bostonvendor27 Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 As a part time vendor I struggle with finding the time to grow my business myself. As most of you know, you really have to knock on a lot of doors to get that one yes and it can be very time consuming. Lately I have been focusing on upgrading my existing locations , Purchasing commission locations/ routes through financing, And occasionally hiring a locator with the hope of overtime converting them to commission locations. When locating myself I work off of a list of potential locations that I make when I'm out and about . This list will have the owners name and as much info as possible about the location that way when I go in I can ask for the owner by name. How do you fit locating into your life? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillbilly Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 I hand write possible locations with phone # and other info. This info comes from referrals, phone book, internet, driving around, etc. I then use an Excel spreadsheet with location name, town, phone, owner name or manager name, info-number of machines,referral name, traffic, etc. I then sort by town and print. That way I have a clear plan of action when I go. I only call if I have a hard time getting to talk to the person in charge. I do all this before I go locating. I have one notebook that I use instead of pieces of paper. It pretty much goes with me everywhere. I color code the results: Green-Got a yes, equipment is in. Yellow- Need to follow up or revisit because owner not in- got pertinent information. Red- No, Put date on it and revisit one year later. Most of my locating is done on the way home from regular job or on Saturday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mainor5251 Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 You might already know this but figured it was worth a mention. Employees of potential locations are trained to screen visits for owners and managers, so its a good idea to just start pitching to the employee or at least tell them who you are and what you have to offer instead of just asking for the owner right off the bat and them telling you "sorry their not here right now." This is a tip stolen from another member. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will.vend Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 As a part time vendor I struggle with finding the time to grow my business myself. How do you fit locating into your life? I feel locating is easier for full time vendors, we have the advantage of scouting out locations and waiting if necessary for the right time to make our pitch. I wish I was as detail oriented as hillbilly's method but Im not, I just go by memory or from a piece of paper I jotted down info on and stuffed in console. hillbilly I wouldnt wait a whole year to call back on the ones that said no. some full time vendor will grab it up in the meantime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillbilly Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 Good points guys. I do wanna say that my note taking and details come from my full time gig. It's part of what's made me succcessful in that business. I've found that the best way to take sales away from competition is to identify their weaknesses and concentrate on those area's. I try to use this when other machines are present. Dirty, poor labels, no labels, no contact number,etc. I try to use commission as a hole card. At least the %. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillbilly Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 I must also say that I am one of those people who constantly make lists. And use hi liters. I use a to-do list everyday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bostonvendor27 Posted December 9, 2010 Author Share Posted December 9, 2010 You might already know this but figured it was worth a mention. Employees of potential locations are trained to screen visits for owners and managers, so its a good idea to just start pitching to the employee or at least tell them who you are and what you have to offer instead of just asking for the owner right off the bat and them telling you "sorry their not here right now." This is a tip stolen from another member. I usually don't do this but I will try it....Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hutchdavidson Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 Or you could just pay a good locator and not spend 5 hours landing one account. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bostonvendor27 Posted December 9, 2010 Author Share Posted December 9, 2010 Or you could just pay a good locator and not spend 5 hours landing one account. [/quot. Hutch, nobody will pick better locations then you..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bostonvendor27 Posted December 9, 2010 Author Share Posted December 9, 2010 Gbp....are those laundry mats unattended? If so how do you get a hold of the owner? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mage Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 If you are going to be in this business for any length of time, I would suggest learning how to do the most important part of your job. Finding good locations. A trained monkey could fill and clean a bulk machine. Damn, I need to get a trained monkey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpvnc Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 I constantly look when I am driving around,shopping, going out anywhere. When I service I will check businesses in the same area strip malls and such. It only make sense that you would try to get machines placed in small clusters. Rather than if you have one machine and then 20 miles and another. I have 20 heads within 5 minutes drive of my home and no machines farther than 30 minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hutchdavidson Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 Or you could just pay a good locator and not spend 5 hours landing one account. [/quot. Hutch, nobody will pick better locations then you..... I know, I was just joshin' you guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brendamca Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 I have five monkeys in training, but child labor laws here prevent me from making full use of their talents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dperry Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 get older monkeys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpvnc Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 you pay peanuts you get monkeys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brendamca Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antoniocinisi Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 I also like to look at machines that are already on location when I- GO out to eat and if they look run down or empty I will ask the owner if he want to make the switch to someone that will take care of his location. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will.vend Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 I also like to look at machines that are already on location when I- GO out to eat and if they look run down or empty I will ask the owner if he want to make the switch to someone that will take care of his location. one very important question to ask upfront when you see dirty/rundown machines is who owns them...if you try to get the location and use the dirty/rundown angle and they say "well those are my machines" you will be embarrassed A lot of restaurants will buy their machines and attempt to keep them up, they figure if it makes a few dollars they are happy, they don't realize the potential earnings if machines are properly stocked and worked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BellaFia Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Damn good question......I have one laundromat, they had a number to call posted on the wall.....but others have no info. I have several unattended in my area that I would love to talk to the owner, but there are not any numbers posted. I wish I had a better idea how to find them. Any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillbilly Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 If they are in a town, somebody at city hall would have the information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quotealex Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 It is much simpler for me to buy an existing route, keep the locations I like and sell off those I dont want than to try to find new locations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BellaFia Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 They are open 24/7 so nobody is locking up, but I'll try the city hall thing. Thanks Hillbilly for the idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dperry Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 I have several unattended in my area that I would love to talk to the owner, but there are not any numbers posted. I wish I had a better idea how to find them. Any thoughts? I took one of OnTheBall's ideas and made some address labels on my printer. They said "Sell me your bulk vending route", with my phone number. I keep a few in my wallet, and place them on the top of the machine. I've gotten one or two calls that way. Sadly, nobody wants to sell their route for the actual value. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agapevending Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 I just Call Eddie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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