5 replies to this topic

[CoolHand]

Should I locate myself? How? Where are the best locations? How do I get the owner (or manager) of the property to let me place my machine there?

OR Should I hire a locator? Who (what company or which locator should I hire)?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

1) If you can, you should
2) Restaurants, Barber Shops, Oil Change Places, Tires Shops, other waiting rooms
3) Get a charity sticker and go in representing the charity. KEEP IT SIMPLE
4) If you hire a locator, RIDE WITH THEM
5) I can recommend a couple but not in this forum.. against the rules! E-mail me

[pam m]

Hello,

I am new to this chat room. I am not sure if this is allowed. If there is a problem please let me know.

My name is Pam. I work with bulk vending operators all over the country finding them locations. I do not make anyone pay me upfront. I prefer when my customer goes with me because then you know first hand what the location is. I have placed thousands of machines in person. Please call me at 805-651-9853.

[Steve Fischer]

It depends on how much time you have, how quickly you want to build a route, and how much capitol you have to invest. That being said, it's always best to do the locating yourself.

Here's some basic economics on it. I use triple head machines. Generally, having a locator do that is about $50 a location. Out of the box, you might expect to average about $15 per month per location. In the long term, you want to increase that by keep relocating your bottom performers to better locations but that's another discussion for another time.

So, lets say you're getting $15 per machine. Because I like simple numbers, we'll assume that you of that, $5 is product cost. So, now you see that that $50 you paid a locator is actually 5 months worth of profit from that machine.

Another way to look at it is like this: What do you think a reasonable wage is? Looking at $50 per machine, suppose you can average locating one machine a day - using a standard 8-hr workday. If a penny saved is a penny earned, you've just earned $6.25 an hour. Get good at locating and do two machines and you've doubled what you've earned at 12.50/hr.

The easiest way to locate a machine is to get affiliated with a charity. I work with the American Association for Lost Children. www.aaflc.org. They will charge you a nominal fee per machine and give you stickers that you place on each machine. Then put together some professional looking flyers and walk into establishments or telemarket with the following line:

"Hi, I'm _____ with _____ vending and we are working with the American Association for Lost Children. Now, we're not asking for any donations, all we need is a little space to put a candy machine..."

Be friendly and professional. If I'm doing this in person, I wouldn't dream of dressing in anything less than business casual. Be prepared for rejection. You'll get really frustrated and want to quit and then you'll have successes and be on top of the world.

Another note about locating. Locating is a never-ending part of vending. You will put a machine at a location and it will be a dog. Then find another location and move the machine. For various reasons, people will ask you to remove your machines. You'll need to find new locations. Even if you're generally happy with your locations, always keep an eye out for better ones. I'd rather have ten good locations than 30 poor ones and 30 good locations will be even better than that.

[Steve Fischer]

Do locators usually find better locations?

Generally not. Most locators do it by telemarketing. They don't know the nature of the areas they are calling or the nature of the business they are calling. Their job is to find you a decent location with as little effort on their part as possible. And I don't mean that to be derogatory to locators, it's just the only way they can make money at what they do.