that
they are willing to let you see their vending room and make a proposal. While
you are talking, you can hand him the customer snack and soda survey - a list of
the products you carry (it is better to offer more than the traditional items
like everyone else)
Even though you may not ever need to provide them with these exotic snacks, it
is a plus to know you offer them and the others do not.
If you have them,
one of the best things you can give him are some reference letters from other
happy vending machine accounts on nice quality paper. The more original
the letters look the better. Leave them with him to look over after you are
gone. Give him something to think about. If they are at all unhappy with any
part of their current vending service (which is often the case) tell him you
do not want to take much of his time; so if it is okay, you would like to look at
their current vending rooms and then create a proposal that you will drop off
for him to see how you could improve their snack & soda vending service
Copyright
Breaktime Vending, inc 2006
