Happy Vending Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 Does anyone else think that there are certain markets that are underserved? I am just a beginner but I have found that Tattoo parlors, apartment complexes and even large tanning salons can gross enough to help fill in routes where you may have already landed a big account. Do any of you guys look for places that you think other vendors rarely go? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mission vending Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 Does anyone else think that there are certain markets that are underserved? I am just a beginner but I have found that Tattoo parlors, apartment complexes and even large tanning salons can gross enough to help fill in routes where you may have already landed a big account. Do any of you guys look for places that you think other vendors rarely go? When you are starting out its something to take into consideration to increase sales and cash flow but if you take into account your costs to service you will quickly find that you are actually making little if any profit. So as you grow you would want to dump these kinds of accounts as quick as you can because the time and effort they take up is time spent acquiring and servicing truly profitable locations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moondog Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 When you are starting out its something to take into consideration to increase sales and cash flow but if you take into account your costs to service you will quickly find that you are actually making little if any profit. So as you grow you would want to dump these kinds of accounts as quick as you can because the time and effort they take up is time spent acquiring and servicing truly profitable locations. Amen Mission, This is one of the points that RJT stresses in his book. Just acquiring accounts because they may be in your loop is not a good long term plan and a trap I fell into when I first started. It doesn't matter if you have extra time that could be filled - be patient and fill it with quality accounts, not the easiest thing you can find because nobody else wants it. If nobody else wants it, there's probably a good reason. It's much better to have twenty good accounts that net $400 a month than to have 40 accounts that net $200 a month. Why? Because the twenty good accounts will require about half the time to service as the 40 mediocre accounts, make just as much money and leave you time to acquire more accounts or do anything else you might be involved with. Bigger is not necessarily better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogcow Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 Does anyone else think that there are certain markets that are underserved? I am just a beginner but I have found that Tattoo parlors, apartment complexes and even large tanning salons can gross enough to help fill in routes where you may have already landed a big account. Do any of you guys look for places that you think other vendors rarely go? in my mind there is no such thing as an underserved market in vending, like coin laundries its a mature if not completely saturated industry. anywhere even remotely profitable already has a vending machine there. if there isnt a machine in there its because there isnt any money to be made most likely. i wont reiterate what everyone else says except to say they are correct. these type of accounts is a waste of time and money to deal with. the only exception is certain accounts that can sustain a single price can drink machine can be worth it, there are places where u can stick a 501 and service it once a month and pull out $200 or more. to me those accounts are worth it if they are in your route and ur paying no commission because it is so incredibly low-hassle and fast to service. the only time having alot of these accounts makes sense if you want to build up a route and sell it to someone who is not so knowledgeable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
executivevending Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 What if you're just starting out and can't get bigger accounts yet? Would you recommend to hold off expansion till you do find a better location or go ahead and try that so you can increase revenue and maybe sell it off once you get bigger and better accounts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Vending Posted March 1, 2013 Author Share Posted March 1, 2013 in my mind there is no such thing as an underserved market in vending, like coin laundries its a mature if not completely saturated industry. anywhere even remotely profitable already has a vending machine there. if there isnt a machine in there its because there isnt any money to be made most likely. So then, in your opinion, the only opportunities in vending are either finding people who are unhappy with their vending service or find a place that is expanding and/or new? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moondog Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 What if you're just starting out and can't get bigger accounts yet? Would you recommend to hold off expansion till you do find a better location or go ahead and try that so you can increase revenue and maybe sell it off once you get bigger and better accounts? If you're just starting out you should be trying to find accounts and maybe you won't be as picky as someone that's been around for awhile. That doesn't mean plop a machine everywhere and anywhere. I understand your desire to get moving - not so long ago I made the mistake of "filling in" my routes with low end accounts. After about a year of that, I realized I could be making more money flipping burgers. Every time one of these places got a couple hundred dollars in the black, it'd need a new validator or somebody would put a Looney in the coin mech, etc. These things will happen in the better accounts too but at least you're being compensated on those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogcow Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 So then, in your opinion, the only opportunities in vending are either finding people who are unhappy with their vending service or find a place that is expanding and/or new? not exactly, u will find places totally satisfied with vending but you can offer them something the current vendor isnt willing to or cannot do for whatever reason (better equipment, custom branding, healthy,etc..) there are some accounts on the margins , from what i have found these are mainly rundown motels and laundries . this is because most operators wont operate in these areas for fear of risk to the equipment and the location owners cant do enough volume to justify a single-location snack machine. i do alright in these locations, they can be good 100-200 a week accounts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Vending Posted March 13, 2013 Author Share Posted March 13, 2013 in my mind there is no such thing as an underserved market in vending, like coin laundries its a mature if not completely saturated industry. anywhere even remotely profitable already has a vending machine there. if there isnt a machine in there its because there isnt any money to be made most likely. i wont reiterate what everyone else says except to say they are correct. these type of accounts is a waste of time and money to deal with. the only exception is certain accounts that can sustain a single price can drink machine can be worth it, there are places where u can stick a 501 and service it once a month and pull out $200 or more. to me those accounts are worth it if they are in your route and ur paying no commission because it is so incredibly low-hassle and fast to service. the only time having alot of these accounts makes sense if you want to build up a route and sell it to someone who is not so knowledgeable So then, what do you do as a small vendor to find locations? I have relied on knowing people, cold calling and looking in what I had considered "underserved markets". I'm running out of people that I know and cold calling can be a shot in the dark. With my current size I don't think that it would be wise for me to actively advertise without printing my own material and mailing people. What "sales tactic" (for lack of a better term) do you guys have the most success with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogcow Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 So then, what do you do as a small vendor to find locations? I have relied on knowing people, cold calling and looking in what I had considered "underserved markets". I'm running out of people that I know and cold calling can be a shot in the dark. With my current size I don't think that it would be wise for me to actively advertise without printing my own material and mailing people. What "sales tactic" (for lack of a better term) do you guys have the most success with? just cold calling and constant follow ups, know your competitors, come up with some unique angles. frankly i suggest you read the book "the accidental salesperson" this is a great resource for b2b sales and helped me a lot to understand how to approach big locations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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