She was a 2023 recipient of Automatic Merchandiser’s Most Influential Women in Convenience Services Awards. With 38 years of industry experience, Sandy Schoenthaler is still going strong as a very active consultant.

In this episode of Automatic Merchandiser’s Vending & OCS Nation, host Bob Tullio talks to Sandy Schoenthaler about her journey, her efforts to move women forward in the industry and her many ideas that are helping operators succeed, especially in the micro market business.

Schoenthaler reveals the three micro market suppliers that she feels are instrumental to the success of the operators she works with and what operators need to do to thrive in the micro market business. She shares her solution relating to micro market security and gives listeners her recipe – her secret sauce – for micro market success.

With a successful background in technology-oriented startups, Matan Sharf and his co-founders of ansā, found themselves attracted to the coffee business, an industry with plenty of room for innovative technology.

In this episode of Automatic Merchandiser’s Vending & OCS Nation, host Bob Tullio explores the journey of a tech start-up that plans to cause some disruption in the coffee service channel, in the best sense of the word.

About four years ago, ansā began the process of inventing a micro roaster with the ability to roast fresh coffee on demand, in a workplace. OCS operators may want to pay attention to their model, which almost sounds too good to be true. With no capital investment required, a low wholesale price for single origin green coffee beans (a product that isn’t sold at warehouse stores), total sustainability and today’s workplace environment that craves something special in the OCS channel – operators around the country are lining up to get on board.

Anyone who uses LinkedIn on a regular basis as a business development tool or to enhance their career path, will be captivated by this podcast from Automatic Merchandiser’s Vending & OCS Nation, hosted by Bob Tullio. Serdula was initially unimpressed by LinkedIn when she first signed up almost 20 years ago, but as she took a closer look, she began to see the potential and the rest is history.

She wrote the book "LinkedIn Profile Optimization for Dummies." She has lectured around the world and her company, Vision Board Media, founded in 2009, is recognized as the pioneer of LinkedIn profile optimization and it is where many executives turn to for professional and employer branding. This podcast and Donna’s energy will light a fire under your LinkedIn engagement effort.  If you have neglected your LinkedIn profile, it could very well inspire you to freshen it up and get back in the game.

Businesspeople pay Donna and her team to teach them how to SOAR on LinkedIn, but for our listeners, this powerful advice is available on Vending & OCS Nation.

This Los Angeles area operator has been driven by his love for the vending business and the determination to overcome adversity. Bob Tullio first met Barry Rosenberg from VendingOne in the 1990’s at Saban Entertainment in Los Angeles. Saban created the Power Rangers. Tullio, the host of Automatic Merchandiser’s Vending & OCS Nation, was impressed that a one-man operation had somehow landed a major vending account, where Tullio’s company had the coffee service.

Over 20 years later, Rosenberg is a force to be reckoned with (Tullio says he always was) – but now, he is an established operator who in early August, was interviewed for an article in the Wall Street Journal. Barry has come a long way and in this episode of Vending & OCS Nation, he shares his story, some advice and his genuine love for the industry.  Any operator who has ever been in the trenches will certainly relate to his story.

Take your selling to the next level! On August 1st – it’s the kind of content that listeners tell Bob Tullio they are hungry for – Three proven strategies that will take your sales leads to an incredibly high level. This podcast is only a good listen if you want more sales, better sales leads, with no cold calling and not too much effort. If that sounds appealing, listen and subscribe.

Move your selling to the next level! On August 1 – it’s the kind of content that listeners tell Bob Tullio they are hungry for – Three proven strategies that will take your sales leads to an incredibly high level. This August 1 podcast is only a good listen if you want more sales, better sales leads, with no cold calling and not too much effort, really – Does that sound appealing?

Later in the month – Bob Tullio interviews  Donna Serdula – successful author and one of the nation’s leading LinkedIn gurus – and she will share her ideas on how to take your LinkedIn account to the next level. These are two podcasts you don’t want to miss.

In this episode of Automatic Merchandiser's Vending & OCS Nation podcast, host Bob Tullio talks with Bill Ackerman, one of the nation's most prominent expert witnesses. 

What can we learn from Bill Ackerman? Not only does he entertain us as he takes us inside the world of a high profile expert witness, he provides some valuable lessons for anyone in sales, including the importance of preparation, knowing your product, knowing your material, doing your research, understanding your audience, being prepared to overcome objections and knowing what the customer needs to hear to ultimately decide that your product, your service and your solution is the right choice.

Enjoy the interview!

What should every operator and supplier consider doing in July? It’s the NAMA Fly-In & Advocacy Summit, July 25th and 26th in Washington, our nation’s capital, where operators can have their voices heard by legislators. Matt Bisenius, vice president of external affairs at NAMA, and Robert Jackson, director of government affairs, present a strong argument for attending the event, while outlining what operators should expect, including a cocktail on a storied rooftop, and the potential results of the effort. 

This podcast also features some insightful comments from Mark Dieffenbach of Hershey and Louis Baresh from Executive Refreshments in Dallas.

In July, Automatic Merchandiser's Vending & OCS Nation podcast host Bob Tullio has a suggestion on what every convenience services operator needs to consider doing this month. Then, later in July, he sits down with a guest from outside the industry who has stories to share and some relevant lessons that translate well to the business world.

What should every operator consider doing in July? It’s the NAMA Fly-In & Advocacy Summit, July 25th and 26th in Washington, our nation’s capital, where operators can have their voices heard by legislators. Matt Bisenius, vice president of external affairs at NAMA, and Robert Jackson, director of government affairs, present a strong argument for attending the event, while outlining what operators should expect, including a cocktail on a storied rooftop, and the potential results of the effort. Industry leaders who have attended in the past will share their experiences as well.

In July’s second podcast, Tullio will interview financial specialist William Ackerman, one of the country’s most prominent expert witnesses. If you see Bill testifying against you – chances are, you are going to lose. His stories are fascinating – he testified for AEG in the Michael Jackson lawsuit – and he gives us the defining characteristics of a great expert witness, which just happens to be a roadmap for how to succeed in sales presentations. A great listen.

In this episode of Vending & OCS Nation, host Bob Tullio explores the current and future state of the office environment, the stubborn US employee movement to keep remote working in place and the efforts of employers to entice them back to the office.

Amid a nonstop wave of press reports that tell us “Work at Home is here to stay,” Bob Tullio, the host of Automatic Merchandiser’s Vending & OCS Nation podcast, has been talking to many operators over the past two months regarding the state of the office environment. Tullio has asked them:

• Has the office population improved over the past six months?

Among the interviews – don’t miss the insightful, “must hear” conversations with Judson Kleinman of Corporate Essentials and Matthew Marsh of First Class Vending & Coffee - plus some down to earth advice from the 2023 NAMA Show from Bill Moxey of PepsiCo and Ryan McWhirter of 365 Retail Markets.