Newcomer to vending

[@ChefBen_G]

I'm a complete newbie to vending but recently purchased 25 machines and I am up and running with mixed success.

Some of my sites do very well and others just seem to be non existent.

I have very high footfall pubs which always get high results but others like hotel lobbies & reception areas get mixed results.

Current sites were found by the franchiser but I am keen to know how do you go about finding your own sites as with the mixed results I'm reluctant at the moment to spend out on third party. Is site finding just a case of targeting high footfall areas and doing a bit of good old cold calling? Would emailing sites etc be a good idea?

Would it be better to approach a site with a view to putting in a tower on commission rather than charity get a better result (E.G. I have a small neighbourhood pub that's on commission and performs well) going on the idea that if the site is also making money from it then they will encourage people to use it?

I started out right before I had a month long holiday of a lifetime so it took a bit of a backburner prior to holiday but now I'm back I'm keen to get it running properly to get maximum sales.

I've had a good read through a lot of the posts but keen to gather as much info as I can!

[Coin Operated Group]

Hi Ben,

feet on floor always win hands down for site finding, there are site finders available Barbara being one whom is an active member on here, Im sure she will say hello.

[Siting Services]

Hello Ben

Welcome to the Coin Op Forum.

What you are experiencing is ‘vending’ and no matter how many sites you have, there will always be good, average and poor sites.

The key to getting your business to where you want it is to re-site your vendors until you are happy with your average monthly turnover figures. Don’t be fooled into thinking that once you get there, you’ve made it, quite the contrary - you will always need to re-site a percentage of your machines ongoing. Sites change, people leave, new management comes in and you will lose some top performers for no reason and it hurts!

Foot siting is an excellent way to have a face to face conversation/negotiation to get your machine accepted onto site. It takes a lot of effort and the results can be frustrating due to not being able to get a decision or to get to speak to the decision maker - be prepared to have days out and not get a single site, on the other hand you could potentially gain a few - swings and roundabouts.

Whereabouts in the country do you operate?

Another way is to employ the services of a professional site finder ... someone who knows, understands the market and who are aware of how the market is TODAY not what it was years ago - vending has changed as has many other businesses and to keep up you have to understand the limitations then work with it.

Take a look at my website, it’s very informative and is aimed at those who are new or established in the vending industry: www.vendingsitingservices.co.uk.

Feel free to ask questions here for all to learn from or just get in touch for help or advice.

Kind regards

Barbara