» Inside Self Storage

4.  What Is The Level Of Customer Service

Always look for the kind of storage customer service provided at the cargo space facility. Did anybody greet you when you entered the storehouse Did the storehouse made arrangements for showing you the facility How courteous and friendly the staff of the storehouse is Are they helping the existing customers of the storehouse You should also talk to the customers present inside self storage to get a feedback regarding the company.

Once you are satisfied with the storehouse, you should go ahead and check the rentals of the units, the price of the different services, and the terms and conditions of leasing the unit. Find out if the company has provision for online payments, what are the access timings, and ongoing discounts, if any. Also, specify the company as to which store unit do you want, for how long, and what extra services you intend to hire.

Tweet This Post 

2. What Are The Services Available

To find out the services available, have a peep inside self storage . Check what kinds of units are available. While hiring a store unit, you should check the construction material of the store unit, its dimensions, cleanliness, ventilation, and location, and also discover whether it is weatherproof or not. Ask if the company provides packing and shelving supplies. If the company has provision for them, have a look on those supplies and their prices. One of the most difficult tasks in storing items inside the units is shifting and hauling those items from one place to another. You should check what arrangements are available inside self storage for the easy lifting and moving of objects. If the store unit is located on the first or the second floor, then having an elevator is a must.

If you are hiring the store unit for the safekeeping of car or boat, you should ask whether the company has facilities related to the maintenance and storing of the cars and boats like car washing, car or boat servicing, staff for cleaning and oiling the parts of the car or boat before storing, and so forth.

3. What Are The Security Arrangements

Carefully inspect the security systems installed inside self storage . Nowadays, the use of CCTV cameras and door alarms is deemed necessary, and you should hire a storehouse having these safety features. Besides, you should check how agile the security staff is. Did anybody stop you from entering the storehouse premises If nobody questioned or stopped you while entering the storehouse means the security is slack, and you should not hire such storehouse. The storehouse should also be well lit. It should have sturdy and high fence walls. Fire fighting equipment should be present at several locations.

Tweet This Post 

A close examination inside self storage is essential before hiring it. This will give you an idea of how well a safekeeping facility is managed and maintained and what are the different facilities available. Choosing the right storehouse will make the process and experience of using a store unit pleasant for you.

Things you should check before you rent.

1. How Well The Facility Is Maintained

Just walk around the entire facility to have an idea of how it is maintained. Do not just focus on the cleanliness of the units. See how the reception area, parking area, hallways, and the area around the storehouse have been kept. The storehouses that are efficient make sure that their entire facility remains neat and clean. This also keeps the storehouse free from pests.

read Part Two and Part Three For more

Tweet This Post 

In this environment of growing competition a firm that provides storehouses needs to deliberately devise and implement strategies to attract tenants. The firm has to plan out different ways in which it can connect with the community and show it all that it offers. Before people visit the firms to view inside self storage areas to assess the quality of the amenities being provided, a lot of background work has to be done by the firms in order to keep the storehouses and the premises at par with its competitors in all ways. The firms have formed associations and communities to exchange information about the different ways in which they can attract clients. In due course of time, the communities have evolved as they have gained a better understanding of the industry. By this association and their own endeavor many of the firms have succeeded in getting better visibility in the recent times amongst the target clients.

Inside self storage providing industries, it has been understood after careful market research that the best way a firm can achieve publicity in the present times is to make itself known in the internet community. This is because many people are internet savvy these days and they surf the web a lot. Having a web presence is very beneficial as this is how many potential tenants come to know about the firms and the amenities that they offer. In order to consolidate its web presence a firm needs to put some deliberate efforts. It has to adopt different online advertising and marketing strategies. Some firms resort to paid advertising. But this is a very costly option.

The marketing experts inside self storage organizations feel that the best way a firm can make its presence felt is by connecting with the clients directly. In the paid advertising methodology a firm creates a website and tries to attract the network traffic by paying people for visiting its websites. There is another concept in which the firm tries to bring together its potential clients. It is called the bringing in people concept. This concept sounds customer friendly and it is expected to attract a lot of tenants.

There are different ways and levels in which the concept of bringing in people together can be implemented. Many firms inside self storage organizations are trying to implement this concept and are trying to work on it at different levels. The major internet tools that one can use for bringing in people together are the yellow pages and the drive bys. These are being used since a long time and are still going strong as far as the internet publicity is concerned. Apart from yellow pages other tools have evolved recently that also contribute significantly to connecting with the community and the clients.

Other than the internet many entrepreneurs depend on marketing themselves in the real world. They try a lot of strategies to connect themselves with their clients. According to the quality assurance analysts inside self storage organizations, these entrepreneurs assume an active role in their local chambers of commerce and go about distributing their business cards in their communities and amongst their clients. They also organize community events to attract fellow members of the community as well as the clients. Through these events they manage to connect well within their community as well as with the clients by using marketing strategies.

Self Storage Industry

Tweet This Post 

PhoneSmart call center blog editor Kay Johnson looks toward the future of self-storage.

Welcome to the PhoneSmart self-storage blog, and insider diary of the self-storage industry.

Secret Shopping Blog Your inside peek
Property Management Blog The ins and outs of property management
Self Storage Search Engine Self Storage in Maryland

Tweet This Post 

Wendy Lane, Phone Smart call center evening supervisor stresses the importance of the follow-up call.

Welcome to the Phone Smart call center blog, and insider diary of the self-storage industry.

Property Management Blog The ins and outs of property management
Secret Shopping Blog Your inside peek
Self Storage Search Engine Self Storage in Missouri

Tweet This Post 

Good luck and good selling!”

Tron Jordheim
PhoneSmart

PhoneSmart Director

866-639-1715

Self Storage Blog

Want 2 Store – You self storage finder and locator

Property Management Blog

Secret Shopping Blog

Tweet This Post 

Welcome to the self storage blog, our self storage diary for the self storage insider.

Take a look at www.selfstorageeducation.net.

It is a new service developed by Jim Chiswell and Mel Holsinger, two well established and reputable self storage professionals.

Here is an excerpt form their home page.

SSEN will officially launch our web site and educational sessions at the Inside Self Storage Expo March 1st to 3rd. We have a variety of presentations currently in development by the following self-storage industry experts:

Jeffrey Greenberger, Esq
Mr. Charles “Ray” Wilson
Mr. Rick Partizek
Mr. Chris McGrath;
Ms. Linnea Appleby
Mr. Neal Gussis
Mr. Mel Holsinger
Mr. Jim Chiswell
Mr. R. K. Kliebenstein

Our speakers will be providing a variety of educational topics that cover:

Development: Our offerings of courses in this curriculum are dealing with the numerous issues associated with the development of a new self storage facility. These courses are designed for the novice as well as the seasoned developer and are intended to assist you in your development needs.

Construction: Every thing from ground breaking to finished product. Our construction experts will help you in the design, the various products and trades, and all related construction issues. These courses will help you in choosing the type of construction, the assistance in determining actual costs, and seeing your final product in the ground. We will also cover construction issues relating to conversions as well.

Feasibility: On every new project, the feasibility should be determined in order for you, the developer, to elevate your level of confidence in the new effort. Our courses will help you in getting the facts behind “making the deal work”. The issues associated with the necessary Due Diligence in the purchase of an established store will also be covered.

Finance: The ever changing financial markets and conditions can determine your ability to acquire the right financing for your project. Our experts will cover the terminology, the requirements and the ways to acquire the best solution to your financial needs, whether it is for a new project or a re-finance of your existing facility.

Management: The vast array of management related issues will be covered in several sections of our management course load. Marketing, accounting, auditing, preventative maintenance, ancillary products and more will be addressed in this section.

General Interest: This section of courses will cover a wide variety of topics and will give you some “out of the box” ideas to think about. These courses will give you other ideas of how to make your self storage facility successful.

Legal: Knowing what you can and cannot do is vital to your success. Our legal experts will dissect the various legal issues a self storage owner, manager and even customer face, and how to deal them in the proper format. Timely coverage of current legal trends, court cases and legislative and administrative topics will also be covered.

This should offer another method of getting information and education to people in a convenient way. It should be interesting to watch it develop.

Tweet This Post 

Welcome to the self storage blog, our diary of our involvement in the self storage industry. Our blog entry today is from a new self storage insider, PhoneSmart sales rep, Jeanette.

“The Difficult Kind”

‘How much is it to store for a month?!” demands a lady caller curtly
“Do you know where were located at 1144 Clayton Ave?” I counter.
“Of course- how much is it?”
“Of course, first let me tell you a little about our facility…”
“ I don’t care! Just tell me how much it is!”
(Sigh) Here we go again…

When this type of call begins I almost immediately begin to feel irritation seeping in, beginning in my left ear. I am instinctively annoyed that as soon as I pick up the phone, I am barraged with a stream of loud, demanding questions. These callers can wreak havoc on our nerves. They call us and immediately try to control the flow of conversation. Handled incorrectly these calls can easily be a prospective sale lost. So I take a deep breath, get focused, and go to work on the particular approaches that please these callers.

Remember, these people are very straight to the point and have little patience for what they don’t want to hear. You really have to work for this genre. By feeling them out; mirroring the manner in which they speak, you can usually at least get on their wavelength. If they speak quickly, I speak quicker. By breaking into the conversation in the short gap of time allowed, or politely interrupting, I’ve found that one can regain control of the conversation and the implied power struggle also dissipates.

This genre often possesses great characteristics, like self-motivation and ambition. More often than not, these people meet their deadlines and conduct business in a very efficient time-is-money manner. So, understandably these characteristics transfer over to their personal business affairs. Although it is usually hard to get a word in edge-wise with these people, when presented with features and amenities that make our facilities a cut above the rest in a pragmatic, no-nonsense sort of manner, these people take notice. These people are a descriptive manifestation of the targeted 1/3rd of prospects you really have to work to get, and they are often the most demanding. However, they are also the most likely to intricately evaluate what we have to offer and figure that into the value of our storage and not just consider the price.

You might be tempted to let your instinctive annoyance cloud your selling skills, in which case you will not rent to these prospects. If instead, you help them realize that your offering fits nicely into their demanding and time-is-money approach, you will rent to them.

These prospects are just as quick to say , “OK, I’ll be in tomorrow. Here is my credit card number” after you have helped them as they are quick to say, “Just give me the price” early in the conversation.

Jeanette

Tweet This Post