Your First 30 Days: Working the Lead List
⏱ 9 min read
Your First 30 Days: Working the Lead List
This lesson turns the course into a routine. By day 30 you should have contacted 20 nearby businesses several times each, scored the promising ones, and know exactly where each conversation stands. Most will say no or not answer. That's normal, and it's why the routine is built on follow-up rather than one-off calls.
You'll use four tools:
- /leads: the researched prospect list, filtered to your area.
- /pipeline: My Prospects, where you save businesses, set a status, keep notes and schedule follow-ups. Its "due today" list is your daily call sheet.
- The placement kit: pitch scripts, the 5-touch follow-up plan, the location scorecard, the location agreement and a first-30-days checklist.
- Lessons 1 to 3 of this module: what makes a site strong, how to score it, and what to say.
Days 1-2: Pick 20 Prospects Near You
- Open /leads and filter by your state and city.
- Filter by industry and start with the categories Lesson 1 rates highest that are in your list: workplaces with shifts, service waiting rooms, laundromats.
- Pick 20 businesses within about 15 minutes of home. Close prospects become a cluster later (Module 6), and you'll be driving back several times.
- Save each one to /pipeline with the status To contact and a follow-up date in the next few days.
- Where the listing shows opening hours, note a quiet time to visit: mid-morning or mid-afternoon is usually best.
The list comes from OpenStreetMap: open businesses in vending-friendly categories that list a phone number. None has asked for a machine, and phone numbers and hours can be out of date. If a number is dead or the business has closed, mark it and pick another so you stay at 20.
Days 3-5: Drive By and Score
Before you pitch, look. For each prospect, a quick drive-by tells you a lot:
- How many cars are in the lot mid-shift?
- Is there a convenience store or fast food within a short walk?
- Can you see an existing machine through the window or in the waiting area?
Fill in the location scorecard (Lesson 2). Drop anything under 35 out of 70 and replace it from the list. Put your score in the prospect's notes.
Days 5-30: The 5-Touch Follow-Up
A first contact rarely gets a decision. Plan five touches over about three weeks, and record each one in /pipeline with the date of the next:
| Touch | When | What |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Day 0 | Walk in with the Lesson 3 pitch and leave the one-page leave-behind. If you can't walk in, call. |
| 2 | Day 2-3 | Call. Ask for the person you met or were referred to. |
| 3 | Day 5-7 | Email, using the template from Lesson 3. |
| 4 | Day 10-14 | Call again. Leave the short voicemail if there's no answer. |
| 5 | Day 21 | A short final note: you're closing the loop, and here's how to reach you if things change. |
Copy-ready versions of every message are in the follow-up plan. Stop as soon as someone asks you to, and mark the prospect Not interested. Being easy to say no to is part of being worth saying yes to.
Your Daily Routine (30 to 60 minutes)
- Open the due today list in /pipeline.
- Make those touches: visits first, calls next, emails last.
- Update each prospect's status and notes, and set the next follow-up date.
- Add two or three new prospects so the list stays at 20.
Keep an Objection Log
Every time someone says no, write the exact words in that prospect's notes. After a couple of weeks, read them all. If "we already have a machine" keeps coming up, you need better answers for it, or different categories. If nobody gets past the receptionist, change your phone opener. Your notes are the only market research that's about your town.
After a Yes
- Book the site visit. Run the site audit from Lesson 2: measure doorways, check the outlet and the cell signal.
- Agree the terms. Use the location agreement and go through each clause from Lesson 3, including the trial period and commission, if any.
- Get insured. Buy the general liability policy and send the certificate naming them as additional insured (Module 4, Lesson 3).
- Then buy the machine. Not before the agreement is signed (Module 1, Lesson 3), and match it to the space and the people (Module 3).
- Mark the prospect as Won in /pipeline, and add the machine to the fleet manager when it's installed.
Day 30 Review
Count four things: prospects contacted, conversations had, site visits booked, agreements signed. Then ask:
- Which categories got conversations, and which never answered?
- Which objection came up most?
- Which prospects deserve another round next month?
Use the answers to pick the next 20. The first-30-days checklist has this routine on one page.
Prospect data © OpenStreetMap contributors.