Big Idea: Why not Become your School's Primary Vending Provider?
Introduction
Are you ready to take your school store to another level? Whether your school has a brick and mortar school store, a Spirit Box, or both; we want to share an idea for you that could take your school business to new heights.
We listen to schools talk about their roadblocks to launching or growing their school store or Spirit Box enterprise. A common theme are competitors that come in the form of vending companies that have an established school vending contract. These contracts often restrict who and what can be sold outside of their machines, tying the hands of Spirit Box teams and limiting their revenue opportunities..
What does a seasoned entrepreneur do when encountering a major roadblock? Do they immediately throw up their hands and give up on their new business launch or shut down their existing operations? Nope. They are problem-solvers, not quitters. They go around, over, under or through their roadblocks.
Are you ready to take on this challenge? Then read on. We have a strategy to help you shake things up!.
First Things First: Gather Data
Collect data and facts. Get a lay of the land and figure out what you are up against so you’ll know how to plan and position your solution or pitch to your administration. Who is an authority or a decision maker as it relates to this vendor relationship? (hint: this is who you want to interview for first hand information) Who is your competition? Is there a contract? If so, what are the terms and restrictions? When is the contract up for renewal or can it be broken or renegotiated by the school? Does the school get a kickback? If so, how much? This is important to help you figure out the starting revenue opportunity! Can you get a copy of the contract? What do they do well? What do they do that’s not so good? The more you know, the better prepared you will be to brainstorm a solution or address objections.
Analyze and Evaluate your Options
Plan A may be to take over vending at their school, but what if, for example, that contract isn’t up for 5 years and school administrators are unwilling to renegotiate or break the contract? What can they do today as an alternative? If they are unwilling to take on the enormity of being the full service solution for the school, is there a smaller bite they can take? For example, can they get special written permission for just their school in a multi-school contract? Can they get special permission for specific categories? Keep in mind, they will have a lot more to offer than a 3rd party vendor (see below).
Plan A: Compete for your School Vending Contract
Wait, you can do that? That’s right! You are a real enterprise. Why couldn’t you compete for your school vending contract? Ask if your Spirit Box team can put in a bid to be the school’s only vending company. That would mean every dollar spent on vending products in your school would go directly to your Spirit Box team.
Talk to your school principal or the appropriate administrator about competing for the bid. Prepare a formal presentation explaining your plan, the benefits that the school will get, and how your school store vending machine will be the better choice.
Benefits of Being the Sole Vending Company
What would it look like if you grew your Spirit Box business from one machine to multiple machines to place around the school? If one vending machine is bringing in $300 a week (on average), what if you had 5 machines strategically sprinkled around the school selling a variety of products such as cold drinks and snacks? Do the math! That adds up quick and comes out to over $1,500 a week, $6,000 a month, and $72,000 a YEAR! Now, that is being incredibly modest as many of our schools are bringing in over $100 a day.
Why would your school district choose you over an experienced 3rd party?
Your business is a hands-on learning experience for students. Your team is getting real world experience and learning skills that are invaluable to life after school.
ALL of the money made would entirely go back to your team and your school. You should be able to offer an even better split or profit-sharing than the school is earning today.
The machines pay for themselves very quickly with the increased revenue.
No more contract breaches as you are the sole vendor.
Having multiple machines that service different needs will scale your revenue drastically. Camdenton and Rio Rancho High Schools both doubled their monthly revenue by adding machines.
You know your audience better than anyone else. Product selections will be more thoughtful and targeted to the needs of students, faculty and the community, resulting in an even better customer experience and much higher sales.
How to Creatively Expand Your School Store Business
Think about the 5 Ps of Marketing: Place, Product, Price, Promotion, and People. It is important to serve your customers and solve their problems. Reflect on what your customer’s need in your school. With multiple vending machines, you have the opportunity to get creative in how you stock them. Spirit Box offers different models you’d need:
Beverage Box: sell cold beverages
Snack Box: sell healthy snacks that fall under school guidelines
Spirit Box and non-consumables: sell convenience items such as charging cords, headphones, portable chargers, hand sanitizer, scrunchies, etc.
Having a machine dedicated to a specific product will make it clear to your customers on what you sell. Make it as easy for them as possible to purchase from you.
Plan B: What Do You Do if Plan A Doesn’t Work?
Things don’t always go as planned so it’s important to have a Plan B any business endeavor. There’s a chance the contract may last longer than a year or it takes your administration longer than you hoped to approve. What is your plan in the meantime? Consider asking for special permission on selling restricted goods due to a competing contract. Other schools have done this and gained approval because this is an educational project. It never hurts to ask! You may be surprised at the answer.
Some schools have certain health restrictions, that they can’t get around regardless of competing vendors. A creative way to get around this is to set up your box to have those restricted items for sale before or after school. You can do this by programming your trays to have restricted hours.
A Summary: How to Compete for the Contract
Collect data: who is the decision maker you need to talk to? When is the vending contract up?
Analyze and evaluation your options
Talk to your school administrators and ask if your team can bid on the school vending contract. If they say yes, ask them what they need from you and when they need it by.
Prepare a presentation for your administrators and outline the benefits they get.
Talk numbers with them. Explain your projections, benefits, and what you plan to give back to the school.
Explain what students will learn from operating a business: working on a team, finances, product and inventory management, marketing, and so much more.
Think about the 5 Ps of Marketing: Place, Product, Price, Promotion, and People. Get creative with how you stock your machines!
Create a Plan B! Plan A may not always work, so have a plan for what you will do if your original plan doesn’t come to fruition.
Go for it!
Can you tell we are so excited for you and your growing business? We see so much opportunity for you and your school. Most importantly, we see an opportunity for you to learn to run and scale a business while in high school. These skills are invaluable and will help you stand out amongst other students. Going into college and life after school, you will already have experience running a business, working on a team, managing products and inventory, and managing money.
Are you interested in expanding your school store vending machine business? Contact us today with any questions or let us know how we can help.