 |
Pay a commission. Although this is not practical for
low volume vending machine placements, it is by far the means of
getting and keeping high volume vending locations. Commissions
typically run 15-25% of the gross. This may seem
high, but paying $25/month for a $100/month
location, is better than having five vending locations doing
$20/month, unless your item isn’t worth anything. |
|
Stress the importance of having a convenient, easy
to use candy machine handy for employees and customers. A
hungry worker who wants a snack may take several
minutes of his or her boss’ time to go to a
convenience store to purchase candy, while your
bulk candy machine could allow him or her to satisfy the hunger
pain in a few seconds. Also, waiting customers
appreciate the fact that a vending machine is available for
their use during idle time. |
|
For lower volume vending machine locations it may be necessary to do
what I referred to as charity placement. Many, many
charities accept donations from vending machine operators in
exchange for displaying their information on the
machine. This is a fair trade in that the charity
receives advertising and the vending operator receives a
location. Unfortunately, this system has been much
abused by a few unscrupulous individuals. Also, it
does not really do much for the owner/manager of the
location, although there is probably some physic
reward because money goes to a worthy cause.
However, a local charity, such as Boys’ and
Girls’ Club, a school sports team or band, or some
other local non-profit foundation does offer a
benefit to the location. Instead of supporting some
nebulous national organization, an owner/manager
will feel like a participant if the charity is one
he or she can identify on a local basis. It will
appeal to his or her civic pride. A local charity is
almost better than a national one. |
But how
do you get the bulk candy vending locations in the first place? This may
seem like an intimidating task to some people. Others
look at it as an opportunity to hone their social
skills.
There
is only one way to get a vending machine location, and that is to ask
for it. You can either hire someone to do the asking or
you can do it yourself.
You can
hire an in-person vending locator or a telemarketing
firm. Each has advantages and disadvantages.
An
in-person can generally provide a large number of
vending machine locations in a relatively short period of time. Also, he
or she can probably concentrate the machine locations in a
smaller geographic area, which may be benefit to you. It
is fairly easy to monitor the quality of the location
because you should be placing the vending machine on the
premises as soon as the location is secured. Otherwise,
you face the prospect of rejects. Rejects, though, are a
fact of life: a small percentage will change their mind
before you physically place the machine. For this
reason, you should follow the vending locator and place
immediately.
A
telemarketer is adept at securing machine locations over the
telephone. You must generally send them a list of the
business names and phone numbers, or a telephone book
for the area. Usually, they will acquire any number of
vending machine locations (they will get only one if that is all you
need), and because they don’t have the travel expenses
of their counterparts, they tend to be somewhat more
selective.
There
are two questions that you should always ask either type
of vending machine locator: 1) Do they accept Visa/MasterCard or will
they allow you to escrow the funds until the job is
complete; and, 2) Do they provide a 10% pad for rejects.
There
are scams in every line of business in America, and
vending is no exception. If your locator demands to be
paid up front and will not allow you to pay the money
through either a credit card or escrow account, find
another locator. In any transaction, unless you know the
people personally or by reputation, you should have
some recourse in the event of non-performance.
A good
locator will always obtain at least 10% more machine locations
than you contracted for. That way, rejects are covered.
Just
asking these two simple questions can save you a
potential nightmare.
If you
choose to do it yourself, follow these simple
guidelines... (continued in book)
Hopefully this except
from the book is helpful to you. You can learn more from
the entire book for just $14.95
Just one small tip will pay
for itself many, many times over!
Your business will get at least a
6 month boost from this book and some of the tips are
worth their weight in gold for both
great ideas and saving you from
making expensive mistakes! Order Below....
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Vending, inc
