Case Study: My Simple Strategy for Securing Accounts as a New Vending Business

Reginald Richardson, Select Vending Services

Many vending entrepreneurs find booking their first vending machine accounts to be their biggest challenge

After all, you won’t make any money if you don’t have anywhere to put your machines. When you can’t bring in revenue, that keeps you from marketing to reach the customers you need to grow—and it may feel like you’re stuck in a downward spiral.

Reginald Richardson owned a bulk candy business back in 2008, so he knew that landing clients would be his first hurdle to overcome when he decided to open a snack and soda vending business in 2023. That was one of the main reasons he enrolled in the Vending Bootcamp.

In April of 2023, Reginald prepared to start a vending machine business. He took the Vending Bootcamp course as part of this initial learning. By July, he was ready to start marketing and finding locations. He quickly secured 3 small accounts with 2 machines each. This foundation let him start bringing in revenue while he refined his sales strategy.

Reginald landed his first high-value account in September 2023.  A corporate location needed 15 machines and he was ready to provide them.

How did Reginald leap from low-value to high-value locations so quickly? 

Get ready to find out!

Finding the “Easy Button”

Reginald’s goal when he signed up for the vending business blueprint course: 

“I have business experience and I’ve owned a franchise before. I know the easy button is the best way to go.”

He integrated the concepts Adam teaches in the course with his existing knowledge of his local business landscape to create a recipe for success.

The most valuable takeaways from the vending business blueprint included:

• The door-to-door sales script and sales kit: Worksheets shared in the course
  
• The 30-30 rule: Choose locations for the route that are within 30 minutes or 30 miles of the business’ home base
  
• The prospect pyramid: Sort potential locations into categories based on their foot traffic and likely revenue potential

Reginald’s Strategy Step-by-Step

Reginald used this foundational knowledge and adapted it to suit his skills and location. The strategy that he developed was simple:

1. Establish a professional web presence early.
2. Identify a territory with a high number of high-value accounts.
3. Prepare a sales packet.
4. Hone his sales skills with door-to-door calls at locations just outside his 30-30 area
5. Follow-up consistently with high value accounts

By putting his own spin on the techniques he learned in the Vending Blueprint, Reginald has 21 machines in place, just a few months after starting his business. 

Step 1: Set up a professional website.

Most people today go straight to the internet to research a company before they decide whether to give them business. 

A B2B service-based business like vending machines uses a website like a virtual storefront, giving potential customers a place to check out your services and the value you offer.

A website sends the signal to potential customers that you’re a legitimate and serious business. Secure a domain name that matches the name of your business. When you do this, you’ll also get the ability to set up an email address from that domain, rather than a general email provider like Yahoo or Gmail.

As Reginald says:

“The website is huge. People take you seriously when you get your website and send emails from the address that goes with your business. John Doe at Yahoo or Hotmail just doesn’t look good, especially when you’re trying to get into bigger locations.”

A website also gives you another way to generate leads, and the accounts that come in through your website are often easier to land. You don’t need to convince them that they need vending services because they came to your site looking for help.That’s less selling you have to do.

Reginald discovered another benefit of getting leads from the website: 

“I noticed that when people find you on the web, you don’t get the commission question because they’re looking for your business. Versus when I go knocking on doors, the commission question usually comes up.”

That means you make more profit from website leads than going door-to-door..

A professional website doesn’t need to be elaborate or complicated. The most important parts are:

1. An explanation of the services you provide
2. An easy way for people to contact you. 

Use a drag-and-drop editor like WordPress, Squarespace, or Wix. The templates are a  cost-effective option for founders without coding and design skills.

Hiring a dedicated web professional, though, can be an advantage if you have the budget. Reginald hired an SEO expert to oversee his website and that has driven more traffic to his page than he would have gotten running the site on his own.

Step 2: Identify potential high-traffic locations.

Coming from a background in bulk candy vending gave Reginald a head start on a snack and drink vending business in some ways, but it also meant he had to unlearn some of the things he thought he knew.

Most importantly, he had to redefine his idea of what made a great vending location. As he says, 

“When I had bubble gum machines it was different. The barber shop and stuff was the place to be before with my machines. A lot of places that were on my list I scratched off because they would have been not profitable based on the foot traffic.”

Targeting the right locations makes a world of difference in the profitability of a vending business, and Reginald learned that lesson early. 

He reassessed his local area based on the Prospect Pyramid from Adam’s course. Thanks to that knowledge, he strategically established his home base in an area with lots of warehouses, as well as locations like hotels that are potentially high-value accounts.

One strategy Reginald used to assess the area was a Google Maps parking lot assessment. As he says, 

“You’d be surprised how many locations you’ll find using the parking lot test. Just look at how many spaces they have. So if there aren’t cars in the spots in the one shot on Google that’s okay, but if the business only has 20 spaces, they don’t get a lot of traffic.”

After he identified potential high-value locations with the parking lot test, Reginald did additional research by visiting each location. He suggests taking a tour of the site out of uniform before you go in to make the first sales call. Pay attention to the environment and take notes on anything you notice or conversations you have. 

When you come back for the official sales call, you can reference these notes to give the conversation a personal touch.

Step 3: Prepare a sales packet.

When you’re doing door-to-door sales calls in vending, the goal normally isn’t to close a new account on the spot. 

Often, you’ll start off speaking to a receptionist or other gatekeeper who doesn’t have decision-making authority. The aim for this initial visit is simply to get your foot in the door by letting the company know about the services you offer.

Providing a sales packet to the locations you visit is a great way to introduce the company to your services. Reginald bought folders and personalized them by putting a branded sticker on the cover. His logic:

 “If you leave a business card then they can just throw that in the trash or it can get lost on the desk, so I left them a folder.”

He’d prepare these folders in advance with all of the information accounts may need to answer common questions or overcome common objections. His sales packet includes:

• A brochure with information about his company and their philosophy
• A price list
• A list with pictures of the snacks and drinks his machines sell
•  A sample contract or proposal

Another tip that he took from Adam’s vending course:

Bring a couple of free items to leave behind with the folder. 

This builds goodwill and makes it more likely your company will stand out in the account’s mind after your initial sales call.

Step 4: Practice and build confidence with smaller accounts just outside your target area.

Reginald was new to door-to-door sales calls before opening his vending business. The Vending Business Blueprint course gave him some strategies and a basic script to start from, but he knew he would need real world practice before he felt confident with his sales approach.

Reginald also knew: You only get one chance to make a first impression. You don’t want to waste the chance to book high-value accounts in your target area before refining your sales pitch.

Reginald’s solution was to practice his first few sales calls just outside his target area. Instead of using the 30-30 rule for vending locations that Adam suggests in the Vending Blueprint, Reginald identified potential accounts within 40 minutes or 40 miles of his home base because:

“I used these locations as guinea pigs to hone my craft, because you have nothing to lose. You don’t really want to stumble and make mistakes. Find out what works and what doesn’t work when you have less pressure. I relate it to football. You start in Pee Wee League before you go to the NFL.”

Of course, there’s still the chance that you’ll end up landing some of these accounts, so you don’t want to go too far out of your target area. Reginald’s approach of adding 10 miles or 10 minutes to your ideal range keeps things in a manageable distance.

Once you’ve secured more accounts that are within your target area, you can always sell these distant locations to other vending businesses.

Reginald practiced his sales pitch often. He went to 10 locations every weekday when he was starting out. His theory was that the more places he talked to, the higher his odds that one would say yes.

Once Reginald got his feet wet with locations just outside his target service area, his next step was to approach smaller accounts in his 30-30 range.

The last step was building up to the high-value accounts within his range that were his ultimate goal. Since he’d already taken the time to refine his sales pitch and grow his brand, he increased his odds of success with these highly desirable, high-value locations.

Step 5: Proactively follow-up with strong leads.

As previously mentioned: You shouldn’t expect to close a high-value vending account the first time you talk to them. A proactive follow-up strategy is necessary to land top-tier locations.

As Reginald says, 

“It’s just like Adam said in the class. ‘The first time you go, you’re not trying to sell—you just let them know you’re here, and have a conversation. Then get contact information and, the main thing, follow up.”

The sales packet does some of this work for you, increasing the odds that the account will reach out to you after the initial introduction. 

That doesn’t mean you just want to sit back and wait for the calls to come. A targeted email campaign is an effective follow-up strategy that keeps your company on the radar of potential future accounts without being annoyingly intrusive.

One last thing to keep in mind: the goal is to land the right accounts, not just as many accounts as possible. As Reginald says,

“Not every deal is a good deal. It’s ok to say NO.”

It might feel like a loss to turn down an account that you’ve diligently worked to follow up with, but there are times that cutting your losses early is the best move. He remembers one particular account that wanted a very high commission:

“I just told him it wasn’t going to work. Ironically, he called me back a few weeks later and he went down some, still not where I wanted but at least I know I got them on the line. When they want too high of a commission, it’s going to be a nickel-and-dime situation. Once you get the machine in, it’s always going to be something. So just use your judgment.”

Remember that the follow-up process is a two-way street. It’s not always obvious from the start when an account is a good match, and when it isn’t. Building your business doesn’t mean saying “yes” to every lead that reaches out to you. Choose the right accounts to build a better foundation and higher profitability in the future.

Now You Try It!

One of the great things about the vending industry is that anyone can succeed. It doesn’t cost a ton to get started and you don’t need any special skills or knowledge to do it.

All it really takes is a commitment to putting in the work. Reginald’s parting advice for other vending entrepreneurs is to rise above the fear of rejection when going for accounts. As he says:

“Just accept that you’re going to get nos and you’re going to get rejection. That’s part of the process. But if you’re going to five places a day, five days a week, somebody’s going to say yes. You just have to get up and don’t worry about the nos. Start in a place that you don’t really want to be at anyway, then once you get good, go to the big league.”

Are you ready to put this advice in action? Sign up for the Vending Bootcamp to learn all of these strategies Reginald put to use growing his new business!