Candyguy Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 Hi guys, I was just curious as to how you guys are successful as to getting your own locations. Do you make up brochures that show your charity and the different kinds of vending machines you offer? Do you always offer more than one vending option to the business such as honor boxes, gumball machines, spiral machines, etc? Sent from my XT1058 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerformaVending Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 I do 99% of my own locating. I farm out some of the "junk" equipment to locators from time to time, but the fact is the business relies on YOU to get the spots that will keep the bills paid and the quarters rolling, and all of your best locations you will find yourself. My biggest piece of advice getting into locating is talk to people. You don't necessarily need a presentation to get a spot- what you need is a conversation between yourself and whoever is in charge that conveys that "X" machine will either be helping "X" charity/organization, or will in some way be benefiting them. I have brochures to better show off what I have to offer, and to help some people visualize what my business actually is (back when I was strictly bulk, when I'd say "vending" they all thought "Soda machines"). Keep your brochures straightforward- mine is organized that all the bulk is inside, with all the full-line on the outside, so I can flip the whole thing over and lay it out/hold it up to show what I'm trying to pitch. Go out into the community, find some spots that you think could use your equipment, and go pitch them. You have nothing to lose, and everything to gain. Worst case scenario you get a "no" and some valuable experience for the next time around. As for offerings, I try and keep it simple. The objective of a pitch is to get a "yes", so you don't want to muddy things up or confuse your potential location. While there are a lot of sharp managers and owners out there, there are some you kinda have to pitch to on their level, so you want to keep it on topic, and in terms they understand. When you go into a place, size them up, and consider what facet of your business would work best in that location, and pitch that machine/service. If it turns out later that something else will work better, you can change things up- I've got lots of locations that went from single gumball machines up to full-size racks, and vice-versa, all long after the initial deals were struck. But, when you start your pitch, pick one thing and stick with it unless they change the focus to something else. Everyone has a different style and approach to getting locations, and thankfully there really isn't a "wrong" way to go about it. Don't be afraid to mix it up and experiment as you locate- as a vendor, you'll go through literally hundreds of businesses trying to get spots, so there's no pressure- there will always be another spot to pitch. Again, the most important part of it is persistence- it's not easy to go and talk to people face to face, but it's what you've got to do to get your machines going. You won't become a super-pro locator overnight, but eventually you can become pretty good at it- so long as you keep getting out there, and you keep on trying. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candyguy Posted July 18, 2015 Author Share Posted July 18, 2015 Performa vending this is excellent advice. I appreciate you explaining this to me and I am going most certainly try to locate my first machines myself. I also agree with you with that I will get better at talking to managers/owners the more I go into businesses . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerformaVending Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 Anytime sir, go out there and rock em'! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candyguy Posted July 18, 2015 Author Share Posted July 18, 2015 My other question is how to handle when an owner/ manager ask for a percentage. How should I handle this and what is a reasonable percentage that I can accept? Sent from my XT1058 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerformaVending Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 My other question is how to handle when an owner/ manager ask for a percentage. How should I handle this and what is a reasonable percentage that I can accept? Sent from my XT1058 using Tapatalk That depends on your equipment. Doubles, Singles, and triples do not make enough to split at any point. Same for standalone spirals. Racks and larger setups comes down to your operating expenses and what you feel comfortable doing. I know most operators base on gross totals, but I know a few that base it on net- so you'll want to figure out which one you want beforehand. Net of course would be splitting it after your expenses, so you can claim a higher percentage without necessarily giving more money. However that makes you an easy target for a guy giving out 25-30% gross who is paying out more by default. It comes down to what you want to do in that case, and thought he phrase seems a tad sinister, what you think you can get away with. The highest you'd ever want to go net is of course 50%, the highest I've ever seen someone split gross and survive was 35%. They'll always be some wildcard nut who'll split things 50-50 gross, but they don't last long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candyguy Posted July 18, 2015 Author Share Posted July 18, 2015 I've had one person tell me that has a route that you will only get the best high traffic areas locating if you are willing to give some kind of percentage. While I believe this will be the case for some, I don't believe this would be the case for all especially if you represent a charity. But then again, I'm not speaking from experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMD Snacks Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 maybe the wrong thread for this, but have any of you self locators tried over the phone vs in person? Or both, or strictly in person? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerformaVending Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 I've had one person tell me that has a route that you will only get the best high traffic areas locating if you are willing to give some kind of percentage. While I believe this will be the case for some, I don't believe this would be the case for all especially if you represent a charity. But then again, I'm not speaking from experience. High traffic places will usually expect some sort of commission for the space, if they know what it's worth. Even if they don't some other vendor might, and you don't want to be the guy they boot out. That's why you never see "charity racks" anywhere. You kind of have to play it situation by situation, as every location will be a little different. A good rule of thumb though is that if you can fit more than a triple inside, they're going to want some piece of the action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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