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Be careful before you answer a question. Make sure you understand the question. Many times a tenant or a prospective customer asks you something and you give them an answer only to get an odd look.

This story for “Eric’s clean jokes” web site is a perfect example of what can happen.

What is sex?
An 8-year-old girl went to her dad, who was working in the yard. She asked him, “Daddy, what is sex?” The father was surprised that she would ask such a question, but decides that if she is old enough to ask the question, then she is old enough to get a straight answer.

He proceeded to tell her all about the “birds and the bees.” When he finished explaining, the little girl was looking at him with her mouth hanging open. The father asked her, “Why did you ask this question?” The little girl replied, “Mom told me to tell you that dinner would be ready in just a couple of secs.”

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Welcome to the self storage blog, where we keep a diary of our experience in the self storage world.

I think there is another way to differentiate one operation from another. It is nothing new. It has been talked about for a very long time. It is the difference between making sales and taking orders. Anyone can take an order from a prospect who already wants to buy. But making a sale to someone who is not yet convinced to buy is another subject. When you look at your storage facilities and hear how your staff people deal with prospects, can you tell which side of the fence you are on?

I had a great visit with a prospective PhoneSmart customer today and found that this company is focused on creating a selling culture and seeks to make sales and not just take orders. I think they will like dealing with us, because we look at our company in the same way. It will also mean that this company will make the most of our work and end up with some great conversion ratios. This makes for a win-win situation we will all enjoy.

If you have competitors who are just taking orders, you are in a great position, beause you have a little time to shift over to a selling culture or to fully develop your already budding sales culture. If you are competing with the company I met with today, you are several laps behind and need to get moving. You still have time to sell to the customers you will deal with after you have become a sales organization, but in the mean time, you will be losing many of your propsects.

There is a simple test to tell which side of the fence you are on. The next time someone buys from you , ask yourself, “Did I get this sale beause the person wanted it, or did I do anything to make it happen?”

If you can’t find anything you did to make it happen, you have taken an order. We all love the “gimme” orders and we need them. But don’t think you had anything to do with it besides just being there.

If you did something to make it happen, even if it was seemingly a small thing, you have made a sale. Whatever you did to make it happen…do it some more!

Bye for now,
Tron

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