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I saw the survey results from a survey StorageMart conducted at 27 of its stores. Approximately 230 people responded.

Here are a few interesting items. Even though 64% of respondents say they found the location by driving by, 58% said they called first before coming in. This means your curb appeal and your phone appeal have to be up to speed.

Of the people who called first, 41% of them found the number in the yellow pages. 16% of them found the number on-line.

Here is a big one. 59% of respondents contacted 1 or more competitors before choosing StorageMart. This means that only 4 in 10 of your prospects are likely to contact you first and contact no other competitors. 44% contact 2 or more competitors.

This probably means that they liked what they heard or saw at StorageMart and did a little more comparison shopping to assure themselves of their choice. But it might also mean that they contact competitors first and did not like what the competitor showed or said and continued until they found a storage place they liked.

This just confirms what you already know instinctually. You need to work every leads as best you can and try to let noone get away.

It is the job of your secret shopping team to make sure that your staff is on its toes at all times. Each and every person they talk to may go down the street to rent. It is easy to slack off if yo are tired or feeling lazy or are having some personal drama. But the secret shopper’s job is to help staff leave all that at the door and try their best with each sales opportunity.

64% of respondents also said that they planned to stay 6 months or more. 52% planned to stay more than 8 months. This makes the potential value of each customer substantial.

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Welcome to the secret shopping blog, where we keep a diary of our experience in the world of secret shopping and mystery shopping.

Yesterday when I was at the St. Louis Cardinal Baseball game I saw something pretty neat. We were standing by one of the food court areas enjoying a cold beer and a huge corn dog waiting for the game to start. It might be important to mention that is was about 95 degrees and very sunny so we were stalling until the last minute to go sit in our seats. All of a sudden the lights go off in the food court area. I thought it was an electrical problem, but it was the National Anthem. The ball park shuts down the lights in the public areas in an effort to get everyone’s attention. The concession workers turn their backs to the counters so that they too can take a minute to listen also. It was everyone’s cue to stop and pay attention. People with ball caps on, took them off in respect, and most fell silent.
Maybe sometimes we should “shut off the lights” and take a moment to pay attention. I haven’t ever heard anyone say, “Wow, my life is going sooo slow,” which probably means that most people’s lives are going 100 miles an hour. So, what are you paying attention to? What is important in your life right now? It is sort of a twist on the saying, “take time to stop and smell the roses.” Today, try it, stop and take a moment to breath, look around, stop in your tracks. It will be worth it. If we are all running around like chickens with our heads cut off, then that is how others perceive us. But if you can take a moment to compose yourself, look like you are in control, and slow down a little, then people will see a different side to you. They too might slow down in an effort to be like you. Set a good example and see what happens.

Thanks,
Natalie

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