What comes first, the location or the machine? We recommend securing locations for your new or used vending machines before committing yourself to using a certain machine. This is because each location is different and your goal as a vending operator is to provide the location with what they want or need, and you cannot know what that is until you ask them. How can you secure the all-important locations for your vending machine business? In this short blog series, we will present a few tips about finding vending machine locations and how to build positive business relationships at your locations.
A common mistake newcomers to the vending industry make is to only consider locations that have no vending machines. It is very possible that there is no vending machine there, because it is not a profitable location. If you only look at vending machine placements where there are no other vendors you may find many locations too small to be profitable.
When it comes to how to secure a good vending machine location, we recommend approaching high-traffic businesses that already have vending equipment. Striking out at a profitable location is better than wasting your resources on a location that is easy to get but won’t make you money. Ask the location if they are satisfied with the vending service they have now. They very well could be, but there’s no guarantee they will be in the future. Hand out your business card and invite them to give you a call if there’s anything you can do to help them in the future. Make sure you leave a good impression and make it easy for then to contact you. Don’t get discouraged if you cannot find a location dissatisfied with their vending service, it will be worth it when you find one that is.
Selling vending services is not about twisting someone’s arm, intense negotiations or hiding additional fees. You should always carry yourself in a professional manner and represent you business well, however selling your services is not about convincing a business to switch from another service to yours. Instead, you are looking for vending machine locations that are already unhappy with their current vendor. All you have to do is find these locations and demonstrate that you will offer better machines and better service.
In the next blog in our series, Placing Vending Machines, we will discuss why you should not be intimidated by bigger vending services and also how to interact with contacts for your possible locations.
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