245+ Franchises and growing!
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Sixth Floor
Community Towers
111 W. Saint John Street
San Jose, CA 95113
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ACFN Welcomes 2 New Franchisee!!
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December 2015
Congratulations and best of luck to:
Neil G - NJ
Dan F - GA
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Franchisee Review | Positive Growth
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When I started in my business career I was very determined to reach all my goals. Fortunately with much hard work and valuable business advice I became one of the fortunate ones to have reached those goals.
One of the most important pieces of advice I got wasn’t even from a friend, colleague or even anyone I knew personally. That person was Steve Wynn. Steve Wynn as most of you know is the CEO of Wynn Corporation, one of the biggest Resort Companies in the world. I recently learned that Steve won a license to build a Resort/Casino not far from where I live. Believing this may be a good opportunity to place ATMs, I decided to do a little research about Wynn Corporation and Steve Wynn the man.
After many hours researching online news related to the development of the new Wynn casino I came across a video of Steve Wynn giving business advice. The advice he gave was very basic but sound advice that I not only use in my business career but also my personal life.
Steve simply talked about “enjoying the process”. You see, when I first started with ACFN I was very determined to build my ACFN business to 25 ATMs. And because of Steve’s advice I enjoyed each and every minute of it, from zero ATMs to my current network of 30 ATMs. Looking back, I learned that building an ATM network of 30 was just as exciting and fulfilling as cashing the check that 30 ATMs produce monthly. OK…Maybe not as exciting, but pretty close.
A new activity that I find myself enjoying is scouting for new locations. Whenever I have some free time I’ll take a drive into Boston during a weekend morning. I typically like the weekends because it’s free from traffic and the everyday hustle and bustle of a big city. While driving around I try to find new construction such as apartment buildings, hotels or any other location that I think might qualify for an ATM placement. In many cases the building will have a sign that includes the completion date as well as valuable contact information. I simply take a snap shot with my cell phone and email it right to Kristen at marketing for qualification. This is a process I have really started to enjoy. It’s a process in which I can learn more about the community, meet new people and help grow my business all at the same time.
Example of picture taken with valuable contact and construction information
Whatever your goals are, you most likely will achieve them over time if you’re willing to work hard enough for them. Try listening to Steve’s advice and enjoy the process of building a business. And if you do, you will probably find that you will not only achieve your goals quicker but you will also look forward to the process of achieving bigger and better goals.
After working for over 2 years on an account, Jim Diltz just recently closed one of the biggest and best hotels in Boston. Thanks to Jim’s hard work, persistency and desire to succeed I now service one of the biggest and most famous hotels in America... and thanks to Mr. Wynn’s advice, I truly enjoyed watching Jim work through “the process” of closing one of the biggest accounts in the nation.
Chris V
ACFN Franchisee
Note: You can watch new franchisee videos here.
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 New Year/New Revenue is the theme we are incorporating to begin 2016. You should also adopt this mindset to get your year started on the right path. From our experience, during the New Year period which lasts the entire month of January and well into February, we have discovered that people are generally much more open to new ideas and concepts. Converting this into ATM context, we find that decision makers and those presenting ideas to these decision makers are more likely to consider a change from the status quo during this time so it is critical that you drop fresh packets to as many leads as possible in early 2016. Make it a New Year’s resolution!
When you are out and about making drops, do them with purpose! Gathering information when performing a drop vastly increases your chances of landing that account. Taking notes at the time of the drop is essential and below is a detailed checklist to follow. This list can also be found on the Franchise portal for your convenience.
DROP CHECKLIST
Mandatory information needed:
- Name of person the packet was left with (not to who’s attention) – knowing a name of one of the employees at the location establishes our credibility and proves that we did in fact visit the location in person. This is VERY important and having this information will improve the closing ratio!
- Verification whether location currently has an ATM or not – our conversation is different with locations that already have an ATM so confirming that they have one along with the ATM type, surcharge, age, condition, cabinetry, EMV upgraded or not and ADA compliance is invaluable in helping us make the case for them to upgrade to ACFN.
- If no ATM, please ask where the closest ATM is and provide description of such. We can use this information when we make contact to establish the need for them to have their own ATM.
Suggested additional information that can further improve results:
- If there is no ATM describe some examples of where an ATM could be placed.
- Provide details such as days and hours of operation, live music on Fridays, karaoke on Thursday, number of TVs or pool tables if applicable, full bar, max capacity, any awards on the wall for best this or that etc. Providing us with this information can both confirm qualifications and provide useful information that enables our sales department to sound familiar with the business when they call to help spark the conversation.
- Photo of existing ATM
If you are comfortable participating in the marketing effort:
- Ask Questions of Staff such as: if they have an ATM, “Has this ATM ever broken down or ran out of cash?” If no ATM, “Have you ever had to send a customer out of your business to use an ATM?”
- Verify the contact would be the best person to speak with about an ATM.
As a company our marketing efforts will continue to delve into new industries while continuing to keep a strong focus within the hospitality industry. During the last quarter of 2015 we have made a concerted marketing push for high caliber hotels with 300 rooms or more. Almost all of these hotels already have an ATM and under existing contracts so the competition is obviously fierce for these highly coveted lucrative placement opportunities. I am happy to report that even before this 4th quarter is finished we have converted fifteen 300+ room hotels that had competitor ATMs in them over to ACFN in less than 3 months!
ACFN has secured several important new corporate contracts and affiliations this year including Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, Davidson Hotels, and Cesars Entertainment. Also, be on the lookout for an announcement of a large hotel ownership group that we are in the final stages of negotiation with. In 2016 we will continue to expand our marketing approach to corporations who control multiple locations. We have designated Mike Howard, an accomplished and seasoned Regional Account Manager, for the pivotal role of initiating contact with many of these groups. Mike adds years of experience along with a canny ability to speak with high level executives on a personal level adding comfort and value to these important corporate conversations.
When preparing for 2016 whether in business or personal life, here are some words of advice:
- Define what your goals are. Write them down and be specific. Roadblocks and pitfalls will appear along the way so remember to always be unwavering on your road to destiny!
- Prepare and work your plan with passion. The following is my favorite dictionary definition for passion. Passion - strong and barely controllable emotion. I’ve also added my own definition of passion as I see it: Passion is when you put more energy into something than is required to do it. It is more than just enthusiasm or excitement, passion is ambition that is materialized into action to put as much heart, mind body and soul into something as is possible.
- Resist the temptation to procrastinate and heed the following quote from Abraham Lincoln: “Good things may come to those who wait, but only those things left behind by those who hustle.”
Happy Holidays to all!
Jim Diltz
Vice President of Marketing
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Happy Holidays & A Happy New Year
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