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  • Improving The Workplace
    By admin on September 1, 2010 | No Comments  Comments

    I have worked in an office for quite a while, now, and there is one thing that I can say without any hesitation: break rooms are incredibly important.  Sure, you want your workers to stay focused, and you do not want them to be leaving their desks every ten minutes for another break.  That, however, does not mean that you should skimp when it comes to providing your workers with a few luxury accommodations.  IF you have never thought about what goes into a great break room, then I would suggest that you read through this article carefully, taking notes whenever necessary.  No doubt, you are going to learn something new today.

    If your workers have to sit down all day long, then you are going to want to provide them with some kind of venue for exercise in your break room.  Believe it or not, I have seen break rooms that are fully equipped with workout equipment, and we are not talking about the cheap stuff, here.  Treadmills are a great thing to have in your break room, as are stair climbers.  And of course, you are not simply providing these things out of the goodness of your own heart.  Research shows that moderate exercise can tremendously improve your workers efficiency and morale.  That is right, reader.  You are going to be able to expect a return on this investment that you are making, here.

    Of course, there are other things that you should consider when you are putting together your break room.  Some of the best break rooms that I have seem have come equipped with video game stations, believe it or not.  And really, I think that this is a really good idea.  IF there is one thing that can be said about stress, it is that getting your mind off of what is bothering you can entirely kill it.  Thus, allowing your workers to play a few minutes worth of video games when they are getting stressed out is going to help them enormously.  Once they clear away a little bit of that stress, they are going to be ready and willing to dive back into their work with double the energy.  IF you do not believe me, simply try this out for a week or so.  IF you do not see any improvements in efficiency and morale, then I will be genuinely surprised.

    And who could forget about food?  One of the best things that you can do for your workers is be sure that they are never going hungry.  While you can stick a few snack machines in your break room, you can also take things a step further and actually provide your workers with some food.  This is going to cost you a bit more money, but man oh man, is it going to keep your workers nice and happy.  Truly, food is the key to the hearts of your workers, reader.

    As you can see, there is not that much that goes into making a great break room.  You simply have to be sure that you are giving people the things that they need to stay happy, and you are going to find that your break room becomes a powerful motivation tool.  And of course, you will be thought of as one of the coolest bosses in the world.

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  • Self Storage Call Center Service
    By admin on August 23, 2010 | No Comments  Comments

    When it comes to handling self storage phone calls, how good are you at meeting the objections of your callers?  Are you buckling under the pressure of their complaints?  Are you worried that you do not have enough of a backbone, and that you are giving up too easily when obstacles present themselves?  If so, then you may find that you are in need of some additional sales training, however dreadful that may sound.  Rest assured, though, that it is not going to be a dreadful process, and that you are going to be able to pick up the skills that you need if you are ready and willing to do a little bit of homework.  This article, of course, seeks to provide you with a good starting point for improving your techniques.

    More often than not, people are going to object to your pricing.  They are going to express their surprise that your rates are as high as they are, and nine times out of ten, they are going to tell you that your competitor is charging less than you are.  Considerably less.  This objection, as I am sure that you know, is rather difficult to overcome when you are just starting out.  That, however, does not mean that there is not a good way to respond to it.  You are going to want to start out by figuring out who your caller is talking about.  Once you know which property they are getting their prices from, you can begin to place your prices within a reasonable context for your caller.  If you know, for a fact, that the facility that they are talking about does not match up to your property, then you are going to want to explain to them that quality and price are very much tied together when it comes to self storage.  Explain to them that they cannot expect to get a high quality unit if they are not willing to pay a few extra dollars more.  OF course, you are going to want to phrase this as delicately as you can, as the last thing that you are going to want, here, is to come across as snobbish or dismissive.

    If you find that your caller is still unwilling to budge when it comes to your prices, then you are going to want to invite them down to the site to take a tour of your property.  This, of course, is where you are going to have to be sure that your face to face sales skills are in tip top shape.  If you can manage to get them on your property, you are going to have to give them an excellent presentation and convince them that your property is worth the extra money.  OF course, it is also going to help if you can come up with some kind of special for them, because at this point you know that they care a great deal about the price.

    Convincing your callers that your prices are reasonable may not be the easiest thing in the world, but it is not the hardest, either.  All that you have to do, here, is convince them that you have their best interests in mind, and place your prices within context.  Sooner or later, you are going to get the hang of responding to this objection.

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  • Indoor Auto Storage
    By admin on August 18, 2010 | No Comments  Comments

    Many people often find themselves in a situation where they need to park their automobile somewhere other than their own garage. There are numerous reasons as to why car owners find themselves in this predicament, and therefore there are a lot of self storage companies that provide this type of service.

    But not all storage companies are able to offer indoor storage for autos, since the storage spaces obviously have to meet certain criteria. These units must have drive up accessibility in order to get the vehicle inside of it. There needs to be enough space outside of the storage unit in order to maneuver the car around. And the storage facility has to be in an area where local and state ordinances permit parking vehicles inside of a rental unit. 

    Most cars require a storage space that is about ten feet wide and twenty feet deep; the size of a standard one car garage. There are of course exceptions. Small sports cars and subcompacts can fit into something smaller, while long limousines and hearses require something larger.

    Salesmen are a popular group of people that oftentimes rent an indoor self storage space for an automobile. They drive a company car and it is only in the way when it is parked at their house. They keep their samples and other work related items in the car, so they do not want it left out in the open where it can be a temptation to nosy busybodies. And besides, the company foots the bill for the extra expense for the inside parking.

    Military personnel are a very transient group of people. It is not uncommon for someone to be deployed for anywhere from a few months to a couple of years. They do not have any family members or friends that reside permanently in the area. And they understandably cannot take their automobile on assignment with them. So they choose to store it at a secure indoor storage facility. Store managers will sometimes agree to start the car from time; to keep a close eye on it for them. After all, our military men and women are serving for our country.

    Empty nesters are another group of people that enjoy the benefits of utilizing an indoor storage unit to park a vehicle. The kids have graduated from college and moved on with their lives. Dad and mom finally have some extra mad money left over in the monthly budget. This is just the right time to purchase that fun and non-essential car that he or she has always dreamed about.  Maybe it is that 1968 high performance car that dad could never afford as a teenager. Or that adorable yellow convertible mom drove by in the minivan everyday while carting kids around. Either way, now is the perfect time of their lives to buy that dream car.  

    These vehicles are tons of fun for gallivanting around town with or going on a road trip in.  They are fun to drive around in the middle of the summer on those hot humid nights. But these vehicles are pretty much worthless when it comes to icy wintertime driving. Dad and mom worked too hard and dreamt to long about this car.  It certainly cannot spend the winter just sitting on the driveway, exposed to all of the elements. So they park it away at a storage facility that has inside drive up units. Maybe one located nearby, so it can be taken out for a spin from time to time on nice winter days.

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  • My First Storage Unit
    By admin on August 9, 2010 | No Comments  Comments

    When it comes to shopping around for your very first self storage unit, you have to be sure that you are keeping several things in mind.  I mean, the last thing that you are going to want to do, here, is rent a unit that is not going to live up to all of your expectations.  When your money is on the line, you simply have to be sure that you are doing what you can to keep it nice and safe.  That much being said, you are going to need to know a few things before you head out there to rent your first unit.  Lucky for you, this article is going to cover a lot of the information that you are going to need when you are just starting out.

    First and foremost, reader, you have to be sure absolutely sure that you understand the terms of your lease agreement.  Believe it or not, there are plenty of clauses that can trip you up in these agreements.  So long as you know what they are, though, you are not going to have to worry about a thing.  IF you know that you are not going to need your self storage unit for very long, then you are going to want to be sure that you are signing a short term lease, preferably something that will not require that you commit to more than one month at a time.  Of course, you are going to want to be sure that you understand how your billing structure is going to work, as you are not going to want to pay the late fees that are associated with missing your bill.  Needless to say, you are going to want to read up on late fees, because the last thing that you are going to want is to be blindsided by fees that you simply cannot afford to pay.

    Moving on, here, you are going to have to be sure that your unit comes with the sorts of accommodations that you need for your belongings.  IF, for example, you know that you are going to be storing a great number of wooden articles, then you are going to want to be sure that you are storing them in a climate controlled self storage unit.  That way, you are going to be able to rest assured that they are not going to bevel and crack as the temperature changes.  The same goes for electronics, which are not going to fare too well if you store them in a standard environment without the proper climate controlling.

    Of course, you also have to be sure that you are renting a self storage unit that is going to keep your belongings safe, which means that you are going to have to keep your eyes open for security features as you are shopping around for that perfect fit.  Never rent a unit that does not come equipped with door alarms, video surveillance cameras, fencing, lighting, and an on site property manager.  If you let yourself go without any of these things, then you are going to find that you cannot stop worrying about the safety of your belongings at the end of the day.

    Once you take all of this advice to heart, you are not going to have any problems when it comes to shopping around for your very first self storage unit.

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  • Save Money At Self Storage
    By admin on August 4, 2010 | No Comments  Comments

    If you are trying to save yourself a little bit of money as you are calling around for your self storage unit, then there are a few things that you are going to want to keep in mind.  Sure, you can grab yourself a few discounts and hope for the best, but your results are going to be a lot better if you follow the system that I propose.  By following this system, you are going to be able to rest assured that you have saved yourself as much money as possible at the end of the day.

    The first thing that you are going to want to do, here, is make sure that you are reading the classified ads in your local paper.  If a property is trying to rent its self storage units out very quickly, then you might find that they are posting smaller little ads in the classifieds section of the local paper.  Of course, these are units that should always catch your eye, because you are going to be able to save yourself quite a bit of money when you decide to use one of these.  Just be sure that it is going to be able to fit all of your needs, and you are golden.

    Moving on, here, you are go;ing to want to be sure that you are checking all of the corporate websites of the companies that are in your local area.  Sure, you can check around on the price aggregators, but a lot of the time, you are going to find that the biggest companies in your area only offer their coupons on their own sites.  Thus, before you begin to call around, you are going to want to be sure that you have checked all of these sites, and that you have printed out the coupons that you have found on them.  Have them in your hands as you call around to get your first round of pricing information.  In my personal experience, I have always found the best specials hosted on these kinds of proprietary websites.

    Of course, you are also going to want to be sure that you are checking around for the facilities that have short term leases.  The best way for you to save money, here, is to make sure that you are not commiting yourself to a long stay that you are not going to need.  If you call around and find yourself a month to month lease, then you are not going to have to worry about getting stuck with your unit for longer than you had wanted.  You will be able to rest assured that you are not spending a dime too much on your self storage unit at the end of the day.

    Finally, reader, you are always going to want to be sure that you at least stop in at some of the larger aggregate sites.  These sites are going to spend all of their time hunting down deals, so they are a great way to make sure that you have not left any stones unturned, as the saying goes.  You should not base all of your research on these sites, but they are nice to use every now and again.

    And there you have it, reader.  Savings are not hard to come by when you know what you are doing.

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  • Hiring Self Storage Managers
    By admin on July 27, 2010 | No Comments  Comments

    Are you trying to hire a new property manager for your self storage property?  Are you concerned that you are not going to pick the right candidate for the position?  If so, then there are a few simple things that you should keep in mind as you are reviewing the applications that are coming your way.  Sure, running a self storage property is not the most complicated thing in the world, but that does not mean that you should not comb through your applicants with a fine brush.  At the end of the day, when your self storage property is running better than ever, you are going to thank yourself and pat yourself on the back for putting some of that extra work in.

    First and foremost, reader, you are going to have to be sure that you are hiring someone who works well with other people.  Chances are that your property manager is going to be dealing with everything that goes down on your property.  If you need repairs, and you need someone to be there dealing with the repairman, then you are going to have to rely on your property manager.  If you make most of your sales in the front office, rather than over the phone, then you are going to have to be able to rely on your property manager as someone who can close the deal when the time comes.  Of course, the best way to get a feel for whether or not your applicant is going to work well with others is to call him or her in for an interview.  If they do not interview very well, then you might not want to use them as a salesperson or a property manager.

    Moving on, here, you are always going to want to be sure that you are hiring someone who has a little bit of experience dealing with your field.  As a self storage property manager, they are going to have to be in charge of handling some money, conducting simple repairs, and helping move people into their units.  Several other fields are going to give your applicants these kinds of experiences, so you are going to want to keep your eyes open for them.  If they have ever worked in property management at ALL, then you are going to want to give them a shot.  Residential property management is a different enterprise, sure, but the experience is highly relevant.  So, too, is restaurant management, though you might not think so at first.  Those who have experience in restaurant management are very used to dealing with people on a face to face basis, and they are also used to the process of responsibly handling money.  So before you write people off of your list, be sure that you are taking their past experience into careful consideration.  You never know when someone is going to break out and really surprise you with their skills.

    At the end of the day, it is very important that you pick the right property manager for your position.  If you choose the wrong person, i.e. someone who is not well equipped to handle the work, then the performance of your entire property is going to suffer.  Review your applications carefully, and be sure that you are not forgetting to follow up on any of the promising leads that are coming your way.

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