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  • Set Sales Goals for Your Storage Company’s Staff
    By jeff on January 24, 2011 | No Comments  Comments

    In order to run a successful West New York self storage operation your employees need to have clear goals. You should have everyone set targets and goals for every month, quarter, and year. This will make sure that they always have something to shoot for and give them extra motivation to get more rentals. Many West New York self storage sites in New Jersey do not set goals for their employees and they are worse for it.

    You should have clear sales goals that your employees should strive for. Make it real and do not just leave it to be an abstract thought. Write it down on something. You could even post their goals in the office so that they are always aware of what they are trying to do. You should get together with your West New York self storage to make sure that everybody has a goal and has clear steps that they will make to try to achieve their goals.

    Competition is a good way to boost storage sales in your West New York self storage office. If you have several sites in New Jersey you should post the stats for all of your offices. You could use email as an effective to let everyone know how they stack up compared to others. If you know what each office is doing in term of reservations, you will know where to put your resources. You may be able to help an office that is struggling by visiting and helping out for a few days. A lot of times all an office needs is a little attitude adjustment. Offices can become filled with negativity and you can get in there and show them how it is done. Once the office is in good spirits, you should see the reservations and rentals improve very quickly. Employees can become stale, which is fine and completely normal, but you need to go in and help out from time to time.

    Another great way to boost reservations is to set up bonuses for your West New York self storage employees. This does not work if you just have the same bonus month in and month out. You need to mix it up a little bit. Some managers feel that it is not fair to just reward individuals who get the most rentals, but you may want to reconsider if this is your attitude. A company wide bonus is great, but there are some downsides. First of all, there will be people who get a bonus that will not have earned it as much as others. This could bring about resentment. Also, you will not be able to offer that big of an incentive if you have to give every employee a bonus. The playing field needs to be equal if you are going to give bonuses to your top performers so the contest is fair. You could really give out some great things if you did it this way and it could be something tangible. You could offer a weekend stay at a resort for the best salesperson and their family. You could also offer a flat screen TV. These are bonuses that you could not give everybody so this would only work if you gave the bonus to the top performers in your company.

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  • Maintain a Well Trained Storage Facility Staff
    By jeff on January 21, 2011 | No Comments  Comments

    If you own a Union City self storage property, you probably desire to be the best. You know the competition in New Jersey is pretty tough, so it is necessary to always be at the top of your game. You need to have the best employees to be the best. There are many ways to ensure that you have the best employees that you possibly can. Having a great pay structure and benefit package is the best way to attract the best candidates. You should also have a great training program in place for all of your new Union City self storage employees. This will ensure that they get off on the right path.

    Most Union City self storage companies will have a great initial training program in place, but usually the training is pretty lacking once they are at the job for a month or two. It is important to continue to educate your employees because the business is always changing. If you are one of better storage companies that New Jersey has to offer, then you should have employees that have been with you for many years. The market is much different than it was a few years ago, so the sales approach should be a little bit different to ensure that you are selling your facility to the public.

    When the economy was good your sales staff should have been really pushing the quality of your storage units. You would also want to really sell the customer on how secure your Union City self storage property was by listing all of the great security features on site. Customers may have also been interested in a lot of extra amenities. Now that the market has shifted and is in a down cycle, it may not be wise to sell the facility like that. You definitely want to offer quality to the customers, but you may scare them off if you push quality upfront. When an employee is on the phone they should set a goal of getting the customer to the property to rent in the best way possible.

    The best sales approach for many Union City self storage companies is to focus on the value of their sites. Really push the great rates and how they compare to other sites in the area. This will attract customers to your site more than anything else. You should be offering a move in service to new customers to get them to commit to your company. After that, you can exceed their expectations by giving them a great storage experience. This will help with customer retention, which is vital to your long term success.

    Continue to educate your employees on how you would like your facility to be sold to the customer on the other end of the phone. You can continue training in a few different ways. You can make them do mandatory worksheets and quizzes to ensure that they are up to date on all the things about your facility. You should also spend some one on one time going over new developments in the storage industry. This will ensure that your employees are the best in the area. If you have the best employees, you will be that much closer to being the best Union City self storage facility in your area.

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  • Storage Sales for Beginners
    By jeff on January 14, 2011 | No Comments  Comments

    It takes a lot to be a great storage salesperson. To be the best in the Sunset Park Brooklyn self storage industry, you will first need to develop the right attitude. The best salespeople in New York know that learning how to sell can be a process. You will have ups and downs, but you will be able to achieve your goals if you have the right attitude. There is so much information about Sunset Park Brooklyn self storage that it is hard to know when to start. The key is to just start somewhere and try to keep learning each and every day. Just because you have a good month does not mean that you have learned everything that you need to about the industry. Storage professionals that have been in the business for years still try to learn more about the storage industry everyday.

    The basics of the Sunset Park Brooklyn self storage properties are a great place to start. You will want to learn about all of the different types of units that are offered so that you can recommend the best spaces for your callers. There are drive up spaces and units inside the building. There are standard spaces and units that are climate controlled. You should check out every type of unit available in New York and do this right away. This will let callers know that you know what you are talking about and will make them more comfortable with renting a storage unit from you.

    After you have the basic types of units down, it is time to learn how to effectively sell over the phone. You should have a basic sales process that you follow for all of your Sunset Park Brooklyn self storage callers. This will help you structure the call so that you can close more storage rentals. It all starts with the greeting. This is your only chance to let your customer know how happy you are to help them with their storage needs. Keep a positive tone throughout the phone call. You should probably stay away from an over the top approach like late night TV infomercial salespeople. This is not the right environment for that type of sales.

    Ask a lot of questions. This will keep the Sunset Park Brooklyn self storage caller participating in the call and will increase the likelihood that they will do business with your company. There are two types of question, discovery and buying questions. Discovery questions will allow you find out what needs the caller has and what is important to them when storing. Examples of discovery questions would include asking the caller what they are storing and how long they will be storing for. These questions would help you recommend a size and unit type as well as finding out what specials and discounts they may qualify for. Buying questions are a little bit more direct. You may ask them if they feel that your site is secure or if the location is good for them. Always remember to ask a question and then let the caller respond. Let them talk and do not interrupt. This is a very important part of the sales call. A lot of storage salespeople talk too much and do not listen enough. You may need to practice listening to improve your skills.

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  • Getting Your Customers to Say “Yes”
    By jeff on January 11, 2011 | No Comments  Comments

    When it comes to storage rentals in Missouri, time is of the essence. If the Springfield self storage caller does not rent from you on the initial phone call, the chances of them renting from you go way down. Storage callers do not call back. Most reservations are made on the first phone call. You can pick up a few rentals from people calling back or from follow up phone calls so keep your call back procedures in place. However, you should really find ways to get the rental on the initial phone call. Otherwise, another Springfield self storage company will get their business.

    When a caller phones your Springfield self storage company, you need to stress limited availability of your storage units. In a lot of cases, you may only have a few units left and you know how fast units can get picked up in busier times of the year. Let the caller know this information. If they do not act now, they could very likely miss out on the deal or current promotion that you are offering. Now is the time to rent a storage space. This tactic will help you pick up a few extra rentals and will make a big difference in your overall revenue.

    Every customer is worth a lot of revenue so treat them with respect. Do not resort to high pressure sales tactics to sell units. You should be able to develop a rapport with the caller so when you stress limited availability; it is seen as friendly advice and not just a sales tactic. No Springfield self storage customer wants to feel like they are being pressured into getting the unit, so be very careful when you are trying to get them to reserve a space. The best storage salespeople are able to apply pressure without the customer knowing it.

    A common call you may get for Springfield self storage is from individuals who will need storage in about a month. The problem may be that you do not have enough spaces to hold one for when they need it. If you feel that the caller is very serious about renting with you, then you may want to make an exception for them and hold the space longer than you normally would. Some callers in Missouri may not be worth the time if they are still shopping so be careful that you do not hold a space that you would otherwise be able to rent to someone else. This could cost you a lot of revenue over the long run, especially if the caller ends up renting elsewhere.

    You can also suggest that they move their schedule up to get in on the special. They will also guarantee that they will have a unit when they need it and will not be out of luck when they time comes. You may tell them that you have other units, but they cost more and the unit currently offered is a great value for the Springfield self storage area. Also, they will be able to move things in to the unit slowly over time as opposed to doing all of it at once. This will be a nice selling point that may sway the caller towards renting a little bit earlier than they originally planned.

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  • Calgary Self Storage Competition
    By admin on July 8, 2010 | No Comments  Comments

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    You may be getting ready to look for Calgary self storage and are thinking that it is going to be simple and easy to get a good space, but you may be in for a surprise. First of all, if you are going to get the best in the area, there are a few things that you will want to keep in mind before you start your search. The first is that you want to really stay away from the practice of only looking for the lowest price. Chances are that the absolute cheapest place in town is not going to be very safe for you to store your belongings in. Storage prices are like gas prices. They should be relatively similar as long as they are in the same area. If you went to a gas station and saw that the place across the street was half the price, they may cause some concern. You probably would not fill up the tank with no questions asked. The same thing should apply to the world of storage. If a Calgary self storage location is half the price of the other locations in town, then that should set off some alarm bells. There are a number of things that could be wrong with the facility.

    When looking for a Calgary self storage unit, you will want to make sure that the location is not in an area that will flood from time to time. Nothing would be worse than to open up the door to your unit and find water damage. That would really smell as well. You also want to make sure that the location is going to be safe and secure. Safety and security should be your number one priority. The location should have four basic security features. There should be a pin accessed controlled gate so that only current tenants are able to go in or out. The property should also be surrounded by security fencing. You should also ask about door alarms and video camera surveillance as they will deter theft and catch those in the act.

    Even though the Calgary self storage property that you choose will have excellent safety and security, it may be wise to go ahead and get some extra coverage to ensure that you are compensated in the event of damage or loss of your belongings. If you ask the manager, they should be more than happy to go over a few plans so that you can have that extra peace of mind that you are looking for. Keep in mind that even if you have existing homeowners or renters insurance that you could pick up additional coverage at the site.

    One last piece of advice for you as you are looking for the best that the Calgary self storage scene has to offer is to inquire about a special. A lot of places will offer a special and some will not. However, if you ask the manager you may be able to work out a deal so that you can get the first month free or at least a discount on the first month or two. Be careful when agreeing to a special so that you are not locked into any type of long term contract. You want to make sure that everything is month to month.

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  • Create Your Own Self Storage Business
    By admin on July 5, 2010 | No Comments  Comments

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    Are you trying to find ways to make a little bit of extra money on the side?  Are you sick and tired of barely scraping by?  Do you have so little spending money that you spend all of your free time locked away in the house?  If so, then you might want to consider a few entrepreneurial pursuits.  No, you do not have to get out there to take out a loan.  No, you do not have to toss what little spending money that you have into starting up your own side company.  What you can do, though, is small little odd jobs here and there.  Believe it or not, these are the kinds of jobs that you can actually find nowadays.

    Do you have a lot of spare room in your basement and garage?  If so, then you can rent it out as self storage space.  For real, you may stand to make a killing if you are willing to surrender some of this space.  Sure, you are going to have to convince your customers that you are trustworthy.  If, however, you keep your house in great condition, and you are able build up some good rapport with them, then you are not going to run into any problems in these regards.  Your personal storage space can really earn you some money if you plan it out carefully.

    Maybe you have an extra bedroom in your house that you are not using?  If so, then you can try renting that out as a miniature apartment.  When I was looking around for housing a few months ago, I found tons of these listings out there.  Typically speaking, they were just spare bedrooms in larger homes.  If I was lucky, I found a listing that came with its own bathroom, but not all of them were this way.  Even if you think that your spare room is too small, you might as well list it and see if you can pull anyone in.  Just be sure that you conduct a credit check and a background check before you agree to let them live in your house.  Likewise, be sure that you are interviewing your candidates before you make any promises.  The last thing that you are going to want, here, is to let a drug abuser or an overall bad person into your own home.

    If you are still unsure of how you are going to make some side money, then you can head out to your local self storage facilities to attend a few auctions.  Over the years, I have found that these are a great way to make some extra money.  If you can manage to win a unit that has plenty of valuable stuff inside of it, then you are going to be able to resell all of it for a considerable profit.  If you have never attended a self storage auction before, then all you are going to have to do is check your local classified ads.

    There are plenty of ways for you to make some extra money when you are a bit strapped for cash, and these are but a few of them.  Of course, if you it down and put your mind to it, you are going to be able to come up with plenty of additional ways to make some extra money.

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  • Clean It Up and Rent Storage
    By admin on June 2, 2010 | No Comments  Comments

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    Are you sick and tired of living in a giant junk heap?  Do you feel as though your home looks a whole heck of a lot worse than it should?  Are you overwhelmed by the prospect of cleaning your home because you just don’t have anywhere to put all of your stuff?  If you have answered Yes to any of these questions, then you are going to want to be sure that you are looking into your local self storage options.  If you are patient, and if you shop around well, then you are going to be able to find a self storage unit that is perfect for your household cleaning needs.

    The first thing that you have to realize, here, is that your self storage rental does not have to become a huge financial burden.  In fact, if you are careful when you are shopping around, then the thought of breaking the proverbial bank is never even going to enter your mind.  For starters, here, you are going to want to be sure that you are shopping around for a unit that comes with a great moving special.  If you can manage, be sure that you are not renting a unit that does not come with a special.  First month off or first couple of months at half off.  Either way, you know that you are going to be saving money, valuable money, for yourself.  As you are shopping around, be sure that you are keeping tabs on the specials that come your way, printing them out and writing them down along with the other notes that you are taking on your local stores.

    Moving on, here, you should not become overly concerned when it comes to taking on some additional monthly expenses.  I mean, you simply have to sit down and ask yourself whether you care about having a clean home.  In most cases, you are going to find that you do, in fact, care about having a home that’s at least somewhat clean.  With this in mind, prevent yourself from freaking out when it comes to renting your unit.  It is important to you to have a nice, clean, relaxing home, and you quite simply need a self storage unit to make your home as nice as you would like it to be.  It is just that simple, really.

    Finally, here, you are going to want to be sure that you are not forgetting about the internet when it comes to shopping around for the ideal self storage unit.  The very last thing that you are going to want to do, here, is skip over a facility that is going to have a great, cheap unit to offer.  By making use of the internet and online mapping services, you are going to be able to guarantee that you are not getting yourself into any trouble in these regards.

    Renting a self storage unit is not that hard, and it is not going to break the bank if you are conducting your shopping in a careful, responsible manner.  At the end of the day, you just have to tell yourself that you need your self storage unit, and that you really do care about the cleanliness of your home.  Once you get yourself into the right mindset, you are going to be able to find that perfect unit in no time.

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  • Find Self Storage Facilities Online
    By admin on April 14, 2010 | No Comments  Comments

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    When it comes to shopping around for a self storage unit, I would be willing to bet that you are not looking forward to what the future holds. Most likely, you have come to dread the process of calling around to all of your local facilities. You have most likely come to dread the endless sales pitches and the hold times, and you are probably looking for a better way to get prices on your local self storage units. Well, reader, you are in luck. With the introduction of the internet, the self storage industry witnessed the development of an amazing system by which you can gather prices from the comforts of your very own home, and without even picking up the phone. If you have never looked around for self storage on the internet before, then you are going to want to be sure that you are paying very careful attention to this article. No doubt, you are going to learn a few things as you make your way through it.

    First and foremost, reader, you should know that you can find just about anything that you are looking for on the world wide web. Let us say that you are trying to figure out whether or not your local facility is going to be clean enough for your belongings. Well, reader, you are going to be able to use the internet to pull up a few pictures of said local facility, meaning that you are going to be able to judge its cleanliness before you even arrive on scene. If, on the internet, you should discover that one of your local facilities is far too dirty for your belongings, you are not even going to have to worry about visiting it. You are going to be able to cross it off of your list of options and continue on with your search.

    Of course, there are many other things that you are going to be able to find on the internet as well. Let us say that you want to be sure that you are really keeping your belongings as safe as possible, here. Well, then you might want to use the internet to track down some good renters insurance policies. Indeed, by taking out a policy on the belongings that you are storing, you can rest assured that you are not going to be out of luck if something should happen to them. If your unit leaks, or if there is something awful like a fire, then you are not going to have to worry about what you are going to do to recover. You are going to know, firmly, here, that your belongings are going to be replaced, and quickly, at that. Of course, you are going to want to use the internet to look up the fine print on these policies, as you would hate to pay for one that is not going to offer the kind of protection that you are actually looking for.

    When it comes to spending your money, reader, you do not have to worry about a thing at all. When it comes to renting a self storage unit, even, you do not have to worry about a thing. IF you have a computer and an internet connection, then you are going to be able to do most of your research from your very own home. Of course, you are still going to want to be sure that you are visiting your local options at some point, using your own two eyes to verify that they are, in fact, good enough for the belongings that you are going to be storing.

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  • What You Need From Self Storage
    By admin on April 10, 2010 | 1 Comment1 Comment  Comments

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    When you start shopping around for the ideal self storage unit, you may find that you are becoming overwhelmed by all of the options that are at your disposal. Indeed, you may find that you have no idea what you needs actually are, and that your lack of knowledge is tremendously stressful. Of course, if this is the situation in which you find yourself, then you are going to want to take steps to actively narrow down the options that are at your disposal. Fortunately, by asking yourself a few simple questions, you are going to be able to make sure that you are not renting the incorrect type of unit.

    Are you going to be storing any temperature sensitive belongings?

    By asking yourself this question, you are going to be able to find out whether or not you are going to want to rent a climate controlled self storage unit. These units, you should know, are going to be ideal for keeping your temperature sensitive belongings safe throughout the course of a normal year. Of course, throughout the year, and depending upon where you live, the temperature and humidity are going to change a great deal. Thus, if you are storing any wooden items, electronics, instruments, antiques, or clothes, you are going to want to be sure that you are renting one of these climate controlled self storage units. By doing so, you are going to be able to rest assured that no harm is going to come to your belongings.

    Am I going to need a self storage unit in the near future?

    Getting a grip on your time frame is very important, indeed. If you have no idea when you are going to need a self storage unit, then you have no business calling around for rates. The rates are going to change depending upon when you are going to need your unit. If, for example, you know that you are going to need a unit in the next couple of weeks, then you are going to want to be sure that you reserve a unit once you find one that is going to work well within your moving budget. Once you reserve a unit, you have a guarantee as to how much that unit is going to cost you when you rent it. If you do not reserve a unit, then you are not going to be able to rely on any pricing whatsoever. By getting a grip on your time frame, you can be sure that you are reserving a unit for the proper time and locking in a price that is going to work out well for you.

    Am I going to need moving and packing supplies?

    If you know that you are going to need some extra supplies to give your belongings that added level of protection, then you are going to have to be sure that you are renting your self storage unit from a facility that has a moving supplies store on site. The last thing that you are going to want to do, here, is rent a unit that is not going to give you access to all of the supplies that you are going to need, as this is going to mean that you are going to have to run all around town just to take care of your chores. Do yourself a really big favor, here, and be sure that you are not making things any more complicated or time consuming than they have to be. Truly, you will thank yourself for saving yourself all that time at the end of your shopping experience.

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  • Weekend Shopping For Self Storage
    By admin on March 30, 2010 | No Comments  Comments

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    Sure, there are a lot of ways that you would rather spend your Sunday than shopping around for a self storage unit. That much is clear. Really, though, there is no reason to dread your upcoming shopping experience. If you truly understand the tools that are at your disposal, then you are going to be able to finish shopping around before you even know it. Just keep the following bits of advice in mind as you are shopping around, and you are going to find that it hardly takes you any time at all to rent the unit that is perfect for you.

    The first thing that you are going to want to do, here, is be sure that you are not forgetting about the many customer review sites that are on the internet. Indeed, if you want to be sure that you are avoiding all of the hyped up sales pitches as you are calling around, then you are going to have to be sure that you are seeking out the real, human opinions of current and past customers. By reading what real people have to say about your local properties, you are going to be able to rest assured that you are not pouring your money down the drain when it comes to your self storage unit.

    Moving on, here, you are also going to want to look up your local property manager son the internet. If they are worth their salt, then they are going to have professional social networking accounts with details about their professional lives. If you can, you are going to want to be sure that you are using this information to guarantee that you are not renting a self storage unit from a person who does not have any experience dealing with them in the past.

    Of course, once you have gotten all of this stuff out of the way, you are going to want to move along and begin crunching some numbers. Know, reader, that the internet is a fantastic place to figure out if you are going to be able to afford your local self storage options. When it comes to the larger companies, you are usually going to be able to get a few free quotes from their corporate site. After all, they do not stand to gain anything by hiding their prices from you. For the smaller guys, you can usually use customer review sites to get a fairly accurate idea of how much you are going to have to pay for their units.

    Once you have gotten an idea of the prices that you are looking at, you are going to want to be sure that you begin to check around for the self storage coupons that pervade the internet. If you are not shopping around for great coupons, then you are, in effect, simply tossing your money down the drain. Be sure that you are saving yourself money if and when you can, and you are going to find that you are a lot happier at the end of the day.

    As you can see, here, there is nothing bad about shopping around for a great self storage unit. Sure, you might want to kick back and relax on your day off, but at least shopping around for a self storage unit is not going to take up your entire day if you really know what you are doing. Just follow the advice put forth in this article, and you are going to have all of the time in the world when it comes to that lazy Sunday afternoon.

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