Why don’t they rent?

The self storage association market study covers some interesting ground. It deals quite a bit with the reasons why people rent storage. One thing that we at PhoneSmart are interested in is finding out about is why people don’t rent, so we can prepare for these issues in our sales process. Most of us in the self storage industry would agree that everyone ought to have a storage unit just to help keep organized or to have some extra space to keep a few odds and ends. The fact that anyone would think that they don’t need storage is just ridiculous. Now granted I was one of those people who never used self-storage before I became a self storage insider. I always had a basement or a garage to put stuff in. But now that I have had a storage unit for a long time, I would never want to give it up. If, in the best case scenario we are renting to 50% of telephone rental inquiries, what happens to the rest of them? I know some will rent with a competitor. Many will not use storage at all. But why would people who have inquired about storage decide to not use it at all? I realize some will say that they don’t need it. Some mi9ght have some very practical reasons for not storing. But if they had a storage unit, they would use it and they would probably love having it. If we can find out more about what makes someone decide “NO”, then we can prevent some of these issues in the selling process.

Look at how new car dealers have dealt with consumer resistance in advance. One reason people don’t like buying a new car is because they have to pay sales tax on it. So now you can get cash back with your purchase, so you can pay the sales tax without having to dig into your pocket. There is one obstacle removed. Many people hesitate to buy a new car, because the payments are high. So now you can finance a car out 60 or even 72 months. This makes the monthly payments smaller and do-able. Another obstacle removed. People used to shy away from buying new cars because they were afraid of maintenance issues. Well, witch manufacturer does not have extended warranties, drive-train protections, discounted or free maintenance, etc.? You can look at every offering the car industry uses and know that it was in response to a selling obstacle. As competition heats up in our industry and as rents increase, it will become more and more important to be able to create desire for storage. I’d like to hear from you some of the reasons people give you for opting not to rent at all.

Bye for now, Tron

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Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

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