Rather than sell non-retail vending machines and the software that drives them, we recommend that distributors ask their customers for additional spend. But distributors frequently make the mistake of thinking that the additional sales must come specifically from vended products.
Thankfully, that’s not necessarily the case. As a distributor, you have opportunities for sales both inside and outside the vending machines.
For example: If a customer is spending $5,000 a month on coolant, that’s not a vending machine item. But if they’ve settled on a brand, and they can turn that over to you, you both win. They consolidate spend for a product that doesn’t require a lot of additional support, and you are getting plenty of business to pay for the machine – and then some. (Depending on the brand, this may require some communication between the customer and the manufacturer. We’re happy to provide guidance for this transition based on our experience.)
The time to ask for additional business and hopefully, a signed agreement is on the front end. It’s true that even without a signed document, customers will frequently give you more business because of the goodwill built through having a well-serviced machine at their location, but it’s much easier to get that additional business in the beginning.
A distributor is almost never getting 100% of a customer’s business. And it doesn’t take much when you’re already embedded in a customer’s location to get the additional business you need to make vending make sense for you. We’ve seen upwards of $10,000 in additional business secured each month by distributors who have prioritized growing wallet share as part of their inventory-management and vending programs. We’d love to talk to you about how inventory control through vending can increase wallet share with customers. Request a free online demo of our powerful inventory-control software.