Location partners for vending machines: an outreach sequence that closes

What to take away

Step one: build the list

Map every building inside the area you can already service that holds people for hours at a stretch. Record the address, the type, an estimate of headcount, whether a machine is visible, and the name of the person who looks after the space once you have it.

Keep it somewhere you will actually update. The list is the asset; the visits are just how it gets filled in.

Step two: the reconnaissance visit

Go at a quiet hour. Ask reception who looks after the break room or the vending. Do not pitch.

You are collecting three things: a name, an idea of the space, and a sense of whether an incumbent exists, so if a machine is there, look at it properly.

Half empty, dusty, a faded out of order note taped to the glass: each is your opening. It tells you the pitch is about service, not commission.

Step three: the count

Come back at the building's busy hour and count the people who pause where a machine would stand or does stand. Record the day, the time and the interval.

This is the step almost nobody does, and it changes the second conversation completely. It moves you from someone asking for a favor to someone who has done work on their building. It also protects you from taking a site that looks busy and is not.

Step four: the conversation

Ask before you offer. Four questions cover most of it.

The last question separates the hosts who want revenue from the hosts who want their people to stay on site. Those are different asks, and the second kind is usually the better long term account because their interest and yours point the same way.

Step five: the short written offer

Send something short, the same day or the next. Long documents stall.

Avoid promises about how much they will earn, and make sure any claim you use to win business is substantiable.

Standards for reviews are in the U.S. Federal Trade Commission: Soliciting and Paying for Online Reviews: A Guide for Marketers; the FTC's general advertising guidance covers everything else. A count you took is evidence, but a projection is not.

Step six: follow up on a schedule, not a feeling

Most sites are won on the third or fourth contact, and most operators stop at the second.

Set the follow up when you leave: a date, a reason to make contact, and a note of what they said. A reason can be small. A question they asked that you have now answered, or a note that you have added another site in their area.

Where the answer is a firm no, ask when the current agreement ends and put that date in the diary. A no that is really a timing problem is the most winnable site on your list.

Step seven: from yes to signature

The gap between agreement and paperwork is where sites are lost, because the document raises questions that nobody discussed.

Have the agreement ready before you need it, and keep it short: commission and its base, term, notice, access hours, power, machine position, service standard, and what happens at the end. Have the insurance certificate in the form the host asked for, and have your licensing answers written down with the offices you got them from.

Larger hosts will run this through procurement and it will take longer than you expect. Ask at the outset what their process is, so the delay is a schedule rather than a surprise.

Approaching a site that already has machines

Most good buildings have an incumbent. That does not close them; it changes the method.

Do not lead with a higher commission. It starts the relationship on price, and the next operator will do the same to you. Lead with the specific failure you observed: the machine that was empty when you looked, the fault that has been reported twice.

Then ask when the agreement ends and what the notice period is. Some hosts will tell you. Put the date in your diary and make contact before it, because an incumbent whose agreement is up for renewal is the only moment a well served building becomes available.

Being findable when they check

A host who has been given your name will look you up. What they need to find is a working way to contact you, the areas you cover, and a small number of genuine reviews.

Reviews are worth asking for, without incentive, from hosts who have been with you long enough to have an opinion. The FTC guidance above covers the rules on soliciting and paying for them; the practical version is that anything you would not want the host to see you doing is not worth doing.

For the everyday visibility work, the local listing checklist is a short exercise most operators complete once, and the tips in Google Business Profile Help: Tips to improve your local ranking on Google cover what affects a local listing.

Common questions

How many buildings should I approach before expecting a placement?

Nobody can give you a rate that means anything, because it depends on your area, your service offer and how many sites already have machines. What you can do is measure your own: count approaches, second conversations and signatures for a quarter, and you will have a figure that is actually about your market.

Should I offer a free trial period?

A trial with a review date is reasonable and quite common, and it should still be in writing. What to avoid is an open ended arrangement with no term, which leaves your machine in their building with no agreed basis for anything.

Do I need machines in stock before I pitch?

Say when you will install, which usually means knowing your lead time, not holding equipment. Buying machines before sites ties up money you need for stock. The launch sequence calls that the main early mistake.

Have your product approach ready to describe, and know how far you can stretch before a new site starts pulling the route apart.