The person who orders the coffee, signs for the paper, calls the plumber and approves the cleaning contract for an office usually isn't the owner. It's an office manager, and in bigger buildings a facility manager. You can find them through building directories, company websites, job postings and a short phone call, and for this audience the phone often works better than email.

Bianca runs an office coffee and snack supply route with one van. A typical customer is a 20 to 80 person office that wants a coffee machine, pods, snacks and a monthly restock. The owner of that office doesn't care which pods they have. The office manager does, because she hears about it every time they run out. Bianca's whole business depends on finding that one person.

Why office managers buy more than you think

In small and mid-size companies, an office manager typically controls the budget for supplies, cleaning, repairs, snacks and small equipment, and is trusted to pick vendors without asking the boss for each decision. They're also the person who gets blamed when something breaks, so they remember vendors who solve problems quickly and tell their peers about them.

A facility manager has a larger scope. They look after the building itself: HVAC, lighting, security, maintenance contracts, janitorial, landscaping and safety inspections. In a building owned by a landlord, the facility or building manager handles the common areas while each tenant's office manager handles the inside of their suite. Know which of the two buys what you sell. Who to talk to first is a useful companion for sorting out roles.

Where their names appear

Many of these people are easy to find because they're public by necessity. Look in:

  • The company website's team or contact page, which often lists "Office Manager" or "Operations".
  • Job postings for the role, which name the hiring manager and describe the duties.
  • Professional profiles and local business group memberships.
  • Vendor and event pages where an office manager is the listed contact for a building tour or open house.
  • The signature on any email or invoice they've sent you or a friend.

Bianca starts with 30 offices on her route map. She finds a named office manager for 11 on the websites. For the rest, she picks up the phone.

Building directories and lobby boards

Office buildings keep a tenant list: on the lobby wall, in the entryway kiosk, on the building manager's website and in the commercial real estate listing. That list tells you exactly who is in the building, down to the suite number. Walk in during business hours, read the board and write down every tenant that looks like your size. A building with 25 tenants is 25 prospects in one stop.

The building manager's office is also worth meeting. They know which tenants are growing, which suites are being rented, and who handles vendors. Ask politely whether they have a preferred vendor program or a way to send information to tenants. Some will say no. A few will say yes and become your best source. The property management page covers what building managers deal with from their side.

Company pages and job posts

A company hiring an office manager is often replacing the old one, which means vendors are up for review. A company posting for a "facilities coordinator" is growing and will need more of everything you sell. Search job boards for those titles in your area. The post may name a hiring manager, and the company's address tells you where they are. Make a note of the date, since a posting that's three weeks old has probably been filled.

Company social pages also announce moves, expansions and new hires, and those are good moments to introduce yourself. Build a list without buying one has more ways to use public sources like these.

Phone first, email second

Office managers are interrupted all day, and their inboxes are full of vendor spam. But they answer the phone, because the phone might be a tenant, a delivery or a problem. Call mid-morning, around 10, on a Tuesday to Thursday, and keep the call under a minute.

"Hi, I'm Bianca with Roast Route. We supply coffee and snacks for offices on this side of town. Who handles that for your company? ... Great, could I leave a sample box with her this week, and who should I ask for?"

Get the name, the email and a good time, then follow up with a short email the same day: "Hi Denise, thanks for taking my call. I'll drop off the sample on Thursday. Here's the price sheet. Bianca Torres, Roast Route, 40 Canal Street, Rochester." Include your address and an opt-out, as CAN-SPAM requires, and keep it to a few lines. Speaking first makes the email a reply rather than a cold message, and people answer a note from someone they have already spoken to far more readily than one from a stranger.

A rough day for Bianca: 25 calls between 10 and noon, 9 conversations, 6 names and emails, 4 sample boxes dropped off that week and, with luck, 1 or 2 trial orders the week after. The calls are the tiring part, which is why she batches them into two mornings a week instead of spreading them over five.

If you'd rather not make 100 calls, Rocketship's AI worker can start the conversation by email on its own and handle replies. Describe the buyer in plain English ("office managers at companies with 20 to 80 employees in Rochester"), and it finds them by name with verified contact details, emails them from your own Gmail, follows up, and books the visit. Launch also answers the number you already have, so a call back from an office manager at 4:50 p.m. isn't lost.

What they care about

Reliability, first. They want to place an order once and not think about it again. Then responsiveness: if a delivery is missed, they want an apology and a fix within the hour. After that, simplicity: one invoice, one contact, no surprises. Price comes after those three, which is good news for a small vendor. Frame your pitch around "you won't have to chase me," and have a short, clear price sheet.

Also respect their time. Don't ask for a meeting when a sample and a one-page sheet will do. They often need to check with the owner, so make that easy: send a one-paragraph summary they can forward. For another example of selling to this buyer, see how to get corporate catering clients.

Keep a contact record

For each office, record the name, title, direct line, email, the date of your last contact, what they said and when to try again. When a manager changes jobs, move your note; they often bring you to the next company. A simple sheet with those columns beats a fancy tool you won't update. How to find the decision maker at a company covers confirming who actually decides.

Finding the right person is most of the work in selling to offices. Rocketship finds the buyers, emails them from your own Gmail, follows up, and books the meeting on its own. Plans that get you customers start at $24.99 a month (Launch), and every monthly plan starts with a 7-day free trial, card required. Answering your existing number is included; a dedicated line is $5 a month.