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With the increase and progression of todays computer technology, one would be hard pressed to find any industry that still manages and supports its growth without the use of computers. Peg board systems and manual record keeping methods are not only outdated, but they are also time consuming to and difficult maintain and execute. In addition, training new staff members in old, obsolete filing systems just does not make sense. It seems logical to have all of your information stored in the same place. Go behind the scenes of any successful business or organization and you are sure to discover that technology plays a major factor in the running of their enterprise, whether it is a single business or a network of locations.

Even in the industry surrounding the growing use of self storage software has been created by a few different companies to help meet the growing needs of business owners. These programs have the capacity to keep track of your business, from security to accounting, and on down the line to tenants files. In fact, with very little set up and installation, it is possible to automate just about every aspect of your business, leaving you with much more time to spend actually interacting with tenants and potential customers alike.

Self storage software can be used whether you own one facility or a dozen facilities. No matter how small your empire is, paper invoices and manual book keeping and record keeping methods are increasingly becoming a thing of the past. Current industry standards in the self storage software field have way too many benefits and features to negate at least checking them out.

These programs can not only store and organize your entire database of clients, past, present and future, but they can also allow you to offer instant credit and debit card payments, automatic billing and even send email reminders to tenants automatically. Some of these programs offer graphic layouts of your exact facility, color coded to allow you to instantly see which units are rented and paid up, which units are vacant, which units will soon be available and which units have outstanding balances. There is even a self storage software program that allows you to effectively lock the gates to tenants who have fallen too far behind on their payments. Sending a delinquent account to collections is automated, as well.

These programs also create expense reports, track money coming into and going out of your accounts, and provide a wide range of services to enable your financial records to be maintained in an easy, up to the minute format. In addition, all of your information is stored, backed up in a database, and archived, which alleviates the fear that one systems crash would wipe out all of your files. Your records are protected. 

Self storage software can assist your business by allowing you to focus on the most important aspect of what you do, which is assisting customers. Without it, you may be wasting time and energy, as well as taking up space with rows of file cabinets to dig through every time you need to find a purchase order or go over a tenants rental history. For a business to succeed, it has to keep up with the times. Installing computer programs to assist you in maintaining your business is really becoming the rule, rather than the exception.

RV Storage in Columbia

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Moving furniture, boxes, and other items significant to moving is a tedious and often difficult task that may be easily rectified by using a few simple techniques. The first technique is to make a plan and plan ahead. If there is no plan, then it is planned to fail, a wise person once said.  Call around before needing a place to store, boxes, and moving trucks. In addition, it is essential to reserve, reserve, reserve. Then, verify that everything was reserved before the moving date. This way the move is solidified, and there should minute, if not any problems on the moving date.  If renting a self storage building is in the plan, make sure it is easily accessible for the furniture and large items that will be stored. Also, if a truck will be rented clarify that is able to fit into the self storage building , or can be parked close to the building.

In many self storage buildings it is very inconvenient to walk up stairs and use elevators to arrange bulky items into a unit. It is also inconvenient to maneuver a large truck through many properties, because the aisles and driveways are very narrow. This prevents people from accessing the unit if there is a large truck in the way. However, there are numerous designs that can create a more efficient storing building.

One idea for contractors is to erect a building that would be easily accessible for large trucks. Drive up access units are important for many customers, but to find a building that one could drive into while enclosed inside a building is rare. Customers enjoy the benefit of unloading under a roof that protects them from the elements. It also has the benefits of being climate controlled, and controlled by the customer inside the units. Creating a U- shaped self storage building is an excellent idea for those interested in a new innovative building. This building is U-shaped, and is square so that the units obtain the ultimate square footage. There is a roof over the entire building that is eleven feet or more in height. The units are taller and depending on how large the facility is, more than three large trucks may be backed into it at one time. There should be two doors on the unit. One roll up door inhabits the inside of the U-shaped building and another outside. A few cons of this form of building are that vehicles cannot be parked inside for a prolonged period to time to allow for other vehicles to unload and load. This building takes up a lot of space, so a large piece of land should be purchased prior to building to allow for numerous buildings throughout the property.

Another idea that seems to be the main design for an easy accessible self storage building is the row design. There are drive-up access units in row that one can drive up to.  This design although the most prevalent may not be the most economic. The main problem is that the majority of these cannot be climate controlled because it is not sealed similar to a garage door and does not have a roof to unload out of the elements. An alternative to this is to provide an overhead that extends two feet from the roof to create a barrier from the elements. The ceiling height on the roof will need to be at least eleven feet high and the door can be air-tight, so climate control is possible. All of these ideas for a self storage building although beneficial to the customer is costly, so the price may increase slightly, but it should be worth it to those who care.

RV Storage in Columbia

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Self storage companies , just like many other companies, can better market their services and availability through many different facets. In todays world of advertising, it seems as if the sky is the limit, and there is no end to the many creative ways that people have found to advertise services, many such as self storage companies .

Of course, the most obvious and wide spread tactic of advertisement and marketing is the internet. This is an easy, fast and great way to get your services broadcast for everyone to know about. You can direct either local or national lookers to your site through different search engine techniques, and you can try in this way to appeal to a great variety of different customers for self storage companies , or in fact, any company. With the internet, like anywhere that you advertise, you will need to make your ad jump out and grab the attention of the customer. The internet is brutally competitive, and if you do not have something that practically leaps from the screen with originality and a look at me theme, it will not do you  much good. And though it is competitive, if you find the right way to bring across your product or service to the customer, it will reward you 100 fold in the end. This is the great thing about the internet. From self storage companies to at home businesses to big name businesses, it does not matter. As long as you are creative, trite and somewhat trendy, the internet is not prejudiced as to the type of scale of your company.

Following the internet theme, there are different things you can do online for self storage companies. For instance, you can go more low scale and just advertise on other websites. Or you can choose to actually make a website of your own that is exclusively for your business and specifically draws people to your type or product or service. Also online, much as you can do offline, you can place classified ads.

This leads into offline marketing. Of course, newspapers are still a very popular forum for advertising services or goods, perhaps most especially if you are a locally owned business or small business owner. Flyers are another good way for local or small businesses to get their name out and about the town, community, or district. And of course, once you begin with these types of advertising techniques, you will get the free and very effective strategy of marketing called word of mouth! The more good things people say about your business, and the more they tell their friends or family about it, the more it expands from there. This brings in more customers than many people would believe.

Business cards are a good and inexpensive way to advertise on a small scale. When someone comes into your place of business and speaks with you, you hand them a card. Also, you can set your cards at other businesses for people who are interested to pick up or pass onto someone else who might be interested. Make sure your business card grabs attention, and have all relevant information on it, such as web address, phone numbers, and of course, your company name.

With every forum and tactic you may use to market for your business, it is always important to remember to remain professional and accurate. Double and triple check your website, business cards, newspaper ad to be certain everything is correctly spelled, etc. No one will trust that you can run a good business if you cannot even spell the business name!

Furniture Storage in Kansas City

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When it came to making sound business decisions, Elizabeth knew what she was doing. She always knew what to expect and when to expect it. She takes the time to do the research needed to make her plans become a successful adventure. Elizabeth can not remember one time in which a decision that she made caused her company a big a financial loss. Elizabeth is always the one put in the position to make the right choices for her company. Some people think that she thrives on the pressure.

With her company moving in the right direction and growing more than ever imagined, Elizabeth is in need of a place to store a lot of her incoming inventory. Elizabeth will need over one thousand square feet of space. This is the part in which the business skills of Elizabeth are front and center. She will be the one that is going to make the decision on which facility is going to house her prized inventory and her financial future. 

So Elizabeth set out to find as many facilities that were in her area and call them all. She is a very fair person so she felt that she would call and ask each facility the same questions and see how they reacted. She would ask where they were exactly located, what is the price of one thousand square feet of space and what kind of specials are running at their facility.

Elizabeth picked found only four facilities in her area that she could call. She picked up the phone and called the first facility. They answered the phone with a pleasant greeting. Elizabeth asked them where they are located and the associate on the phone told them where they were located. Elizabeth told them they needed about one thousand square feet of space and what were their self storage rates ? Without hesitation, the associate told them that they do not have one thousand square foot spaces. Elizabeth kind of chuckled to herself realizing that no one would have that big of a space, but they would have the self storage rates on a couple of spaces that would equal what Elizabeth needed.

She called the second facility and they gave them the self storage rates on a couple of different spaces that would equal the price she needed. Elizabeth then asked the associate about a special or deal they could discuss in order to make a good business deal. The associate had quoted her five 10 x 20 spaces. The spaces were going for 200 dollars a space. The associate said that there is not a special available for the caller on those specials. Elizabeth told them she maybe will call them back.

Not wanting to pay one thousand dollars on storing spaces, she called the last facility on her list to find the best self storage rates . Being discussed from the previous conversation with the self storing facility, she did not really have high hopes for this facility. The associate answered the phone and started talking to Elizabeth. The associate listened to the customer and then started to ask more questions to determine their storing needs. Elizabeth liked the personalized service and best thing of yet, they gave her a good deal on the space she was requiring. Elizabeth now uses this company and has recommended this company to all her corporate friends. It was more than just finding the best self storage rates for the caller. It was treating Elizabeth like a person instead of a bank account.

Car Storage in Secaucus

Tron Jordheim , director of operation at  PhoneSmart ( a subsidiary of StorageMart ) will be interviewed by Syndicated News on 7/23/2008 6:00 PM. The topics of discussion will include Self Storage , Secret Shopping , property management , Self Storage Advertising and Self Storage Marketing . 

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PhoneSmart tried to open today, but only 2 reps could get out of their driveways. I am sorry we will be closed again today. We will try again tomorrow. All calls will be going to voicemail for all your stores. Thanks for your patience. Does anyone have a snow plow you could send us?

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Welcome to the self storage blog, PhoneSmart’s diary of the self storage industry.

The main streets have been cleared to some degree here in Columbia, MO. If you have four wheel drive or front wheel drive with high clearance, you can get out from the secondary roads. But even if you can get out, if you do not have winter tires, you will slip and slide and end up in a snow bank marooned.

Portions of interstate 70 are still closed as tractor trailer rigs are scattered all over the place, either off the road or buried by the snow plows that were trying to keep a lane open. None of the third and fourth priority roads have been cleared, so many of our reps will be unable to get on the road. We are open today with a skeleton crew. I apologize in advance for the fact that there will be very long hold times today and many dropped calls. We thought it would be better to answer as many calls as possible, rather than send calls to voicemail for another day.

Thank you for your patience as we wait for the plows to let us out.

PhoneSmart is an Off-Site Sales Force, located in Columbia, Missouri, the home of the snow monster of 2006.

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Hello from self storage winter storm central in Columbia, Missouri

Winter storm closes everything in Central Missouri…even The PhoneSmart Off-site sales force.

The last time we had a winter storm with this kind of impact in central Missouri was in 1995. It shut down everything.

Well everything is shut down again today. The University of Missouri cancelled classes this morning for only the 4th time in its history. The local courts are closed. The Missouri Book Service, MBS, one of the largest text book exchange services in the nation has cancelled its first and second shifts. MFA Oil, one of the Midwest’s largest gas station operators and gasoline distributors has closed its corporate office. And PhoneSmart, the off-site sales force dedicated to self storage owners, could not open.

Interstate 70 even had to close for several hours early this morning.

I had over a foot and a half of snow at my house. Even my four wheel drive pick-up high-centered in the snow in my driveway this morning. No one else was able to get out of their driveways either. So all incoming phone calls are going to the voicemail systems for the individual stores we service as their sales back-up.

Last night we had to close by 5:00 PM central time as the roads had been treacherously iced over with a layer of freezing rain, topped with a layer of sleet, and then another layer of snow. We were concerned that people would not have been able to get home safely. At the same, the people on the evening shift had been unable to get away from their homes by the building ice and snow.

We will have to see how fast the road crews are able to get the main roads cleared. We will evaluate the situation again early this afternoon to see if we can answer phones later today. In the worst case scenario, we will not be able to answer phones again until Saturday morning.

I will let you know as things develop. I guess if we lose a day to the weather once every 10 years, that is not a bad record.

Thanks,
Tron Jordheim

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Welcome to the self storage blog, PhoneSmart’s diary of the self storage business.

The client wrote:

“Tron,

I need your advice.

Thanks!”

I replied:

“Hello,

I hope that is helpful.”

Here are a few items you should keep in mind…

We are getting ready to announce two new exciting developments at PhoneSmart:

Thanks for reading.

Tron

Your local self storage unit provider in 718 Atlantic Ave. Brooklyn, NY. 11217

Total Quality Assurance Services maintains service quality.

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Wendy Lane, PhoneSmart call center seasoned professional, offers the following insight for our call center blog.

Welcome to the PhoneSmart self storage blog an insider view of the self storage industry.

Self Storage in Florida Great Key West location, only 4 miles from the Navy base, on stock island. Call Gina 305-294-0940.

Assured Quality Service at Total Quality Assurance Services

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Tressa Long, PhoneSmart Call center Operator offers the following insight about customers.

Welcome to the PhoneSmart Call Center blog. We offer an inside view of self-storage

PhoneSmart Your Offsite Sales Solution
Secret Shopping Blog Your inside peek
Self Storage Search Engine Self Storage in Tennessee

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