Mehkai Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 First off thank you immensely for all the comments and hard work put into answering all the questions on this forum. I have greatly appreciated learning from all of your experience. My question is on the sales end of the location pitch. I know that my weakest skill is sales, from past experience in retail and general life negotiations. My general weakness is wanting to be perfect in the pitch and instead becoming a chatter box of information. I know that practice will help with a lot of that but I would also love to hear from all of your experience. What do you say to owners and business decision makers concerning why they would want to have a bulk vending machine in their location? Thank you in advance for the advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherlock Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 It's not so much that these location owners/managers want to have bulk machines in their locations. If you are a charity vendor, they see very little benefit having you there. If you are a commission vendor, the money they make from you is small potatoes compared to what the business itself should be making for them. The bottom line then becomes this: They don't have to want your machines, they just have to like YOU. You are selling yourself more than you are selling your service/equipment/product. Be yourself and say what you want to say in a concise but calm manner using your natural vocabulary. What I say or the next guy says and the next gal says is all irrelevant. The words have to be yours. You know what your business does and you know what you have to offer...so tell the owner/manager what that is and take as little of their time when you do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GagesVending Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 I agree 100% with sherlock. To add to what he said, sometimes in certain types of venues (truck stops, bars/taverns, barber shops/salons, specialty stores,employee breakrooms, etc) like having the machines as a convenience. Maybe a certain employee likes to grab a snack everyday at lunchtime? Scenarios like this help to not only place the machine, but to keep the machine there. Both are equally important. Scope out your competition in the area, and see what they're vending, types of machines they're using and how well they're maintaining them. This is key to getting ahead. Find their weak spots and take advantage of it. Example: If you see a dirty and nearly empty candy machine sitting on location, ask them what the deal is. They'll say something about that it's not theirs, that it sponsors _____ charity, etc. Find out who allowed it to be placed there and ask if you place a machine there that you will take better care of than their current operator. Offer them some candy/gum/toy options to get them excited. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mehkai Posted January 22, 2014 Author Share Posted January 22, 2014 Great comments. Really got me thinking and now I am much more confident and headed in a different direction with my sales pitch. Any recommendations on how to get a complete stranger to like you? And do you start over the phone or do you just show up at the location and hope the owner is there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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