How to Find Locations for Your Vending Machines

Posted September 13, 2023

How to Find Locations for Your Vending Machines

A popular question our customers often ask us is, “Where is the best place to locate my vending machine?”  In order to help answer this question, we have brainstormed a list of possible vending locations.  This list is to help spark ideas of businesses in your area where you could possibly locate a vending machine.

2023 Update!!

Vending demand is higher than ever!! Large employers are scrambling for vending services! It has never been easier to get your vending machines placed in lucrative locations.

Why? Because much of the workforce IS working from home, many of the employee refreshment and food services for large employers are gone, i.e. cafeterias, food carts, local food courts, and restaurants. Productivity is suffering because most employees have to leave campus to find a quick snack or refreshment. The solution? Vending.

Do Your Research and Find Great Local Prospects

Did you know you can find hundreds of local businesses with 50, 100, even 200+ employees in your area in minutes, for free? Data-Axle is an incredibly powerful tool for the vending business owner. You can search by hundreds of demographic filters and options, including years in business and number of employees. The best part? It’s FREE, well, you have to have a library card! Most major city library districts subscribe to Data-Axle, and all you need to access the entire database online is your library card.

Get Out There!

Once you have identified some businesses in your area, you can start making calls and going in to each one. Ask for the manager or owner and present your offer to place a vending machine in their facility. We recommend that you dress professionally, take business cards, samples of products and flyers of your chosen machine to each location you have chosen.  When delivering the sales pitch, be sure to let the business know that you offer healthy products, and you can customize the vending machine to meet their needs.

Odds Are You Can Replace an Old Vending Machine With a Customized Smart Vending Machine!

There are pretty high chances that these businesses will already have a vending machine, but the odds are also high that their vending machine is old and vends primarily junk food.  With a new high quality, customizedvending machine which accepts mobile payments, credit cards, cash, and contains the guaranteed vend sensor, it’s not too difficult to convince them to kick out their old vendor and put you in there.

@customvending Why pay for qualified leads? #salestips #vendingmachine #vending #smallbusiness #entrepreneur #fyp #secret #tipsandtricks #advicetiktok ♬ Memories - Lux-Inspira

List of Locations:

Here is our list of possible locations where vending machines could be located:

  • Airport
  • Amusement Park
  • Apartment Building
  • Assisted Living Center
  • Auto Brake Shop
  • Auto Dealership
  • Bank
  • Bingo Hall
  • Bookstore
  • Bowling Alley
  • Bus Station
  • Business Office Building
  • Car Wash
  • College/ University
  • Community Center
  • Community Swimming Pool
  • Computer Store
  • Dental Office
  • Department Store
  • Doctor’s Office
  • Dormitory
  • Driver’s License Division
  • Dry Cleaner
  • Fire Station
  • Fraternity/ Sorority
  • Furniture Store
  • Gift Shop
  • Golf Course Lounge
  • Government Office
  • Gym
  • Health Club
  • Hospital
  • Hotel
  • Humane Society
  • Ice Skating Rink
  • Industrial Park
  • Laundromat
  • Library
  • Mall
  • Manufacturing Plant
  • Medical Building
  • Meeting Hall
  • Military Reserve/ Guard Center
  • Military Enlistment Office
  • Military Treatment Facility
  • Miniature Golf
  • Motel
  • Motor Vehicle Division
  • Motorcycle Shop
  • Muffler Shop
  • Night Club
  • Nursing Home/ Retirement Home
  • Oil & Lube Center
  • Police Station
  • Private School
  • Public Utility Office
  • Railroad Station
  • Recreation Center
  • Rental Yard
  • Rest Stop Facility (off Highway)
  • Roller Skating Rink
  • School
  • Senior Center
  • Shopping Center
  • Ski Resort
  • Stock Brokerage
  • Telemarketing Office
  • Tire Store
  • Tourist Attraction
  • Truck Stop
  • Trucking Company
  • Veteran’s Affairs Facility
  • Veterinary Office
  • Waiting Room (any kind)
  • Warehouse
  • YMCA
  • Youth Center
  • Zoo

Should You Hire a Vending Locator?

There are basically two ways to obtain vending locations: you can find them yourself, or you can hire a vending locator to do the work for you.  I have done it both ways and can tell you that both ways can be right or wrong for you depending on how you approach the task.

If you are going to locate yourself, there are a few questions you should ask yourself, such as:

  1. Do you have a lot of time?
  2. Are you a good salesperson?
  3. Do you have a lot of friends in your community that would be willing to host your vending machine?

If you answered “no” to two or more of these questions, then  locating yourself may not be the right solution for you.  Finding good locations takes a good sales pitch, good people skills, self-motivation, and time.  Another great tool that many vending guys recommend is having a local charity in which you sponsor.  I will discuss this in a future blog posts.  For now, I will say that most of my prized locations are ones that I found on my own.  I have found locations by making cold phone calls as well as just walking into the business and talking to the manager in person.  Both ways can be effective.  If you are a regular customer of that business and they know that, then your chances of getting in will increase 10-fold.  Don’t be afraid to ask as you are leaving your gym when you are done working out, or when you’re shopping for a new car.  Sometimes these impromptu opportunities are the best and take no effort at all.  Lastly, you need to hit up your friends.  Whether they are the business owner or an employee, they will have the ability to get you into their business and they can keep an eye on your machine for you too.

If you don’t have any friends, don’t like making the cold calls yourself, or if you just don’t have the time for it, then you should consider hiring a vending locator.  I have tried this mechanism and there are lots of great vending locators out there. I would Google ‘vending locator’ and call around to find the vending locator that will best serve your needs. Be sure to ask for references so you can find out the quality of their work.

Finding good vending locations is not rocket science, but it is one of the most overlooked aspects of vending.  You have to take into consideration your time involvement or make a budget for it- especially if you are in the bulk candy machines since the lifespan of these locations is much smaller than the full size machines.  Vending machines in your garage don’t make money.  Vending machines in crappy locations also don’t make money, they only make stale candy.  However, vending machines found in high traffic businesses with plenty of traffic do make money and you need to get your machines there.

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