How do I find these great locations?

The vending business is actually very simple. All you need to do is find a good place to put a vending machine, put the right machine there and provide good service. The starting point is the location and not the machines. Many beginners decide that they are experts in the vending business after looking at a few web sites and getting some information from a few different companies. They pick out a particular vending machine, buy 20 of them and then go out and try to find places to put them. These people are getting the cart ahead of the horse. It is much better to have a location identified first then place the right vending equipment there to best meet the needs of the location. A location with 30 employees requires different vending equipment than does a business with 120. The larger the location also requires a different mix of equipment.

A business owner told me once that a man approached him one day with a gumball machine and asked me if he could put it in his entryway. The business owner declined the offer because he already had several bulk machines in his store. He said "the man scurried away, got into a station wagon full of gumball machines and drove off." "Funny thing was", he said. "Our cold drink machine just down the hall had an out of order sign on it but he did not ask us if we needed soda, he asked if we needed a gumball machine." The point I am trying to make is that you need to follow the logical flow and fill a need. The best fit is to provide the location with what they want or need and you do not know what they want until you ask them.

A lot of people starting out in vending assume that to place vending equipment you have to run out and find a business that has no vending machines. What happens is that these people find locations too small to be profitable. That is why there is not any equipment in there now. Experienced vendors have already passed this location by because they know that these locations will not be profitable. Without any doubt the most effective way to find a good vending location is to go to high traffic businesses that already have vending machines. Then ask them if they are happy with the vending service they have now. You may have to visit 20 businesses to find one but it could be well worth it. Some locations gross $5000 per year while some can earn in excess of $100,000. I know of one case where a woman had one 10 selection can soda machine in a junior high school that earned $1000 per week during the school year. This 500 can machine sold out every day at a .50 profit per can. You do the math. Can you make a lot of money in the vending business? Absolutely! Is it easy to find good locations? Yes-if you are willing to go out and find them. You do not have to hard sell. It is not so much a matter of trying to convince a business to switch as it is finding the ones that are already unhappy with the vendor that they are currently using. Right now somewhere not to far from you is a good vending location that is disgusted with their vending service. Their complaint will always have to do with bad machines or a poor level of service. Either the machines are old, they are always empty, the vending company does not return their calls for two weeks, etc. What is ironic is that many are scared to death of big vending companies, but they are the easiest to take accounts away from. This is because these companies have gotten too big. Their employees tend to be a couple of part time flunkies who do not really care about the customers and are just going around filling the machines. They do not care about the appearance of the equipment or the satisfaction of the customer. It is just a job to them.

Pick out a business that has at least 30 people there each day. Maybe it is a brake shop with 7 employees but 50 customers coming in to sit in the break room Monday through Saturday or maybe it is a trucking company with 50 office workers and 40 drivers coming and going each day. Go in and ask, " who is in charge of the vending service here?' they will tell you "Sally Jones." You thank them and ask speak to Sally. "Hi Sally, my name is John Smith with Smith Vending. How are you today?" Great! I won't take up much of your time. I just wanted to drop off my card in case you might need my vending services sometime and by the way, are you happy with the vending service you have now? Is there anything at all I can do for you? In most cases the prospect will tell you that they are fine with their current vendor and to check with them another time. In these cases be sure to leave your card because some of them will call you a few months later when things change. When you come across the right one you will get a response like: Wow, you must have ESP!" We were just talking about how unhappy we are with our vending company at our last meeting." What can you do for us?" At this point you need to gather information about the account. What machines do they have now? Why are they dissatisfied? What are the vending prices etc. You can use the vending location survey form in the free vending business forms section of this site. You will look more professional if you go through this form with them. Your goal is to give the location what what they wanted in the first place-good vending machines and good service.

Starting out you need to approach locally owned businesses where you can reach the owner or decision-maker. Schools. hospital and factories are the big three moneymakers in vending but the process to gain access can be lengthy and complicated. Take the path of least resistance and start with medium sized independently owned establishments. You will also build a naturally diversified business faster that can be worth a small fortune later. Consider that a vending company with 70 machines doing even only $300 per month per machine can be sold for what is grosses yearly - $252,000! It is just a numbers game. If you go to enough businesses you will find a location. When you do get the location, go through the process and place the equipment there before you move on to find another. I have yet to see anyone who truly wanted to find a location, not find one. They really are out there if you are committed to this business and are willing to look for them. Some people simply do not have time to find their own locations but others simply don't want to. If you are in the later group you are not likely to make it in this business because sooner or later you will have to. The good news is the longer you are in the business the easier it gets. Many vending companies get to the point where they turn locations away after awhile. Word of mouth and daily contact usually lead to many more locations, especially if your customers like your machines and service. If you have any questions about starting your own business, please do not hesitate to E-mail us. We will be glad to answer any questions that you have.

Best wishes,
Vendingsecrets.com