Simplify your vending machine proposal process with our easy-to-use and customizable machine placement sample proposal. Download it now!
October 17, 2023
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Your ability to land great vending machine locations will make or break your vending business. Once you have come up with a list of potential profitable locations, you must pitch your vending machine business to the location owners and property managers in a professional manner. You can do this using a comprehensive vending machine proposal.
Ideally, you want to customize a vending machine proposal to the particular location you are pitching. In this post, you will learn why you need a vending machine proposal, what the proposal should include, and how to find great locations for your next vending pitch. We have also included a downloadable machine placement sample proposal that you can customize to fit your needs.
When you find a great potential vending machine location, you will need to approach the location owner or the manager in charge to sell them on the idea of having your vending machine on their property. That's crucial when you're starting a vending machine business and landing great vending locations requires you to have decent deal-making skills.
A significant part of excellent deal-making is solidifying win-win business partnerships. The location owner should benefit tangibly from having your vending machine on their premises. You can use a vending machine proposal to communicate what these benefits are.
Further, the location owner may have reservations about installing your vending machine on their premises because of an unfounded perception that it will disrupt their business. They may also fear that the vending machine will require them to commit time to maintenance tasks and other responsibilities. A comprehensive vending machine proposal will help allay these fears and make it a lot easier to reach an agreement.
The vending machine proposal aims to persuade the location owner to partner up with your vending machine business. You should focus on selling the benefits a location owner stands to gain from having your vending machine on their property and address any objections they might have. The following are the sections a vending machine proposal should have.
The title page introduces your vending machine business and sets the tone of the proposal. It should have your name, the name of your vending machine business, and the date you submit the proposal. Further, include the details of the individual the vending machine proposal is addressed to, such as their name, job title, and name of their business.
The letter of intent summarizes why you are reaching out. It should be able to stand on its own. If the location owner reads nothing else but the letter of intent, they should know what you want.
In this summary, state that you are seeking to put a vending machine on their property, describe your vending machine business, and outline how they stand to benefit from this partnership.
Also, state what you expect the location owner to do as the next step. Include your contact information if you want the location owner to get back to you.
For this to be a win-win partnership, the location owner should derive tangible benefits from having your vending machine on their premises. These benefits will depend mostly on your vending machine business plan and model. Some of the likely benefits include:
Further, consider highlighting the features in a vending machine business plan that make your venture better than the typical vending machine business. A great example of how this is best done can be found in our vending machine proposal template above. Just make sure these features include:
The vending machine proposal should make it clear that you have considered the location owner's concerns and needs. Imagine yourself in their shoes and figure out what they care about.
Most of the objections the location owner will have will revolve around what they have to do to keep the vending machine business running. This is where your vending services should shoulder themselves. In the vending machine contract brief, you can give them a brief of what the contract will likely look like.
Make it a no-brainer for them by communicating that your vending services take care of most responsibilities, such as maintenance and when and how you plan to stock machines. Further, state that you are committed to maintaining and restocking the vending machines in a timely manner.
With modern vending machines, you can monitor your stock levels and mechanical issues remotely as long as you have an internet connection. If your vending machine has remote management features, include the information in the vending machine proposal. This way, the location owner knows you will respond to issues as soon as they arise.
Also, the location owner may fear that these maintenance tasks may interfere with normal activities at his place of business. Consider running your vending services like scheduling, restocking and maintenance, for when they’ll have the least disruption to normal business activities.
Case studies and testimonials can help you build trust with location owners. If you run an established vending machine business with several locations, use it to your advantage.
Case studies and testimonials will give your machine placement proposal teeth and make it easy for a third party to believe you can deliver the benefits you are promising. For case studies, you can include data such as:
You can include testimonials from other location owners in the vending machine placement proposal in one section or in several sections using call-outs or graphics.
The location owner will want to know how much space your vending machine will take. To figure out the footprint, take the dimensions of your vending machine and then consider the space required for electrical plugs and free air circulation.
Ideally, you should leave four or more inches between the back wall and the vending machine. It is okay to have no space between the vending machine and side walls or other vending machines.
Explicitly state how much space you will require. For instance, tell the location owner that your vending machine is 40 inches wide, 60 inches high, and 36 inches deep.
Under this section, you can describe your vending machine business model, including the products you intend to sell.
The description should be consistent with the market needs you intend to fulfill. For example, if you are targeting a health or fitness studio, it is counterproductive if your vending machines carry unhealthy snacks and drinks.
Beyond detailing the products you intend to vent, this section should also communicate that you understand the market you will be operating in and that there will be adequate demand for the products. Pay attention to factors such as:
You want to look at your vending products from the perspective of your potential clients. If you are new to the vending business, it will take time before you find a product mix that works. Therefore, do not restrict yourself in this area.
Aligning your products with the needs of the location owner’s customers and employees will make it easier for them to agree to a deal.
Depending on how you structure your vending machine proposal, the following issues may earn a section in your vending machine proposal.
We’ve made a machine placement sample proposal you can download and customize to fit your needs. Our vending machine placement proposal pdf is a great place to start writing your own with an impeccable structure in place.
.png)
Landing great vending machine locations is a process. You should take this exercise seriously as location is one of the most important factors that make your vending machines profitable. You can land great locations by following the four steps below.
Not all locations make great vending machine locations. The best vending machine locations are secure and have a lot of foot traffic (e.g., main streets) or a large captive audience (e.g., office complexes).
Examples of great locations for your vending machines are:
If you have the time and grit, you can go about finding these potential vending machine locations on your own. Alternatively, you can hire a vending locator service to help. For instance, our service, Vending Locator, can build a list of 50 to 200 potential vending locations within a 15- to 25-mile radius of your ZIP code.
With enough time and decent research skills, you can find great potential locations on your own. You will make great progress if you do the following:
You will need permission from the owners or managers of these locations before you can put your vending machine on their premises. Usually, you will have to sign a vending machine agreement or vending machine contract to seal the deal.
The contact information of these businesses will usually be online. The most effective way to reach out about your vending machines is to make cold calls. Ask to speak to the owner or manager if a gatekeeper (secretary or assistant) receives the call.
Cold calling is a skill, and you can refine it with time. Some of the things you can do to increase your chances of success include:
When you can’t reach a decision-maker by phone, send them an email at their direct email address. Tools such as Anymailfinder make it possible to find the direct email addresses of any person if you know their name and the name of their organization. Also, make sure you have a contract ready so you can push the deal to a conclusion as soon as possible.
The goal of the cold call or email is to schedule a meeting with the decision-maker. You don’t want to be pushy on the call. You can discuss the finer details of your vending machine business face-to-face.
You should have a personalized vending machine location proposal ready. As I have detailed above, the proposal should describe your business and explain how the location owner stands to benefit from the partnership.
The location owner expects a cut of sales as their commission. The commission is a significant selling point. You can highlight it by drawing sales projections based on comparable vending businesses.
When you reach an agreement with a location owner, you want to formalize the relationship by putting pen to paper. I recommend you secure a written agreement before you buy a vending machine.
You can sign either a vending machine agreement or a vending machine contract. A contract is more legally binding and is enforceable in a court of law. The agreement should spell out your obligations, the term of the agreement, limitations of liability, as well as details about ownership and interests.
