You’ve decided to change your life by becoming an Independent ATM Deployer (IAD). Congratulations! You’re now on your way to increasing your income with a new IAD business.
If you’ve gone through the process of setting up your business and registering it with the proper authorities, you’re now ready to get started placing ATMs throughout your community. But, where do you start? As the quote from Lao Tzu goes, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
To have a successful ATM business, you need to think strategically about where you will place your ATMs. It’s important to locate your ATMS in businesses or areas that have a high volume of foot traffic. Businesses that have a lot of foot traffic are more likely to see a high amount of ATM transactions. Since your income will be dependent on the fees generated from each transaction, the more activity your ATM sees, the more money in your pocket at the end of the month.
Live Your Life
One of the best and easiest ways to start placing ATMs in your area is to go about living your life. And while you are doing so, take a look at places you frequent to see if they have an ATM in their business. Initiating a business relationship with a store owner is much easier if you are already one of their customers. Owners are more likely to trust you if they see your face on a regular basis. So, think about places you already frequent (restaurants, bars, nail salons, etc.) and ask them if they’ve ever considered having an ATM in their business. If they’ve never considered it before, well, now is a great time to do so! If they have considered it but haven’t yet begun the process of contracting for an ATM placement, then you’re absolutely in the right place at the right time.
Additionally, for businesses that already have an ATM, do you notice that the ATM is always broken down? Are they interested in a better machine? A broken-down machine does no one any good and is likely to frustrate customers and the business owner alike. Offer to replace their broken machine with a new, quality ATM.
Cash-Only Businesses
One sure-fire way to increase your ATM business if to place ATMs in businesses that are cash-only or cash-heavy. These businesses rely on readily-available cash for their customers to be able to make purchases. By placing an ATM in a cash-only business, you are encouraging customers to buy more of the business’ product, which makes business owners happy, while at the same time increasing your income from transaction fees because customers have your ATM to solve meet purchasing needs rather than having to leave the premises to procure cash.
Some examples of cash-only businesses include:
- Cannabis dispensaries
- Gentlemen’s clubs
- Laundromats
- Nail salons
Mobile Events
Do you have friends or contacts that plan events in your area? Mobile events are a fantastic location to place an ATM, even though it’s a temporary placement. Weekly farmers markets, concerts, county fairs, street fairs, swap meets, and sporting events are all events that have need of cash resources.
Think Broadly
There are many businesses that utilize cash to a wide degree in their day-to-day transactions. Start thinking broadly about businesses in your area that use cash. If cash is used in their facility, an ATM placement might be a goldmine.
Some businesses that utilize cash on a regular basis include:
- Nail salons
- Barber shops
- Bowling alleys
- Hotels
- Restaurants
- Shopping Malls
- Bars & Breweries
- Indoor flea markets
- Bingo halls
- Delis
- Retirement communities
- Amusement parks
- Liquor Stores
- Casinos
- Convenience Stores
- Day spas
- Arcades
Utilize Social Media
Online social apps such as Facebook and Instagram can be a great way to find potential customers who want to place an ATM in their business. Take advantage of sites such as Facebook Marketplace to create a post listing your ATM for free. Then when potential customers contact you, you can meet and talk to them about how placing an ATM in their business can help them bring in additional customers and cash each month. Make sure your post is engaging by using photographs. Images of an ATM in places where it might be utilized are a great way to get a customer thinking about how an ATM might fit in their space.
Follow Through
Once you’ve made contact with a business regarding ATM placement, be sure to follow up. Ask the business owner if they’ve had a chance to think about how an ATM might benefit their business. When you’ve secured their verbal agreement, be sure to write up a contract for each and every location where you place an ATM stating the agreed-upon terms.
Finding locations for ATM placement may seem daunting at first. However, it only takes one placement to get the ball rolling, and one well-placed ATM to start generating the kind of income you have dreamed about earning.
