This is the fourth of our six-part healthy vending business series on Perfecting Your Elevator Pitch. Links to the other articles can be found at the bottom of this blog.

Target Audience and Consumer Behaviors
Everyone knows the purpose of a soda, lottery, candy or snack machine – to provide a convenient way to purchase tickets, snacks and beverages. However, not everyone understands how a machine can attract certain key demographics. Some people will use a vending machine and pay more for a product simply because they don’t want interaction with other people.
In Japan, you can find a vending machine almost anywhere, even in the most rural areas. The Japanese will often prefer to place money in a machine and pay a little more, even if a store sells the same product for less and is located in the same area. The phenomenon is explained by the fact that people like convenience, and in some cases, may even prefer the tactile sensation of the buttons.
A machine doesn’t just provide a product; it is a complex piece of machinery that invokes the desire for a specific product. The design of the machine can make a significant impact on whether or not a person will purchase something from the machine. The location of the machine also affects the total sales of the product and perhaps your client has used a vending machine service in the past with no luck. You need to express that the location and design of the machine is just as important as the machine itself. If you can express this in a sentence or two, then a client that has had a poor experience in the past might be willing to give it a second chance.
Your client knows the target audience of his customers. You can use this to your advantage if you also know the target audience. If the client serves mainly teenage customers, then you can briefly discuss how using a machine to sell additional products works well because teenagers tend to be more impulsive than older customers. Vending machines also provide a way for people with lots of change to buy lunch without feeling insecure about providing a convenience store clerk two dollars in dimes. Both the teenager and the person that has too much change can be considered a target audience. Your client likely has several target audiences; the key is to explain to your client why a vending business can help bring in additional customers that meet specific needs. Potential clients may feel that a vending machine would be unnecessary in a grocery store, but studies have shown repeatedly how people still use vending machines even if a cheaper option is available.
Going back to the example of vending practices in Japan. It’s not uncommon to see five or six machines lined up along a street that all sell basically the same products. The target audience in these examples is the impulsive patron. Japan understands the psychology behind vending behavior better than anyone. When you give someone one or two choices they can focus in and choose the item they want most, what often happens is that they decide to forego a purchase because they can make a decision quickly. By providing several machines, an investment in time is made. The patron often purchases something if only to justify the time spent staring at the different machines. This is a good case for why your client should install more than one type of vending machine in a single location. Work this fact into your elevator speech and include an example using their target audience to convince the potential client of the value of your business.
Your plan to perfecting your elevator speech should have a basic outline that accomplishes the following goals:

• Create a pitch that fills a need.
• Resolve concerns and alleviate reservations about installing a machine.
• Talk about your company’s reputation.
• Accommodate the target audience and discuss consumer behavior.
• Discuss vending machine options.
• Practice makes perfect.

Looking for a Vending Machine Provider with a Healthy Objective?
Naturals 2 Go is dedicated to helping you achieve financial success as a vending machine provider. With over 25 years of experience in the industry, we have the tools and the know-how to assist you. We are here to make your business opportunity an enjoyable and prosperous experience. Give us a call at 1-800-679-8370 today!

Any conscientious vendor machine owner understands the importance of developing that perfect elevator speech. A persuasive speech can make the difference between growing your business and stagnation. Figuring out your elevator pitch requires a systematic approach and careful thought along with practice. Great salesmen don’t simply walk into a situation without a game plan.
Developing your elevator pitch is one of the hardest things you will ever have to do for your company. However, once you nail down the specifics, you can begin to build your vending machine business and bring in profits. You may only have 30 seconds to explain and sell your product, so make sure your elevator speech is to the point, persuasive and effective. The elevator speech is the key to getting that crucial first meeting to expand your business.
Create an outline for each of the elements of your speech can greatly improve your success. Your plan should have a basic outline that accomplishes the following goals:

• Create a pitch that fills a need.
• Resolve concerns and alleviate reservations about installing a machine.
• Talk about your company’s reputation.
• Accommodate the target audience and discuss consumer behavior.
• Discuss vending machine options.
• Practice makes perfect.

We will be covering the above six points in a series of blog post. You can click on the links to get to the rest. Let’s talk about the first now.

Filling a Need

One of the first steps to developing your elevator pitch is to find out what your clients want from you. Obviously, you know that you sell products available from a vending machine, but why would a school or business want to install your machines on their property? Before you can expand your business, you need to be able to convince your potential clients of the value that can be gained by installing a machines. Along with filling a need for a client, you must also assuage any fears the client may have. Paying attention to your prospect can help you to ascertain any reservations they may have.
The trick for showing how installing a vending machine will fill a need is to go beyond the obvious. Catch their attention in your very first sentence by telling them something they did not already know. Everyone knows that a vending machine dispense products like snacks, sodas, lottery tickets and consumer products, so don’t waste time telling your prospective client what they already know. The moment you start telling them what they know, you lose their attention and the contract is likely already lost.
Instead, focus on how a vending machine will increase value for their company. Start with a leading question, such as, “Were you aware that a vending machine can increase consumer spending and confidence in your company?” When your client answers, you can begin a conversation about how a vending machine can keep a customer in a store longer by providing food and beverages without having to leave the lot.
Each business that you approach is going to have different needs. A law firm may want a vending machine in the lobby, or may have concerns that a vending machine could look tacky. You need to develop a different elevator pitch for each company you plan to approach. While many of the same points may be the same with each company, you should tailor your speech to the specific industry you plan to target. For example, if you were targeting a law firm, you could state that installing a machine make your clients feel at ease and help relax anxious clients waiting in the lobby.
Before you can start talking about your company, offer a discount or discuss the merits of why a vending machine is good for business, you need to get the clients attention. This can be accomplished by telling the potential client something they didn’t already know. It opens up their curiosity and instantly puts you in a position of authority, since you provided an insight into the vending machine business that clearly sets you apart from other vendors.
Create a one sentence question or statement that makes their ears perk up and listen. When completing this stage of the sales pitch, create five possible opening sentences. Then, bring in four to five of your associates and give the pitch. Pay attention to how they respond and ask for their feedback. Watch for nonverbal cues. If their eyes glaze over or they appear uninterested, keep searching until you find the opening line that captures their attention. Don’t underestimate the importance of the opening sentence in your perfect elevator speech.

Looking for a Vending Machine Operator with a Healthy Objective?

Naturals 2 Go is dedicated to helping you achieve financial success as a vending machine operator. With over 25 years of experience in the industry, we have the tools and the know-how to assist you. We are here to make your business opportunity an enjoyable and prosperous experience. Give us a call at 1-800-679-8370 today!

To perfect your elevator pitch for your healthy vending business, your plan should have a basic outline that accomplishes the following goals:

• Create a pitch that fills a need.
• Resolve concerns and alleviate reservations about installing a machine.
• Talk about your company’s reputation.
• Accommodate the target audience and discuss consumer behavior.
• Discuss vending machine options.
• Practice makes perfect.

This is a six-part series to help new business owners succeed. You can click on the above links to navigate through the various points. In this blog post, we will discuss the second point.

Resolve Concerns

Once you have your client’s attention, ask a question to determine what reservations the prospective client might have about installing a vending machine. Perhaps a law firm may think that a vending machine would look tacky. Maybe a local shop would worry that the vending machine would reduce sales. Schools might be concerned that the installation of a machine will get a negative reaction from parents. Each of these concerns can be mitigated once you know the potential clients worries. Resolving the clients concerns can be accomplished, if you know why the client may be against installing a machine.
The second sentence in your elevator speech should contain information that lets the potential client know that you have anticipated their concerns. This is one of the hardest parts of the elevator speech, but with enough research into your prospective client, you should be able to anticipate this need.
A school is generally going to be concerned about their students and the reactions of parents first. Given this priority, you can determine that a likely reservation on the part of the school board is whether or not the snacks and beverages will be healthy. In your second sentence, talking about the variety and choices available in a vending machine can help assuage these concerns before they even come up. Later on, when you have scheduled your meeting to talk about specifics, you can go into additional detail. At this point, you only want to let the client know that there are options.
So how do you make certain that you are answering the right question without actually talking with the client first? By spending the time to research the company and see what others in that clients industry have to say about any vending machine installed on their premises. This can be as simple as a Web search, or by cold calling companies and asking them to participate in a short two-question survey. The survey should only ask if the company has a vending machine and what is preventing them from installing one. Don’t try to sell your product at this point. This should be a relatively anonymous call with the intent on gathering information.
Once you find out why a particular industry might be against installing a vending machine, then you can get to work formulating a response to this problem. Make the answer to this problem no more than one or two sentences. Remember, you only have about 30 seconds to convince the client that a vending machine is the right choice. If you find that the company is concerned about cost, then include a sentence or two that mentions how a vending machine is an affordable investment that will not only improve company profits, but employee morale and customer satisfaction. The elevator speech must have useful information and use active speech to get the point across.

Looking for a Vending Machine Operator with a Healthy Objective?

Naturals 2 Go is dedicated to helping you achieve financial success as a vending machine operator. With over 25 years of experience in the industry, we have the tools and the know-how to assist you. We are here to make your business opportunity an enjoyable and prosperous experience. Give us a call at 1-800-679-8370 today!