How to Identify, Engage, and Acquire More Profitable Locations

Everyone route operator we talk to seems to be looking for more locations to add to their routes. We don’t blame you; route operations have a scalable business model. The more places you have, the more money you will make.   

The exception to the rule is getting locations that are a thorn in your side. You know, those that require high maintenance and service calls with low sales volumes.  

To help you find more profitable locations for your route, here are a few tips:  

Identify the right business opportunities

You may have already found your “sweet spot” with your ideal locations if you’ve been running routes for a while. Whether they’re standalone bowling centers, malls, skate rinks, or even RV resorts, they’re owners who are easy to work with high foot traffic in their venues. 

Since geographic targeting is a crucial part of selecting your routes, you can leverage tools like Google Maps, Yelp, or TripAdvisor to save you a trip to the location. You can gain additional context into pain points, like if the place is providing poor service. When you research the business online, your site visits will be fruitful because you can strike up better conversations and ask more insightful questions than your competitors.  

Connect and engage location owners  

Another crucial part of acquiring new locations is to prioritize those actively searching for ways to create new revenue streams for their business online. We identify them as “hot” prospects who call or email you inquiring about your services.   

One effective way to increase the leads you generate through your website is to create more landing pages in the context of where they are in the buying process. For example, buyers in the decision stage are more likely to enter their contact information on a web form when getting a quote or a free consultation for your services.  

You can also identify prospects curious about how rev share models work with a downloadable pdf that answers all the questions you hear, like what is it? How does it work? What are some financial projections? This way, you capture leads while building trust because you have already given them something valuable to help them reach their goals.  

When your sales rep connects with these prospects, they’re not reaching out completely cold. Speaking of cold outreach, you can engage prospects more effectively by using insights from your online research to strike up business conversations.  

Compare these two scenarios:  

1. The sales rep uses cold outreach with a generic elevator pitch and asks questions to qualify them, “I’m calling because we offer layout design, installations, and management of arcade games…” Then immediately jumps into presentation mode.  

1.  The sales rep builds rapport and trust by researching and striking up conversations based on their identified pain points during their online research. “I’m calling because we help bowling centers losing market share to new competitors but don’t have the budget to add a high-performing arcade. Does this sound like you?”  

Sales has always been a numbers game, but when you change your approach to add more value, you put the numbers in your favor.  

Explore is the new close

While it’s tempting to jump right into presentation mode, it’s crucial that you focus on the prospect’s challenges to uncover the true motivators for a potential partnership. When you do it right, closing becomes a lot easier.   

In his book, The Science of Selling, David Hoffeld shares a simple framework for asking three levels of questions during your exploratory call.   

Level one questions are the tip of the iceberg. They’re the basic questions like, “Have you considered adding an arcade to compete with the new center that just opened down the street?”   

Level two questions help you look under the surface. It’s guiding the conversation to uncover their Why. “Why is creating a new revenue stream important to you now?”  

Level three questions give you their motivation to buy or the actual depth of the iceberg. By guiding your prospects through these questions, you help them reveal their fears or aspirations. “If you didn’t do anything to compete, how could the decision impact the future of your business?”  

By learning and understanding what your prospects value, you can create a more vital link between your company’s offerings and the owner’s business objectives.  

Advising instead of pitching  

Now that you have insights from the discovery meeting, you’re more equipped to present your offering as a real solution to the owner’s specific needs. When you are proposing your game plan, you will be able to tailor it to the key points they want to address.  

Let’s pretend we’re advising the proprietor of a standalone bowling alley on how we will increase revenue during the weekdays. Installing arcade games alone won’t solve the problem if nobody knows they’re there. You can lay out some best practices of adding the arcade as an attraction on their Google My Business account, and posting pictures during the weekdays would help them show up on local search results—when people are searching. To take it one step further, adding a page about arcade games will also help them boost their party revenue.  

The key is to present your offerings as a way to solve their problems. When you do it right, landing in your new location becomes a natural part of the process.  

Now over to you  

To stand out from your competitors, you can differentiate yourself by delivering a better sales experience. One that positions you as the trusted advisor and partner to help owners reach their business objectives. By continually adding value to locations even after the first collection, you’ll minimize the chances of locations switching to another route operator or buying their own games.