ELEVA, Wis. - Now available from LOBO VENDING is a "personal coaching" program for individuals who are new to the small-location vending business, or who wish to improve the performance of an existing small-site operation.

LoBo president Bob Purdy and Ed Klein, president of United Vending Group, have teamed up again to develop the new coaching program. Each has 19 years experience in all phases of small-location vending, and their past collaborations have included training seminars for small-site operators, as well as a video training program on the "how-to's " of vending.

The new service is designed to assist both new and veteran operators in improving profitability, developing and implementing growth strategies, reducing mistakes and maximizing customer satisfaction, and thus boosting customer loyalty, sales and account retention.

Clients are coached on all the activities involved in small-location service, starting with business-loan preparation, equipment selection, and new-location sales, through installation and initial setup, and machine menuing, to customer service, developing leads through referral and increasing sales in existing sites. Information is provided on location profit analysis, hiring and training, and planning for future growth.

Monthly or bi-monthly coaching sessions are conducted by telephone, and clients receive a quarterly newsletter that keeps them up to date on industry trends, new products, useful ideas and other helpful information.

Purdy noted that Ed Klein has won an enviable reputation as a premier trainer, and as the preeminent authority on serving small locations profitably.

Information on the new service, other training programs, and LoBo's line of small-site equipment may be had by calling the company at (800) 279-6633 or, on the Internet, by accessing www.lobovending.com.