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Tips for Renting Your First Storage UnitBy jeff on January 31, 2011 | 78 Comments
If you are looking for the best Lake Charles self storage location, do not make the mistake of thinking that price is truly what matters. If you were shopping for a certain type of car of computer, you could compare prices because you are getting the same product either way. In the Lake Charles self storage industry, there is a big difference form on site to the next.
Most sites in Louisiana have good security. There are just a few basic features that you will need to keep an eye out for. You could ask the manager about the history of break-ins at the site. This could give you a good idea of the level of security that they have. You should be careful, though, because many Lake Charles self storage sites will not tell you if they have had break-ins or not. They will just tell you want you want you want to hear. You can decide for yourself if they are being honest with you or not. The site should have a gate, fence, video cameras, and door alarms. The quality of the features is what will matter. The better the quality of the features, the more secure the site should be. If you are impressed with the Lake Charles self storage after the initial phone call, then your next step would be to visit the site so you can get a good idea of what they have to offer.
The location can make a big difference in overall security. Some storage sites in Louisiana are in bad neighborhoods. This will make it very difficult to keep the site secure no matter what the security features are. Your stuff could get stolen very easily and you will not feel comfortable when you need to get to your unit after dark. Familiarize yourself with the area so you know which Lake Charles self storage sites to stay away from. Once again, an office visit may help you determine if you like the area or not.
Location is also important because you do not want to get a space at a site that is too far away from where you live or work. You will need to get to your space from time to time so make sure to get one close to home. In fact, renters list the proximity to their home as the main thing that made them choose one site over another.
Customer service is the next thing that you should look at. You are going to need assistance at some point so you want to talk with someone that is competent, able, and willing to help you out in those times. They should be friendly and helpful if you are going to pay them money each month. You do not deserve to store at a location that does not care about the customers. In fact, this may be the number one thing to look at because it shows that the site is run by a company that cares about the customers. They probably will have good security and quality units if they have good customer service. They would not overlook the other aspects while excelling at customer service. Sometimes the first phone call can tell you everything that you need to know about how their company is run.
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Basic Information for Making Self Storage SalesBy jeff on January 31, 2011 | 195 Comments
Becoming a sales professional is not something that happens overnight. You will need to put a lot of time and effort in if you want to be the best Kansas City self storage sales expert. It all starts with your attitude. You must be willing to learn. If you have a bad attitude, you will fail. There is no doubt about it. You should take some time to try to get your hands on all of the sales tips that you can. There is a lot of material on how to improve your sales abilities. It is not about what you read as much as continuing to seek new information. You can use what you find helpful in your Kansas City self storage continued training and discard the rest. As you research, you will find some information that does not apply, but you will always find new things to try.
A lot of salespeople will become stale over time. That is why it is so important to continue to try and find new techniques and tips. You will need to tweak your sales presentation about every month or so in order to stay fresh. By looking at new ideas all of the time, you will be able to find new things to say. You will also be inspired to come up with new sayings and approaches that you can try out. As a Kansas City self storage employee, you should keep a journal so that you can write down what some of the techniques that work the best for you. Then you can reference them the next year around the same time so that you are never out of new ways to switch it up.
The first thing that you need to do is learn the basics of the Kansas City self storage industry. You need to find out why people need storage. You will need to change your sales approach and attitude depending on why they are calling for storage. A lot of callers will be on hard times. People need storage when they are being forced to move. They may be going through a foreclosure or an eviction. You would not want to be over the top excited when you are making your sales pitch, maybe tone it down a little bit. They may just be looking for a little calm during their brief storm. You should speak calmly and slowly, still be positive, when you are telling them how your store will help them in any way that they can. A first month special would be a big benefit to these customers because they do not have a lot of money to spend, obviously.
Some callers in Kansas may be looking for Kansas City self storage because they need space for their business inventory. Money may not be the biggest concern to them like it would be with someone who has fallen on hard times. The things they will care about are security, location, and access hours among other things, of course. As far as specials go, you should offer them any prepay specials that you may have. For example, if they pay for the year, they can get a ten percent discount or something like that. They will be looking at a total cost for the year and not just the initial setup.
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Know All the Costs when You Rent a Storage UnitBy jeff on January 31, 2011 | 7 Comments
When you shop for Johnson County self storage units, you will want to get the price and location. Security is important, too. You will not forget to get the basics. However, there are some minor details that could be major. Comparing prices may not be the best strategy. You may find that one site has a better monthly rate, but the move in costs will make it more expensive than other Johnson County self storage properties.
There are a number of move in costs that may be associated with your storage unit. Admin fees will be found at about ninety percent of all Johnson County self storage properties. If you find a property that does not have it, consider it a nice bonus because most places in Kansas do. However, there may be a pretty big difference between sites. The average admin fee is twenty dollars. It is added to the initial move in and gets the basic costs of paperwork taken care of. Some sites may charge only five or ten. Some sites charge as much as thirty dollars. As you can see, it could make a big difference when figuring cost as opposed to just price.
Deposits are becoming hard to find. There was a time when most sites in Kansas had a deposit. With more Johnson County self storage properties came more competition. With more competition many deposits were pulled from the initial move in. About ten percent of the properties will still have deposits so it is worth going over. The deposit may not be that much. Some sites have cleaning deposits that are very low, maybe ten or twenty dollars. Some sites will require a deposit equal to one month of rent. With units costing three hundred dollars or more, this could be a deal breaker. All deposits will be refundable at move out.
When you get a Johnson County self storage unit, you will need to get a lock for the door for the space. This is just a very basic security measure. If you are just looking to fulfill the requirement for a lock, you should just get a basic padlock. They will be very low cost at about five to ten dollars depending on the lock. If someone wants to break into your unit, it will probably not even slow them down, though. They could just cut the lock in about one second. If you are looking for a better lock, you should get a disc lock. They will frustrate criminals because they are harder to break. In fact, most criminals will simply not be able to break the lock.
Another move in cost may be insurance. Some sites offer coverage for your belongings while they are in storage. Some companies will not. Basic coverage usually starts at about eight dollars a month. It is a good way to give you peace of mind without breaking the bank. A lot of companies will require insurance on your belongings. You must take the insurance offered at the site or you can provide proof of insurance when you go in. it is up to you. If you are looking to get more than the basic coverage offered for eight dollars, just ask the manager what else would be available and they can show you some other options.
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Competing in the Self Storage MarketBy jeff on January 31, 2011 | 12 Comments
The market for Gardner self storage is very competitive. In the past, you could put up some storage units and you could just wait for the customers to come rolling in. The demand was high and the supply was low. Now there are many companies in the area. As a storage customer, you have a lot of storage options at your disposal. Because of this, you should be a little bit picky when you are shopping around. Knowing the basics of Gardner self storage will allow you to find the best fit for you.
There are some things that you want to stay away from. Bad quality units are out there and you do not want to store your things there. Some units in Kansas will just be very simple metal buildings that will not protect your things very well. They could leak and that would ruin your belongings with water damage. Storage units should not leak and well built units will not. In order to build units that do not leak, the Gardner self storage company will have to spend the necessary money to build with quality materials. This will mean that the monthly rent will be a little bit higher. You will just need to decide if you want to pay less each month or if you want to have a unit that does not leak.
There are a few Gardner self storage unit types to choose from. You could have a standard space. This would be just like a garage space on your house. The unit temperature would fluctuate with the weather outside. Hot if it is hot, cold if is cold, pretty simple to follow. If you have furniture or electronics that would be damaged due to temperature fluctuations, then get a climate controlled space. Watch out because some properties promise climate controlled, but do not deliver on the promise to keep them at room temperature. This could be a disaster. Make sure that the Gardner self storage company you are storing with is a reputable business operation. No use putting your nice things in storage if they are just going to be damaged.
An important aspect is security. Obviously, ensuring your things will not be damaged is probably priority number one, but security would be a close second. Features are nice to hear when you call in, but the benefits of the features are the key. For example, door alarms are useless unless they are connected to a good security company or a Kansas police department. A quick response is needed if someone breaks into your unit. They could steal everything that you have in just a matter of minutes. Video cameras are only worth so much if they are not monitored. Some sites do not even bother to turn them on. True, a benefit of video cameras is to deter theft, but they do need to be effective in catching criminals in the act.
Finally, make sure you are comfortable with the Gardner self storage location itself. Good area is a must. Do not store in a bad area. You will not like it when you visit and there is no need to put your things at risk of being stolen. The better the area, the happier you will be with your choice of storage locations.
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Reaching Your Self Storage Target MarketBy jeff on January 31, 2011 | 3 Comments
A lot of storage owners try to decide the most important thing for them to focus on. A lot of Gambrills self storage owners may try to be the most secure Maryland storage facility. This is a good and necessary approach. They outfit their Gambrills self storage facility with the latest in security measures. They spend a lot of money trying to earn that title. Some focus on offering the best quality units to customers. This is also a great approach. One area that really causes a lot of trouble for storage owners is the marketing side of the business. Advertising is important, but there is more to marketing than just advertising.
Find your target market. As they say, you cannot be all things to all people. This is very true in the storage world. You cannot attract every single type of customer. You need to really focus on one target market and set your facility up to best serve their needs. In order to this, you should do a little research on the area around your Gambrills self storage property. This will give you a little indication of some great kind of customers to market to. If there is a college or university around your facility, you may want to really go after the college students. It is a huge part of the storage market. Students will need storage a lot when they leave for the summer. Some of them live across the country and it is just not feasible to take their things back and forth every summer and winter. Also, students will be in between leases a lot, as well. This will be another time that they will most likely benefit from a storage unit.
If you are going to rent to students, you need to find a way to reach them. You need to advertise your Gambrills self storage in a variety of ways and set up some programs to get the customer into the store. Television, radio, and the newspaper may not be the best way to attract college students. Social networking would be a low cost, and effective way, to advertise to college students. You would also benefit from featuring specials around campus at the right time of the year. Your busiest times will be in December, April, and May. If your focus is on college students, you may do half of your business in those months.
Some programs that you could set up to get customers to your Gambrills self storage facility would be referral programs or special discounts for students. The referrals work because your renters would bring in new renters every year. You would have to impress them, of course, but that just comes down to customer service. Treat customers right and you will continue to grow year after year just from word of mouth advertising alone. Mix in some great marketing in other areas and you will be successful now and for a long time to come. A lot of Maryland storage owners get content after a while and stop growing. You must continue to grow if your business is going to be successful in the long term. A great marketing approach may just be what your business needs more than anything thing this year so make that your focus sooner rather than later.
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Life Changes Helped Along with a Storage UnitBy jeff on January 28, 2011 | 157 Comments
Mark was the biggest football fanatic in Overland Park. He had grown up in the Kansas City area since he was five and as soon as his dad and grandpa took him to his first professional football game he was a die hard fan. Through the good years and the bad his love and devotion for his team never wavered. When his other friends left behind the team for the hot team of the moment Mark stuck with his first love. There was nothing that anyone could say to convince him to even consider cheering for another team.
When Mark got married he was lucky enough to find a girl who had four brothers so she understood the sports fanatic side of him. After they got married and found their first home together she took a weekend while he was away and turned their guest room into a sports den for him. She put in a leather sofa, a flat screen television, and put up all of his favorite sports memorabilia on the walls. It was the most amazing thing he had ever seen, and even though she joked that she did it to get him and his friend out of her living room every Sunday but he knew that was not the reason she did it.
All of their guest bedroom furniture she had moved into an Overland Park, Kansas storage unit that she rented. Mark and his friends loved watching the game in there and all of his friends were jealous that his wife had done that for him.
There were many great games watched together in his sports room, but all great things must come to an end. When his wife brought him a tiny team jersey to inform him that they were expecting their first child he had to sit down and take a deep breath. They had talked about having kids but nothing had been decided.
With only two bedrooms in the house it looked as though the sports man room was going to be taken down and turned into a nursery space. The sports memorabilia came down and was safely boxed up and along with the couch everything was moved into the Overland Park storage unit. Perhaps in a few years they would be able to afford a bigger place, but for right now the nursery was getting the space.
When they found out that they were having a baby girl Mark was a little nervous. He didn’t know much about baby girls and was already worried about how he was going to handle her first date. With the space cleared out and everything safely stored away in the Overland Park storage unit the nursery came together fast. Instead of a leather sofa there was a rocking chair and a crib. Instead of the walls holding sports memorabilia and a television they were painted a soft yellow and there were stuffed animals sitting on shelves.
On the day that his daughter was born Mark could not believe how tiny and perfect she was. He held her in his arms while her momma was sleeping and just looked at her tiny finders and her tiny nose that was just like his. He could not wait to get both of his girls back home and take care of them.
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Helping Your Customers Store Their VehiclesBy jeff on January 28, 2011 | 91 Comments
Size recommendation is the first thing you need to do on all Frankfort self storage calls. This article will not focus on what each size can hold. It will offer examples or how to apply this knowledge to real world applications. Callers in Kentucky should be able to tell you what they are storing so that you can offer them the right size for them. There are many sizes available at most Frankfort self storage locations, but this will just focus on the more common sizes. Obviously, a size close to these will do.
A lot of callers will store vehicles. It is important to ask them a little information about what kind of vehicle they are storing. For a standard car of truck, a ten by twenty is the size that you should typically recommend. The ceiling height may be an issue for some Frankfort self storage who are storing larger trucks. Make sure to go over your ceiling height so that you are able to let the caller know if they can store at your property. If they have a small compact car, they might be able to get a ten by fifteen. Some may try to get a ten by ten, but that is just not a good idea so you should probably stay away from this. Also, there will be callers that are unhappy with the price. You should offer them an outside space because they will cost a lot less money. It will not offer the same protection from the weather elements of Kentucky but you should be able to save them some money if that is what their priority is.
Other types of vehicles that will be stored at Frankfort self storage locations will be boats, RVs, and even semi trucks. This will require a lot of space so you may not be able to help the caller. Ask them the measurements and see if you have anything big enough to accommodate. If you do not have the size that they need, do not force the issue. That will not do anybody any good to try to squeeze them into a space that just do not work. Be honest and let the Frankfort self storage caller know that you are unable to help them. You may be able to recommend a company that is close by to help them. Do not be afraid to offer them a referral to a different company if you are unable to help them. This is just good customer service and may gain you rentals in the future when they are looking to store something else.
A Frankfort self storage caller calls in and just has some holiday decorations and some boxes. This is not going to require a big space. They should be fine with a five by five. It is a small space, but there is a lot of vertical space so they should be fine. If they have a lot of boxes, you may want to offer the next size up, but they should definitely come take a look at the five by five first. Ask them if the have time to stop by so that you can determine the exact size that they need. A five by five could actually hold up to thirty standard file size boxes.
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Successful Self Storage StrategiesBy jeff on January 28, 2011 | 135 Comments
Marketing strategy is very important if you are going to be a viable Crofton self storage facility. If you do not know how to market your company properly, then success will never happen. You may do a lot of things right, but if Crofton self storage do not know who you are and what you represent, then you will never have customers to impress. Advertising is part of it, but there is much more to marketing than just advertising. Developing a company image is the first place to start so you can separate your company from all other Maryland storage facilities.
You will need to pick your focus. Most properties will focus on just general storage and this is probably the best approach since you appeal to the most customers. You would choose to focus on a more specific strategy like vehicle storage or wine storage, as well. No matter what you do it is important to keep in mind that it is all about the customer. The customer will tell you want they want through their words and actions and it is important to adapt to customer needs. When the Crofton self storage industry was booming, the sales side was not that important. You were going to rent units whether you wanted to or not, literally. As the economy begin to slide, customers need changed. They may be more focused on the price that is offered as opposed to extra features.
With the economy still in bad shape, you should lay off selling some of the unnecessary features of your facility. Consumers are looking for the best value. Most Crofton self storage customers want to get a good price, but they usually do not want to sacrifice key elements such as security and location. Customers in Maryland will pay a few extra dollars for good security and a good location. You should focus on these aspects when they are calling in because you are going to have to offer something else besides just the price. If a customer calls in for Crofton self storage units and you just tell them the prices and that is it, you will probably not get the sale. Take time to explain to them why your facility is better.
Knowing customer needs in your area is important. The economy is bad, but some areas have not been affected as much as others. You should know your area so that you know what to offer. If the area is affluent, you could offer nicer quality spaces and charge more for them. The climate controlled spaces are appealing to people with money because their valuables will be more protected. If you are in a poor area, the climate controlled spaces may not in that high of demand. You should still offer climate controlled spaces, but just do not set up your whole facility around climate controlled storage.
You can offer lower rates if you do a better job of selling the customers on moving and storage supplies. The most popular purchase will be boxes, locks, tape, and packing material. You should feature those items and maybe consider putting them on special to attract customers to your store. Customers who buy moving and storage supplies from you will be more likely to come to you if they ever have storage needs.
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Shopping for Storage isn’t Just About the PriceBy jeff on January 28, 2011 | 6 Comments
The search for Anne Arundel County self storage is as hard as you make it. There are just some things to look for when you call around. Shopping for only price is the wrong thing to do. These are some tips to help you find the best Anne Arundel County self storage available. Price will not be discussed below, however, it is one of the determining factors, but it should not be the prime focus.
You will learn a lot on your initial phone call. Sites in Maryland may or may not answer the phone. This is not a concept that some callers are familiar with. They expect the phone to be answered at all time during business hours. It is pretty common among Anne Arundel County self storage locations to not get the phone when you call. If you were to call around about sixty percent would answer the phone. That means that four out of ten calls that you make would just go to voicemail. It is important to not judge a facility based on this so you should just leave a voicemail with your name and number and see how long it takes for them to get back with you. A good company will get right back with you. If you do not receive a call back and are forced to make several repeat phone calls to get through, then that is a problem.
The next thing that you need to know is what size Anne Arundel County self storage space you need. The manager should ask you a few questions to determine what you need. If they do not, they could recommend the wrong size space. You can tell when someone is listening to you so make sure to watch for that. Some sites in Maryland will just quote you a generic size. Storage is not a one size fits all situation. Every size can hold different things and you want to make sure to get the right size. This way, you will get what you need without having to pay more money than you need to.
The next is the special that the site has available for you. Some Maryland sites will not have any specials, and even though this should not affect your decision too much, it is definitely something to ask about. A first month free special can make a huge difference if you are just looking for short term storage. Most Anne Arundel County self storage sites offer prepay specials. You can prepay for the year and save some money along the way. Discounts could apply for military, students, and seniors. There are also potential discounts for other things, just ask the manager when you call in.
After you have all of the info, the time has come to make a decision. A lot of people would decide after they have made all of their phone calls. You should pick two or three that you like and schedule a site visit before you make any final commitments. This will ensure that you get the space that you want. The site may be very different than it was described to you over the phone. If you are happy with what you see when you go in for a site visit, you should reserve or rent the space right away.
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Businesses Protect Important Files with Storage UnitsBy jeff on January 28, 2011 | 3 Comments
Life in Wyandotte County, Kansas was great for Kayla. She worked as a personal assistant for the president of a major company that was growing and expanding. She was helping her boss organize and structure the move of their office space into a brand new building. The office was getting cramped and personal work space was getting limited as the company continued to grow and expand and hire new employees to handle the work load but the building continued to stay the same.
One of the jobs that Kayla was responsible for was helping the office transition run smoothly. She has so many to do lists running she felt like she needed a personal assistant to handle it all but she knew that the craziness was just a temporary problem. Soon the office would be completely moved and the business would return to a normal pace once again.
Today Kayla was working on labeling the filing cabinets with a number that corresponded with a room in the new office space. They were being moved over today and if the cabinets could make it all into the correct room it would be one less hassle that she would have to oversee. As she was labeling the cabinets with the correct corresponding number she quickly realized that many of the filing cabinets contained files that they could not get rid of but that they did not need on a daily basis or on any type of regular basis. A few of them were old customer files that they kept to reference and the majority of the cabinets were old employee files that had to be kept for a certain number of years. They took up a considerable amount of office space and it would be great if they could find a place to store them off site.
Kayla began to research Wyandotte County, Kansas storage options and found that located just a few miles form their new office building was a self storage location. Further research of the Wyandotte County storage facility and she was able to see that they had great rates, safety and security measures in place to insure that their customers belongings were safe.
Kayla made a small presentation up about how the Wyandotte County storage would benefit their company by allowing them to have off site storage for the files that they had to hold on to but did not need to keep and how by storing them in a self storage unit they would have more office space for the employees and be able to open up more spaces for the companies continued success. She pitched her presentation to her boss and he loved the idea.
When the office relocation was finally over and everyone was settled into their spaces life in the office returned to normal. Kayla went back to her normal duties and was happy to throw away all of her scratched out to do lists. Her boss was so happy with how she had handled all of the responsibilities that he had given her during the move and even going above and beyond to find them a storage solution for their files that he was adding a bonus to her next check as a way to say thank you. Kayla already had great plans for that extra money including this great pair of shoes that she had been eyeing in the shoe store window.