Newbie needs help with script...

[matt-attack]

Hey. I recently just received my 1st triple this week (with another one already on the way). I have loaded it up with PMMs, DB gum and Mike and Ikes. Ive read a ton of posts on here (all of which were very  helpful btw you guys rock) on how to start out. I went out and picked up some nice khakis and a plain black polo and shiney black shoes.   My business cards have come in the mail and I am ready to get em!! The only thing I feel a little hesitant about is my script. If you are an experience bulk vendor and would like to help me out by reviewing my script, I'd really appriciate it.

Thanks a bunch.

-Matt

[Hillbilly]

OK  Lets see what you've got.

[caserri]

Post it up Matt. We'd be happy to help.

[matt-attack]

I took pieces from some other example scripts on here and threw in my own mix. Hillbilly helped me out with one of the parts, but here's what i have so far..

Vending script

"Hi. My name is Matt, I run a local candy maching service, and each machine that I place will help support SPIN local charity. (Special People, Individual Needs). It is a charity actually founded right here in Willoughby. What I do is,  I donate my machines,  my product, as well as my time and service to clean and refill the machines.  The machine is very small, 48 in tall x 15 in. wide and comes with a three head selection. There is no commitment or cost to you what-so-ever. Would you be willing to donate space for a machine to support a good cause?"

IF YES: "Great! I offer a wide variety of candies and gum. Here is a list of my products. If you or any of your employees have a preference on a specific candy, let me know and I'd be happy to supply it for you. If theres anything thats not on the list, I can try to special order it for you. Where would you like me to place the machine?"

IF NO: "I understand, it's no problem at all. Let me give you my business card, If you change your mind, or If there is anything I can do for you down the road, give me a call; I'd be more than happy to help in anyway that I can."

COMMISSION LOCATIONS

IF THEY ASK "WHAT'S IN IT FOR ME?": (if they're a returant/bar/grocery) " Well, if you have any "specials" or coupons available, I can place a stack for advertisement on my other locations for you."

(If thats enough) "In certain cases, I am allowed to offer a 20% commission rate to the buisness owner. Alot of the time the type of machine will depend on the success. A bulk candy machine (like this) is limited to just quarter vends, so the commission will not generally be as high. I do offer racks with multiple heads offering a variety of candy as well as bouncy balls and capsule toys that can vend up $.50. This will offer a higher incentive for owners to allow us to use their donation-space.Where we both can be happy. Which type would you prefer?"

Feel free to throw in any suggestions, i can take it 

[will.vend]

sounds good...I would start out with... I need your help! Most people feel better if they feel like they are helping someone. and on the commission part...after you say your % be quiet and listen, I have heard ppl talk themselves into higher commissions and the owner hadnt even said anything. but it sounds like you will do well...you have the enthusiasm and that counts for a lot (or alot) im not sure anymore. good luck and remember dont take any of it personal

[adkarr24]

I have placed a few machines myself and I was wondering, for those of you with experience, do you think a script that is a little longer and more indepth works better than a short and sweet pitch? I have been trying to be direct in my approach with business owners/managers, but Im wondering if I should be explaining things more. Thanks for the advice!

[mainor5251]

Keep it short unless you haven't got a yes and they are still interested.  Be sure to emphasize, it helps a charity, machine is small, and theres no cost or commitment on there part.

[matt-attack]

   The way you describe all your donating, it appears all the money goes to the charity. A honest approach would be that you donate a portion of the profits to the charity.

Oh i will definately be going in there with nothing but honesty. Never been a shady businessman. 

[matt-attack]

are you talking about my donations as a whole or from that paticular machine? well the only reason i wouldnt is just for the fact i dont wanna get in over my head by promising the owner i donate lets say $20 from my profits and end up only making $10 from that machine.

is that how do you do it???

[Rick Falcon]

Just be yourself and keep it simple.

[matt-attack]

I have NO intentions at all in scamming. I will make myself very clear to the owner. I am donation to a REAL charity. I have no idea why you'd think here to scam? Im talking about making a profit is all. If I end up donating more than I end up making, I might as skip skip the vending process. remember, I am brand new to this and naturally I'll have many questons.

Ok, so you feel that commission is the way to go. So what do you offer the owner when approaching a new location? How many or what kind of machines do you put in? For myself, I only have 2 triples thus far. If I offer the owner 20% of all my profits, not knowing how much the machine will pull in monthy, do you really think he'll be satisfied receiving 5 or 6 dollars every four weeks??

It feels like commission would work best,  when you can offer a full rack rather than 1 little triple.

So what works best for you?

[mainor5251]

   I pay commission. No scamming go on here.

Matt attack pay no mind to gumball prince he's singing the same ole song havending sings, Charity vendors are all scamers we lie, cheat, and steal are way through this industry blah, blah, blah.  Just out of curiosty gumballprince when are you and havending gonna get these charities to realize how badly they are being scammed by the programs they have set up and shouldn't taking in any more money from said programs.  You may not realize this but there are other business models than yours that work.

[mainor5251]

Not getting in to this same old debate.  I think there is enough old post to give an ACCURATE depiction of charity vending.

[bostonvendor27]

Matt,  IMO there is nothing wrong with charity  vending . People are going to have there own opinions but if your honest and up front  then you have nothing to worry about. The charities don't seem to have a problem with the money they receive  that they otherwise wouldn't  if it wasn't for charity vending programs!!!!   Can people abuse charity programs? Of course!  But thats between them and god!!! lol.  The fact of the matter is charities make it a lot easier  to get your machines placed and when your first starting out that is the hardest part!  What I do is  tell the customer about the charity when I place the machine . I tell them a potion of the proceeds goes to the charity and based on how much the machine make I can make additional  donations.  Eventually I would like to do more commission.

[bostonvendor27]

I'm new myself but the best advice I can give is  just to get out there and go for it. you will learn from your mistakes . Overtime you will take what  works in your script and come up with something short and sweet that hits all the points you want to make. Good luck bro!

[matt-attack]

thanks alot bostonvendor! i appreciate it!

[Big Mike]

You cant use a script in my opinion. It will sound like your reading one. You just have to take every location in as your walking up. Charity or Commision.

Mike

[caserri]

Agreed, the charity vs commission arguement is "played out". I'm not sure what attitude is worse. The charity vendor who knowingly scams or the commission vendor who has no integrity or regard for fellow operators.

Let's try not to attack each other on their choice of vending model. (charity or comission) Obviously both models can work well and both models have their pitfalls. It is not in the best interest of VENDiscuss to continually bash each others choice. That was never my intention for this forum.

Matt, I operated both charity and commission routes, at the same time. The best bet for you is to not limit yourself to one or the other. Like your choice in equipment, your choice to operate within both models (charity and commission) will give you the versatility to adapt to any location. I usually let the location determine how I approach them. As gumballprince said, some locations are better suited to charity while others are better suited to commission. If you feel that your presence at the location would be threatened by someone offering a commission, then by all means offer one to secure the location.

There is no rule that says if you run charity machines you can not run commission also. This gives you multiple angles at which to approach the prospective location.

[Big Mike]

We have taken a "Anything that takes a quarter." approach to vending. And for the reason alone there isn't a script. We will find a location we want to get and go in to see what we think works best. I'm not sure we have made the best choice. LOL. You never know which direction you want to be going in. I really believe if you cant locate you cant make it in this business. That isn't to say you cant use locators. You just shouldn't rely on them as you only way to get a machine out.

Mike

[Jax Snacks]

There is no rule that says if you run charity machines you can not run commission also. This gives you multiple angles at which to approach the prospective location.

There are many good points here.  My attitude is to take whatever the location will give me - from a single head charity to a 7 head commission rack.  There are pros and cons to each model.

However, charity machines tend to more volatile and get evicted at a higher rate.  This is usually due to changes in business ownership, new management, corporate policy, too many charity machines saturating a location or aggressive commission vendors.  For that reason, I usually do not put charity machines in public places any more. Rather I put them in break rooms or industrial locations.  I personally experienced a 25% eviction rate of charity locations over the years and got sick of the revolving door.  At one time I had 170 candy charity locations, but the volatility was killing me.  For that reason I branched off into commission rack vending in the public areas for more stability (and better profits).  However both sides of the business are still important to me and I try to grow both areas.

Now this may be an unpopular statement here.  But I have never heard of a single instance where a triple-head candy charity vendor was making a FULL TIME INCOME on any of vending boards - and I have lurked on many Yahoo vending boards for 8 years.  The reasons: (1) Charity is volatile (2) Three candies are usually overkill (3) Candy is usually the slowest seller in the family of vending products.  Most full time vendors eventually branch off into commission racks, full line, cranes or video games.  There are many successful hybrid models out there for sure.

Now to be fair and balanced, there is one (and only one) FULL TIME charity model that I have seen work and that has been “endorsed” on some vending boards.  That is the single head charity gumball model.  There are vendors that have built a 1,000+ army of single heads (in public places) and they do in fact make a full time income.  The reasons: (1) Gumballs have a great markup (2) Only one product, no overkill (3) Singles seem to have a higher resilience to evictions.  Singles take up much less space and are somewhat non-intrusive so they have a higher probably of NOT getting the boot when ownership changes.  The single head gumball is much like a cute lost little puppy and new business owners have a tendency to simply adopt them rather than throw them out.  Unlike the “bigger dogs” such as triples and Uturns that a new owner will usually NOT adopt.  It may sound like a strange analogy, but I have seen this happen with my own equipment.

So find a model that works for you, but also be aware of the historical trends.

[mainor5251]

You made alot of great points Jax.

[matt-attack]

well said jax. alot of what you said makes alot  of sense. like i've stated i am still new and that piece of information helps me a bunch! 

I tried locating for the first time today. (After mustering up the courage) My first stop was at a local Giant Eagle where there are no machines. Before even finishing my first sentence, the manager cut me off and told me I'd have to go through corporate. as soon as my phone charges I will be calling them!

My second stop was at a laundromat where they did offer claws machines and gumballs, but no candy. I was unsuccessful at finding anyone to talk to, so i left.

My thrid stop was at a local pizza shop that already had 2 double A&A vending machines.

Same with my 4th stop at another laundromat.

Then I decided to do some cold calling; It seems as though local business owners are rarely available (tried 2 subways and a coffee shop).

I'll chalk today up as a loss, and try not to let it go to my head.

[Hillbilly]

At least you did it right? I bet your pitch was better on the 2nd one as well.  Keep it up. You'll get a yes soon and you'll feel like your on a cloud.

[matt-attack]

Thank you for the good words hillbilly. i DID however contact Giant Eagle's corp office and set up a request for some machines to be placed there. The lady sounded very excited! They will follow up with me in a couple of days. :::Keeps fingers crossed:::   

[Hillbilly]

They might contact you and want a 7 head rack.   That would be a good first location wouldn't it?

It's a grocery store right?