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Commercial Kitchen Equipment & Service: Best Referral Sources

Who should be sending you clients, and the rooms they are already sitting in.

Get the networking events worth showing up to

Tell us where you are. We will send you the best rooms for commercial kitchen equipment companies and the next meeting dates. Add a ZIP and this page will also show your local chapters and which seats are open.

Most business owners network where their competitors are, not where their referral partners are.

Your own trade group is for learning. Your partners' groups are where the work comes from. Everything below starts with one question. When something happens that makes people need commercial kitchen equipment companies, who else gets a call that same week?

Commercial kitchen equipment companies sell to other businesses, and most of the work starts when a business signs a lease or opens a location. It is usually an emergency, so whoever is trusted at that moment gets the call. Clients come back, which makes one good introduction worth years.

What starts the work
  • New lease or locationwhen a business signs a lease or opens a location
  • Building system failurewhen the AC dies, a pipe fails, or something in the building stops working
  • Compliance deadline or inspectionwhen an inspection or compliance deadline lands
  • Business formationwhen somebody starts a company
Block one

Who should be sending you clients

Ranked by what starts the job, not by who sounds close to your trade.

  1. 01

    Commercial Property Manager

    They send you work
    90

    Trigger: a business signs a lease or opens a location

    Commercial property managers hear about it when a business signs a lease or opens a location, before you do. This one sends you work rather than trading it.

  2. 02

    Facility Manager

    Two-way
    79

    Trigger: the AC dies, a pipe fails, or something in the building stops working

    You and facility managers both get the call when the AC dies, a pipe fails, or something in the building stops working, usually the same week. This one goes both ways.

  3. 03

    Restaurant / Food Service

    They send you work
    78

    Trigger: a business signs a lease or opens a location

    Restaurants hear about it when a business signs a lease or opens a location, before you do. This one sends you work rather than trading it.

  4. 04

    Community Association Manager (HOA / Condo)

    Two-way
    74

    Trigger: an inspection or compliance deadline lands

    You and community association managers both get the call when an inspection or compliance deadline lands, usually the same week. This one goes both ways.

  5. 05

    IT Services / Managed IT

    Two-way
    70

    Trigger: a business signs a lease or opens a location

    You and IT and managed service providers both get the call when a business signs a lease or opens a location, usually the same week. This one goes both ways.

  6. 06

    Commercial Real Estate Broker

    They send you work
    69

    Trigger: a business signs a lease or opens a location

    Commercial real estate brokers hear about it when a business signs a lease or opens a location, before you do. This one sends you work rather than trading it.

  7. 07

    Attorney Business & Corporate

    They send you work
    69

    Trigger: a business signs a lease or opens a location

    Business attorneys hear about it when a business signs a lease or opens a location, before you do. This one sends you work rather than trading it.

  8. 08

    Structural Engineer

    They send you work
    68

    Trigger: an inspection or compliance deadline lands

    Structural engineers hear about it when an inspection or compliance deadline lands, before you do. This one sends you work rather than trading it.

  9. 09

    Insurance Property & Casualty

    Two-way
    66

    Trigger: a business signs a lease or opens a location

    You and P&C insurance agents both get the call when a business signs a lease or opens a location, usually the same week. This one goes both ways.

  10. 10

    Bookkeeper

    They send you work
    66

    Trigger: somebody starts a company

    Bookkeepers hear about it when somebody starts a company, before you do. This one sends you work rather than trading it.

Block two

Where those people actually are

Ranked by how many of your best partners are in the room, and how much work each one can send you.

Start here

Software & platform user groups

Your partners are in this room: facility managers, IT and managed service providers, and bookkeepers.

Groups for the software your customers use, like practice management, property management, and accounting. You meet people in the middle of a problem.

Vendor & supply chain Quarterly Free ~2 hrs/month

Give someone nine choices and they pick none. If you do one thing from this page, do this.

  1. 01

    Software & platform user groups

    Vendor & supply chain

    Your partners are in this room: facility managers, IT and managed service providers, and bookkeepers.

    Groups for the software your customers use, like practice management, property management, and accounting. You meet people in the middle of a problem.

    Quarterly Free ~2 hrs/month
  2. 02

    Your city or county chamber of commerce

    Chamber of commerce

    Your partners are in this room: commercial property managers, restaurants, and community association managers.

    Too big and too broad on its own. The value is in one committee. Pick one and go every time. The same fifteen people show up, and they get to know you.

    Monthly Under $500/yr ~4 hrs/month
    Chapter finder →
  3. 03

    CAI (Community Associations Institute)

    Your partners' association

    Your partners are in this room: community association managers and structural engineers.

    Condo and HOA managers, board members, and management companies. One manager here can control hundreds of homes. They have a membership just for vendors, so you can join.

    Monthly Under $500/yr ~4 hrs/month
    Chapter finder →
  4. 04

    LinkedIn groups & local B2B communities

    Online community

    Your partners are in this room: facility managers, IT and managed service providers, and commercial real estate brokers.

    Works when your buyer has a job title. Useful comments on your partners' posts beat posting your own.

    Always on Free ~3 hrs/month
    Chapter finder →
  5. 05

    BOMA (Building Owners and Managers Association)

    Your partners' association

    Your partners are in this room: commercial property managers and commercial real estate brokers.

    People who own and run office buildings. Vendors can join, and the local chapters run events just for them.

    Monthly $500–$2,000/yr ~4 hrs/month
    Chapter finder →
  6. 06

    CAI chapter trade show & expo

    Event or trade show

    Your partner is in this room: community association managers.

    Hundreds of association managers and board members walking a vendor floor, there to find vendors. One of the few trade shows where a booth actually pays off.

    Annual $500–$2,000/yr ~2 hrs/month
    Chapter finder →
  7. 07

    Restaurant & lodging association

    Your partners' association

    Your partner is in this room: restaurants.

    Restaurant and hotel owners. They replace equipment all the time, fail inspections often, and talk to each other more than almost anyone.

    Monthly Under $500/yr ~3 hrs/month
    Chapter finder →
  8. 08

    IREM (Institute of Real Estate Management)

    Your partners' association

    Your partner is in this room: commercial property managers.

    Property managers for apartments, offices, and mixed buildings. Vendors can join and go to chapter meetings.

    Monthly $500–$2,000/yr ~4 hrs/month
    Chapter finder →

Let us be straight with you. For commercial kitchen equipment companies, a weekly referral group is not the best pick. Your partners gather in professional groups instead, so spend your time there. We would rather say that than sell you a seat you do not need.

Block three

Is your seat open?

Prime Time takes one commercial kitchen equipment & service per chapter. Put in a South Florida ZIP above and we will show you which seats are open.

Add a ZIP code at the top of the page to see which seats are open.

Get the dates

Have the next meetings sent to you

The rooms above are the answer. This is when they meet. Tell us where to send it and we will email you the next dates for commercial kitchen equipment companies, with the one page plan.

We already know your trade and your area from this page, so there is nothing else to fill in. We do not ask for a phone number. Every email we send has an unsubscribe link.

Take this with you

Your one-page action plan

Five partners, five things to say, three rooms. Print it and keep it in the car.

Networking plan: Commercial Kitchen Equipment & Service

The five people who should be sending you clients

  1. Commercial Property Manager (They send you work)
    Shared trigger: a business signs a lease or opens a location
  2. Facility Manager (Two-way)
    Shared trigger: the AC dies, a pipe fails, or something in the building stops working
  3. Restaurant / Food Service (They send you work)
    Shared trigger: a business signs a lease or opens a location
  4. Community Association Manager (HOA / Condo) (Two-way)
    Shared trigger: an inspection or compliance deadline lands
  5. IT Services / Managed IT (Two-way)
    Shared trigger: a business signs a lease or opens a location

The three rooms to be in

  1. Software & platform user groups: Your partners are in this room: facility managers, IT and managed service providers, and bookkeepers.
  2. Your city or county chamber of commerce: Your partners are in this room: commercial property managers, restaurants, and community association managers.
  3. CAI (Community Associations Institute): Your partners are in this room: community association managers and structural engineers.