Types of businesses to target

I can't post the list here because it would be a static thing, and you'll see that mine is a very dynamic list. I intend for it to grow and for the quality of the links to be clear to all.




You'll find the list at http://www.nextstepvending.com/business-types-to-target-for-bulk-vending-locations.php

Finding the right locations

I've looked at a lot of lists, and eventually came up with my own. I've used Bing Collections, as described here, to compile a list of 100 businesses in my area that I plan to target this month. The categories I chose to target are:

Auto parts supply stores
Auto repair shops
Barber shops
Bars
Chinese Restaurants
Family restaurants
Gymnastics
Hair salons
Karate
Martial Arts
Mexican Restaurants
Oil change and lube stores
Pizza
Restaurants
Skating
Teriyaki (they are on every block here, like Starbucks. Your results may vary.)
Video stores

I'm building a web page so that my fellow vendors can rate their successes with these categories and add their own that I've missed. You'll find it here.

Intro Script

I'm compiling a script for introducing myself and my vending service to the decision-makers at potential locations. In doing so, I expect to hear a lot of no's and I'm fine with that. I want to find customers who are really interested in hosting those machines. Here's what I've come up with so far:

Telephone intro script:

Hello could I speak to the owner or manager please. I am calling on behalf of Next Step Vending Service. Would you be interested in a small gumball machine placed in your business? We fill and service the machines at absolutely no cost to you!

I expect to modify and improve on this script as I go, but feel I've got a strong script to begin with.

When I receive a no, my plan is to suggest that if they have a change of heart in the future, they should check out my site at http://www.nextstepvending.com/ and consider us. I'm not looking for the hard sell. I want quality locations that are sincerely interested and value our service.

30 Day Challenge

I have one machine still needing to be placed and the other, while placed, undoubtedly could use a better location. I know that locating is going to be my biggest weak spot because you really need to be a "salesman" to locate, and that's not me. But it could be! I believe that I can do anything if I just put my mind to it. I do want to ease myself into this, though, so although all indications lead me to believe that a face-to-face encounter with the decision-maker is always best, I've decided to practice my script (still working on that, more later) by making phone calls. Beginning October 1st, I will make at least 3 calls per day and a total of at least 100 during the month.

So, I have a few days left to work on my script, which I'll post when complete.
UPDATE: Script is posted here.

And I've been looking for a tool that would allow me to gather info on the businesses I want in my area. Most of the mapping tools out there will allow you to search for ONE type of business in any particular area, but I haven't yet found one that will allow you to search for multiple types of businesses. However, I do have something that will work until I find or create the tool I envision. Find out more here...

DAY ONE:
Day One has been a dismal failure and points out exactly why I am trying to do this in the first place. With the lack of free time and freedom during the day, my job consumes everything and by the time I got home, it really didn't seem like a suitable time to be making calls. The good news is that I have tomorrow off. I also have no desire to make calls on Sunday, so I'll be making quite a dent in my list tomorrow.


Still enthusiastic, ready to hit the phones hard tomorrow. I might just get that machine placed.
 
DAY TWO:
OK, so today I actually got off my duff and did something. I'm encouraged by items I've read that quote success at 10 - 25% of each business approached. I plan to approach 100 this month and only need one. Two would be better. Anything after that is gravy, so I've set the bar at what should be a very achievable goal, and success will help to spur me on, no?

So based on the above numbers, having made 10 calls today, at least one should have been a "yes" and it was... close. Here's what happened. I had a couple of flat-out "no's", a couple where they didn't speak English, and a couple more "try back later's." I also had a few that said the manager wasn't in and to call back after 2 PM. But then came my promising call. At least he's interested and I went by and dropped off some info, but he'd left for the day so I'm going to try to catch him again tomorrow.

A few things I've learned:

1) I shouldn't have waited an entire month to do this. Is isn't that hard and I WILL get those "yes's."

2) When told the owner or manager isn't in, I should ask for his/her name so that I can ask for him/her by name next time.

3) The Bing Collections that I've used to gather the business info is more suited to the face-to-face approach, but still has a major drawback. I want to be able to log who I called, what the response was, and the name of the person I contacted.

Tomorrow's another day!

DAY THREE:
I gave the restaurant owner a call and he isn't in on weekends. So I'll have to try him again on Monday. Other than that, I spent the day with my family. I'm definitely not making any calls on Sunday, so Monday I've got some catching up to do.

Compiling a List of Local Businesses

I wanted to compile a list of 100 businesses in my area to contact and have not yet been able to find a tool that will do exactly what I want. I may have to create one eventually, but in the meantime, I've found something that will suffice.

You want to start with Bing, Microsoft's new name for their search engine. You'll find it at http://www.bing.com/.

1) Click on Maps and enter your search criteria. For this example, I kept with the default "Espresso in Seattle". For my own purposes, I would want restaurants, bars, groceries, auto repair shops, salons, and such, but you can only enter one type of business at a time. And I chose to narrow my field by entering the zip code of my choice.

2) Once you have your search results, you'll see an "Add to Collection" link (I've circled one in red below.) You can click on this link even if you haven't yet created a collection.

3) A Save dialog will appear. If you have no collections, it will show "Unsaved Collection." Click "Save." Repeat this step with each link you want to add to your collection.

4) Repeat Steps 1 - 3 for each additional business type you select until you have the number of links needed in your collection (Bing will allow up to 200.) When finished, click on "Collections," then "Open Your Collections."

5) You'll see your collection of links. Toward the top, you'll see, "This collection isn't saved yet. Save it now." Click on "Save it now."

6) Give the collection a title. If you plan to share this collection with a spouse, colleague, business partner, make it something clear. I chose "Businesses in 98003" for mine. And to share, you'll need to make sure the boxes below are checked.

7) That's all there is to creating the list. I compiled a list of 100 businesses of the various types I wanted in the area I wanted to concentrate on. To find out why, click here...

UPDATE: I just discovered that you can also export your data into a file to import to your GPS device. So this would be helpful in making face-to-face visits as well.