u/predsel

Hi vending fam,

2 weeks ago I talked about my experience of getting out there, going door to door, to try and find someone who’ll let me place a machine.

Today… it happened!!!

I can’t believe it I’m so excited about it haha. I found a school that is going to let me put something in their teacher’s lounge.

I know it may not be the biggest location with the most foot traffic but I am so proud of myself for getting out there and just making it happen.

Want to share some quick context but in short, I got lucky and created an opportunity to take over a location that was being neglected. A unsatisfied school staff wanting more. (If youre interested in the details check the story in the link).

I plan to edit this and add more context later but I just want to thank everyone for all of the tips. Just going to keep it up! And for anyone out there struggling just keep going. Get out there and talk to people!!!

Edit: Link

Hi guys,

I’m back with week 2 updates!

Some of you might remember me from the linked post last week.

It’s been another week of PROGRESS. Happy to report that leads are moving at a steady pace. This week’s WINS came from TWO leads from last week.

Lead 1. The Elementary School

This is the “one real lead” that the title of last week’s post was about.

Out of luck, it turns out I’ve been talking to the decision maker all along. As soon as I walked into the office she recognized me! I asked her what was up with their current vendor and it turns out she STILL hasn’t heard from them after a week and a few emails. The current vendor contract with the School District says the vendor is supposed to pay $25 to the district and they have not been receiving that payment.

I told her I’d be willing to pay her the $25 and used a tactic I learned online about offering a “free trial” - if they don’t like it. We pull it out. I also mentioned working closer with them on the variety trying to push the idea that I could be a partner. Not just a vendor. She seemed really open to it! We talked about pricing of the items and she left me her email, phone + ext, and title on a little post it note.

I did have a few challenges with this lead. I was hoping maybe you can all help me with:

- The school year is almost over, probably 4 more weeks until ppl start vacations.

A part of me thinks it might be better to just place something now and maybe leave it partially filled? At least it’s there. I just need to be a little aggressive to close before then.
should at least get a contract in place before the end of the year. Maybe I don’t place anything until around the end of July and I just keep nurturing this lead with some marketing material or “consulting”.

- Doesn’t know anything about the current contract

She doesn’t know when their contract ends. I don’t even know where to start with that stuff. I feel like a lot of times contracts are a bs formality and vendors don’t really care about what it says. I mean this vendor isn’t paying the School District the $25 that was promised. It’s already a breach. Is it wrong for me to think they could just easily terminate it? I don’t think there’s enough room for me to be in there while their machines are still there. How can I progress this conversation?

Next Steps:

- I will continue to nurture. I think maybe even mocking up a more serious looking contract and putting it in front of her would do a lot to get things moving.

- PRODUCT OFFERINGS: figure out what products are always clear winners or offer the best margin. I need to start thinking about what are MUST HAVES in a vending machine. I hear classics like coke/Diet Coke are always popular. I mentioned tailoring products and she had an idea about sending out a survey. I could build that too.

Lead 2. Specialty Hospital

Last week I mentioned an ER. Well it’s really more of a specialty hospital. I visited them twice this week because I had the Name of the decision maker and was told to return when they were there.

The big positive is that they have people moving around 24/7. They have 2 machines in the cafeteria but I learned on my first visit that it closes at 2pm. This means the night crew has no access to them because they close their cafeteria doors. On the THIRD VISIT I finally got in touch with the manager and I learned that they were actually looking to replace their current vendor because they weren’t happy with the variety and the cost of products.

Of course I let myself be known and after some chatter she told me that she actually has a 1:1 with the CEO. And that she’ll bring me up during the conversation.

WIN.

Random encounter of the week: I went to an apartment complex for the first time and learned about something called RealPage.com? The property manager said all vendors they work with must be registered and verified in their database. I looked it up and it’s essentially pay to play. Annual fee of $89 and registration fees. What do you guys think? Worth pursuing? With the good leads I had I figured it’s not a priority.

NEXT WEEK’S GOALS:
- Priority: really do research on procurement. Does anyone have tips on how I could save money when buying the right vending machine?
- Nurture goals like mentioned above.
- Do more remotely. I have collected a number of cards and emails I could do some cold outreach to.
- Target more “blue collar” establishments like laundromats, auto shops, small establishments. I would love to hear more about what types of businesses would be a good fit.

Biggest learning for me was how important it is to LOOK THE PART & PLAY THE PART. Show up. Show that you take this seriously. And maintain momentum!

Always happy to hear any advice anyone wants to offer! Enjoy the weekend. ✌️

Hey all,

As of last Sunday I have been out and about every day trying to secure my first location. No hiring gurus, no paying for classes. Just free resources and a goal: place one machine. It has been a heck of a week. There were a lot of moments where I felt dumb/ridiculous but a lot of learning as well.

Pre-Outreach:

I did my research on what makes a good location and am taking the advice that I should give the perception that I'm a bigger, more established, organization as opposed to being a one man show. So I went to Canva, used one of their brochure templates and got to designing. Once I was happy with a brochure V1 I went to my local FedEx and got them printed.

Cold Calls to Start:

Before actually going out there and hitting places up, I created a cold open and a simple script to follow (with the help of Claude). The reason I did this was a) I wanted to practice my delivery and b) if a place already had something and/or was completely disinterested, I would disqualify and not add them to the "in-person visit" list.

Def had some shitty calls with people who genuinely did not want to talk to me but my very first call with an ER turned into a great lead. In summary, the person on the phone told me they thought it was a problem that they didn't have any options like a vending machine for F&B. This was a great way to start and motivated me to keep going.

My Target ICPs (Ideal Customer Profile):

1. Medical Facilities:

A lot of online conversations mention ERs, Urgent Cares, Hospitals, etc as good potential locations. These were my primary targets but I do filter for facilities that have higher potential foot traffic/large staff. So I pass on small strip mall urgent cares or independent pharmacies. I think a machine that's accessible by patients and staff will be more successful, so I avoid talking about just placing just at the back of house. I've run into facilities that don't allow people to eat or drink in the waiting area/lobby and I'll keep those conversations going because at this point I'll take what I can get.

My biggest challenge with medical clinics is getting to the decision maker. Often I am told to call a number or to go visit the parent facility if it's part of a larger network. Remember that first call with an ER I mentioned earlier? A great lead that is being blocked by having to reach out to the main hospital it is a part of on the other side of town, currently I am still working on trying to figure out who exactly I need to talk to there.

The second biggest challenge is that often, they already have vending machines in place. And the people servicing these look like big players. Ofc I'd ask if they're happy with the service and most of the time it's a yes - still working on how to best handle this objection.

2. Schools (Primarily targeting Staff Lounges):

Not an initial ICP but I actually ran into a great lead when looking at a machine with location for sale on Facebook MP. It was a big mess with staff complaining to the seller as soon as we walked into the main office. In short, they are unhappy with the service they're getting and after checking out the machines and location, I went back in to speak with the staff about my honest thoughts on the seller and machines they have (they sucked). I tried to be consultative about it. Did not use it as an opportunity to "sell" but to put my name out there. I'd consider this my one real lead because at the end of this conversation, I discovered that they were looking to replace this current vendor.

I did come across one school that had nothing and another that was handling concessions themselves (ie staff and students can walk up to the main office and buy stuff) but like above, it's hard to reach the decision maker and often they already have something in place.

3. Office Buildings:

Think of a building where different companies lease spaces. Biggest challenge is again, getting to the decision maker. Often the property managers for office buildings aren't even in the building itself! It's also difficult to find the contact information of these managers, often they're hidden somewhere in the building directory.

Had one phone conversation with a nice enough guy, but of course - no interest.

4. Car Mechanics:

Stopped by one on a whim and have only visited one, a local Mercedes-Benz speciality mechanic. Really short convo: greet >> cold open >> give brochure. I think I could have done more to get to the decision-maker, will definitely have to work on how to approach these kind of businesses.

5. Spa:

There's a spa I frequent in town, one of those asian style spas where you walk around naked with people of the same sex and hit up the pool/jacuzzi/sauna/etc then put some clothes on, go upstairs and hang out on some hot rocks or meditation rooms with your significant other. I thought it would be a good location because people often just hang around relaxing, doing nothing in the common area. This place did have a small cafe that's been under-construction for a while but even when running, they didn't sell much.

Went in and was rejected because the manager didn't think I would be able to make money by putting one there. I think he just didn't see the vision. It was in this moment that I wish I had something to show this man more than some stock photos and bullet points on a brochure. Another lead to nurture for sure after I work on objection handling and visualizing.

Overall I visited about 20-25 locations and made just as many calls this week.

What I've Learned

A. Getting to the decision maker is not easy. This is not something I see often discussed in these forums and honestly I don't have a solution other than asking for a name and contact info when people tell me "you need to talk to so-and-so". This is a work in progress.

B. People think they can make easy money off this business. This was mostly a learning from meeting with the Facebook MP seller. Obviously this guy was trying to off-load his shit machines and crappy relationship with the school. This was a good thing for me because I know if I put in just a little more effort, I can win over these types.

C. Leading with curiosity instead of trying to sell. After talking about my experiences with my network, one thing that people pointed out to me is that although I'm framing machines as a solution, I'm coming off too sales-y. Specifically that my solution is calling out a problem and people hate being told they have a problem (apparently). The feedback that resonated with me was to just approach people with genuine curiosity - leaning a lot more on asking questions like how they feel about their current service or why they don't already have a machine in place today. This also made conversations feel more natural and gave me less anxiety.

C. Dealing with the "We already have a vending machine" response. I think the first thing we all know to ask is if they're happy with their current service. If no, great that's a lead. If yes, I feel like I need to do more than just thank them for their time and leave. What I've seen spark some interest is by focusing on offerings and partnership. I'll say something like "what we try to do is partner with you to offer what you think your people need most - healthier, fresher options tend to make people happier". But at this point it's all a little BS and sometimes I feel uncomfortable straight up lying, mostly because I'd hate to be called out on my bluff.

D. Proof read your marketing assets! Probably a no-brainer but I was so excited to get out there and start talking to people that I overlooked really simple mistakes on my already average brochure. Things like misspelled words, improper punctuation. Once I saw it I got emberassed, personally I just hate putting it out there and it takes away from the professionalism I'm trying to establish. Also, brochures are not cheap.

Next Steps

• Continue to nurture leads. I plan on re-visiting some of the really good leads I've found this week. Trying to reach the decision makers and learning more from the staff. Heck, I might even bring a little gift to butter them up.
• Keep going. I don't know what the stats are but I imagine it'll take a lot more conversations and a lot more time before I get my first W.
• Take advantage of sellers who thought this would be easy. I'm talking about people like the guy I met up with on Facebook MP. He had a location that could have maybe produced more if he just tried a little harder, cared about his product and customers.
• Do more to build my brand. No website and company email yet. Was hoping to wait until I got at least one customer but I want to be able to compete with the people already in the game and I think these little things help out a ton. LLC will still wait until I get my first location
• Learn more about procuring. Honestly, once I do get my first location I wouldn't even know where to start or how long it'll take to get a machine. I think being more prepared now instead of waiting will help a ton and that doesn't necessarily mean I need to buy a machine.

Hoping this helps anyone out there on the same journey, vending machine or otherwise! Happy to hear your thoughts and feedback. I look forward to sharing more in the coming weeks, mostly because this helps me think through everything that's happened and what to do next. Good luck to all of us!

Hey all,

As of last Sunday I have been out and about every day trying to secure my first location. No hiring gurus, no paying for classes. Just free resources and a goal: place one machine. It has been a heck of a week. There were a lot of moments where I felt dumb/ridiculous but a lot of learning as well.

Pre-Outreach:

I did my research on what makes a good location and am taking the advice that I should give the perception that I'm a bigger, more established, organization as opposed to being a one man show. So I went to Canva, used one of their brochure templates and got to designing. Once I was happy with a brochure V1 I went to my local FedEx and got them printed.

Cold Calls to Start:

Before actually going out there and hitting places up, I created a cold open and a simple script to follow (with the help of Claude). The reason I did this was a) I wanted to practice my delivery and b) if a place already had something and/or was completely disinterested, I would disqualify and not add them to the "in-person visit" list.

Def had some shitty calls with people who genuinely did not want to talk to me but my very first call with an ER turned into a great lead. In summary, the person on the phone told me they thought it was a problem that they didn't have any options like a vending machine for F&B. This was a great way to start and motivated me to keep going.

My Target ICPs (Ideal Customer Profile):

1. Medical Facilities:

A lot of online conversations mention ERs, Urgent Cares, Hospitals, etc as good potential locations. These were my primary targets but I do filter for facilities that have higher potential foot traffic/large staff. So I pass on small strip mall urgent cares or independent pharmacies. I think a machine that's accessible by patients and staff will be more successful, so I avoid talking about just placing just at the back of house. I've run into facilities that don't allow people to eat or drink in the waiting area/lobby and I'll keep those conversations going because at this point I'll take what I can get.

My biggest challenge with medical clinics is getting to the decision maker. Often I am told to call a number or to go visit the parent facility if it's part of a larger network. Remember that first call with an ER I mentioned earlier? A great lead that is being blocked by having to reach out to the main hospital it is a part of on the other side of town, currently I am still working on trying to figure out who exactly I need to talk to there.

The second biggest challenge is that often, they already have vending machines in place. And the people servicing these look like big players. Ofc I'd ask if they're happy with the service and most of the time it's a yes - still working on how to best handle this objection.

2. Schools (Primarily targeting Staff Lounges):

Not an initial ICP but I actually ran into a great lead when looking at a machine with location for sale on Facebook MP. It was a big mess with staff complaining to the seller as soon as we walked into the main office. In short, they are unhappy with the service they're getting and after checking out the machines and location, I went back in to speak with the staff about my honest thoughts on the seller and machines they have (they sucked). I tried to be consultative about it. Did not use it as an opportunity to "sell" but to put my name out there. I'd consider this my one real lead because at the end of this conversation, I discovered that they were looking to replace this current vendor.

I did come across one school that had nothing and another that was handling concessions themselves (ie staff and students can walk up to the main office and buy stuff) but like above, it's hard to reach the decision maker and often they already have something in place.

3. Office Buildings:

Think of a building where different companies lease spaces. Biggest challenge is again, getting to the decision maker. Often the property managers for office buildings aren't even in the building itself! It's also difficult to find the contact information of these managers, often they're hidden somewhere in the building directory.

Had one phone conversation with a nice enough guy, but of course - no interest.

4. Car Mechanics:

Stopped by one on a whim and have only visited one, a local Mercedes-Benz speciality mechanic. Really short convo: greet >> cold open >> give brochure. I think I could have done more to get to the decision-maker, will definitely have to work on how to approach these kind of businesses.

5. Spa:

There's a spa I frequent in town, one of those asian style spas where you walk around naked with people of the same sex and hit up the pool/jacuzzi/sauna/etc then put some clothes on, go upstairs and hang out on some hot rocks or meditation rooms with your significant other. I thought it would be a good location because people often just hang around relaxing, doing nothing in the common area. This place did have a small cafe that's been under-construction for a while but even when running, they didn't sell much.

Went in and was rejected because the manager didn't think I would be able to make money by putting one there. I think he just didn't see the vision. It was in this moment that I wish I had something to show this man more than some stock photos and bullet points on a brochure. Another lead to nurture for sure after I work on objection handling and visualizing.

Overall I visited about 20-25 locations and made just as many calls this week.

What I've Learned

A. Getting to the decision maker is not easy. This is not something I see often discussed in these forums and honestly I don't have a solution other than asking for a name and contact info when people tell me "you need to talk to so-and-so". This is a work in progress.

B. People think they can make easy money off this business. This was mostly a learning from meeting with the Facebook MP seller. Obviously this guy was trying to off-load his shit machines and crappy relationship with the school. This was a good thing for me because I know if I put in just a little more effort, I can win over these types.

C. Leading with curiosity instead of trying to sell. After talking about my experiences with my network, one thing that people pointed out to me is that although I'm framing machines as a solution, I'm coming off too sales-y. Specifically that my solution is calling out a problem and people hate being told they have a problem (apparently). The feedback that resonated with me was to just approach people with genuine curiosity - leaning a lot more on asking questions like how they feel about their current service or why they don't already have a machine in place today. This also made conversations feel more natural and gave me less anxiety.

C. Dealing with the "We already have a vending machine" response. I think the first thing we all know to ask is if they're happy with their current service. If no, great that's a lead. If yes, I feel like I need to do more than just thank them for their time and leave. What I've seen spark some interest is by focusing on offerings and partnership. I'll say something like "what we try to do is partner with you to offer what you think your people need most - healthier, fresher options tend to make people happier". But at this point it's all a little BS and sometimes I feel uncomfortable straight up lying, mostly because I'd hate to be called out on my bluff.

D. Proof read your marketing assets! Probably a no-brainer but I was so excited to get out there and start talking to people that I overlooked really simple mistakes on my already average brochure. Things like misspelled words, improper punctuation. Once I saw it I got emberassed, personally I just hate putting it out there and it takes away from the professionalism I'm trying to establish. Also, brochures are not cheap.

Next Steps

• Continue to nurture leads. I plan on re-visiting some of the really good leads I've found this week. Trying to reach the decision makers and learning more from the staff. Heck, I might even bring a little gift to butter them up.
• Keep going. I don't know what the stats are but I imagine it'll take a lot more conversations and a lot more time before I get my first W.
• Take advantage of sellers who thought this would be easy. I'm talking about people like the guy I met up with on Facebook MP. He had a location that could have maybe produced more if he just tried a little harder, cared about his product and customers.
• Do more to build my brand. No website and company email yet. Was hoping to wait until I got at least one customer but I want to be able to compete with the people already in the game and I think these little things help out a ton. LLC will still wait until I get my first location
• Learn more about procuring. Honestly, once I do get my first location I wouldn't even know where to start or how long it'll take to get a machine. I think being more prepared now instead of waiting will help a ton and that doesn't necessarily mean I need to buy a machine.

Hoping this helps anyone out there on the same journey! Happy to hear your thoughts and feedback. I look forward to sharing more in the coming weeks, mostly because this helps me think through everything that's happened. Good luck to all of us!

SE of 5+ years here. A post from last week about leaving to pursue a passion gave me the small push I needed. Uncertain times we live in but I too was no longer satisfied with being an SE.

With nothing lined up… today, I resigned. Kind of.

Just like a lot of you even though we may not like our company, leaders, whatever, we still try to do our best. At least I do. Even though there were a lot of aggravating days dealing with shit prospects and AEs I still always try to put my best foot forward. Every call. Every deal. And in a way that backfired for me today.

I told my manager I was resigning. He asked what it would take for me to stay. Told him I really don’t see myself as part of the company’s vision for the future and that I’ve made up my mind (but I admit it was nice to feel needed).

Well that part of me that likes to work hard was convinced to stay until August. Said yes to waiting til they hire a replacement and help get them up to speed. Stupid? Maybe. I guess I’ll just take the extra money and coast… or at least try not to do more than I need to. But i am proud of myself and feel great about the decision. Very excited for this next chapter!

Maybe this will resonate with those of you who’ve also been thinking of doing the same. I like to think that with our skill set the world is our oyster and there’s nothing too far out of reach.

And for those that are fortunate enough to be happy in their roles, I wish you continued success.

Good luck to us all!

Hey Vegas gang,

I’m looking to get restaurant experience. The goal is to step away from tech and start my own restaurant (bar actually) in ~3 years. I think an important part of that is getting exposure in the industry.

I’ve been a Software Engineer (Solutions Engineering to be specific) of 5+ years. Bachelor’s in Computer Science. Early 30s and have 15+ years of customer facing experience since 16yo (mostly sales)

Looking for a part-time role while I work my day job full-time until I can make a bigger pivot. Happy to start from the bottom and work my way up.

Just wondering what the industry looks for these days and how I should approach employers. I’ve never worked in a restaurant. Any tips to make it easier to sell myself as someone who’s willing to get down and dirty would be a big help!

Thanks!