Self Storage Marketing For Huge Profits

Self Storage is a great business! But like all great businesses there is a lot to learn. Here are some out takes from my book Crush Your Competition to help you notch up your marketing plans and make the profits you deserve.

If you have any self storage questions feel free to email them to me at SelfStorageMarc@gmail.com. You can also learn more about marketing on our facebook site www.facebook.com/selfstoragemarketing101.

“Build it and they will come.” Truth or myth? I designed my fist self storage complex 27 years ago, as a young civil engineer. I did not even know what self storage was when my fist self storage client came to our engineering company. He gave me the details, I designed it and got it approved by the City Planning and Zoning Commissions. He built it and they came. Not much self storage marketing was required 27 years ago. Since that time I have watched self storage grow into one of the best investment opportunities for someone who wants to own their own business. But even the best opportunities require hard work and knowledge. Now more than ever, with the hundreds of thousands of self storage facilities in the US alone, knowledge is paramount. Believe it or not many people outside of the self storage industry still have old fashioned beliefs buried deep in their subconscious that liken a self storage business to a pawn shop; a little dangerous, a little mysterious. Regular marketing is what is going to make a difference. Marketing is one of the things you can control now to make a difference.

“Self storage is easy, does not take a lot of planning or time or out of pocket money and will always make money.” There is nothing further from the truth, but I hear this all the time. For a typical self storage facility of 50,000 square feet you could invest around $400,000 of your own money, borrow over a million dollars from the bank, and will personally spend hundreds of hours before you rent the first unit. While all that is true, it is also true that a properly planned, operated and funded self storage facility can be a very rewarding and profitable business. This book will concentrate on your marketing after your facility is built and opened. For self storage secrets prior to opening for business visit www.SelfStorageMarketing101.com

The difference between a small profit and a large profit can be the comprehensive marketing of the facility. Marketing starts with choosing the proper location for the site, making and keeping it attractive and training and retaining friendly and knowledgeable the staff is as well in addition to the “standard” marketing concepts.

Ninety percent of our renters found us by either one of three ways; driving by, the Internet and referrals. The last 10% comes from the remainder of our marketing and advertising. Rule #1 - 90% of marketing should be done before your site opens, starting with site selection. But the last 10% could mean the difference between breaking even or making a profit. And never forget that the 90% who walked in the door can walk back out the door, meaning your marketing is never over!

You are marketing to three types of people;

1. People who do not need self storage today but may someday;

2. People who need self storage now.

3. People who rent from you and may rent again or recommend you to a friend.

You can’t sell self storage to someone who does not need it. Your goal is to make as many people as possible aware of your facility and the benefits of your self storage facility so when they do need storage they call and rent from you. Once they rent from you your goal is for them to be 110% happy and recommend your facility rather than the competition.

Sure some of your neighboring self storage businesses may present little competition as they look and feel like that pawn shop, but don’t count on that. In the end, most people rent from you as opposed to “them” (or vise versa) because “it just felt right”. Ant that is what this book is about – Making sure “People and prospects “just feel right” at your self storage.

Enough theory! Lets move on to things you can do today for more profits.

For authors guides and books on self storage visit www.storageprofits.com

Should You Take Control of Your Destiny?

The entrepreneur, the professional, the self storage owner, the self storage manager – anyone in the self storage industry who wants to control their destiny will value the message in this book. It will provide a simple plan that you can use to make your dreams come true, all you need do is make the choice to succeed.

In this book, there are 102 magical marketing practices that have been designed to help you crush you competition and make more profits. The practices are designed to be completed over the next 52 weeks. Implement one per week for the next year and you will succeed

Within each practice is a wealth of simple tasks to be learned and performed. You don’t need to hire a marketing professional or clear your calendar because each task is designed to be implemented within your everyday life schedule.

You can think of making Exceptional Self Storage profits similar to keeping yourself in good shape. First, we know diets rarely work. What works is 20 minutes of exercise and eating the right foods. If you are willing to create new habits and spend 20 minutes a day on marketing to maximize your profits, this book is for you. Without exercise (marketing) things tend to stay the same as they are.

If you implement just one new marketing project every week for the next 52 weeks you will watch your rentals and your profits increase. However just like with any diet regimen, if you miss a week, you are likely to lose momentum and it will take significantly longer to reach your goals.

If you have already purchased this book, you are already ahead of the pack and you should have no difficulty implementing (or improving upon) two marketing ideas every week. Many of the tasks are very simple. It is easy to complete two marketing tasks a week if you choose implement one simple task along with your principle task for that week.

If however you want to get on the go-getter fast track we recommend: You read through the book in the next week. Then implement (or improve on) 3 practices per week. In 3 months you will have implemented 36 ideas and will start to see an improvement in your bottom line. Repeat that for the next 6 months and you will be on your way.

If you don’t want to follow the 102 magical practices consecutively, you can also use them in other ways. You can use specific practice to fill in your existing marketing plan. Or you can choose one or several practices that address an important component missing in your current marketing plan. Or you can simply choose the practices that connect with you and implement them when the need and time arises. However as with any diet, the less you exercise and the more you cheat, you will find it longer to get into tip top shape.

CONTENTS

Getting Started - Weeks 1-35

Week 1 Make an Extra $24,000 a Year!

Week 2 Every marketing Task Should Improve One of Two Things

Week 3. Improve Your Drive by Impressions First

Week 4 Dress Up Your Office

Week 5 We are Different Let Us Show You How

Week 6 Ladies, Ladies, Ladies

Week 7 No One Really Cares About The Features of Your Self Storage

Week 8 You – You – You --Not We……….

Week 9 Know Your Competitive Edge & Unique Selling Features

Week 10 Gorilla Marketing

Week 11 Web Site

Week 12 Web Site Coupons

Week 13 Internet Coupons

Week 14 Web Site Reservations

Week 15 Web Site Payments

Week 16 Web Site Links

Week 17 Google Places: Search engines have their own form of free companies listings (you don’t even have to have a web site)

Week 19 Seven Things You Should Know Before Renting Self Storage

Week 20 Sell Disc Locks (Only) To Every Customer

Week 21 Facebook

Week 22 Free Boxes

Week 23 Free Storage Unit For Existing Tenants

Week 24 Donations That Also Advertise For You

Week 25 Free Candy, Coffee, Soda, & Key Chains

Week 26 Spend Two Hours A Week Visiting The Community

Week 27 Ice Scrappers & Sunflower Seeds

Week 28 Referral Cards

Week 29 Help Fire Victims

Week 30 Display Table At Your Bank

Week 31 Order Your Banner Today

Week 32 Joint promotions- Joint Advertising

Week 33 Sandwich Board Advertising

Week 34 Congratulations

Week 35 Referrals From Your Neighborhood Businesses

Deepening Your Skills - Weeks 36-70

Week 36 Real Estate Agents Are your Best Friends

Week 37 Christmas Ideas

Week 38 Window Painting

Week 39 Box Sign Out Back (and out front)

Week 40 Free Vacuuming

Week 41 Free Hot Dogs Soda & Chips

Week 42 Donate Your Time

Week 43 Monthly Marketing Calendar

Week 44 Value U Pack

Week 45 Your Manager

Week 46 Winter Car Storage Special

Week 47 You Tube For Profit

Week 48 Orange traffic Cones

Week 49 Office Signs

Week 50 Security

Week 51 Seasonal Free Stuff and Seasonal Ornaments/Signage

Week 52 Box & Merchandise Marketing

Week 53 Weekly Marketing Updates Via Email For Better ResultsWeek 54 Star Bucks Or Dunkn Donut Coffee Cards, Thank you Cards And Birthday Cards

Week 55 Repeat Customers

Week 56 Lists For Profit

Week 57Five Questions to Ask Potential Clients To Rent More Units

Week 58Converting Callers To visitors –Questions to Ask/Things To

Tell Them.

Week 59 Visitors To Renters – Take Them For A Walk To Educate, Make A Friend, Establish Repore And Overcome Objections

Week 60 Clean Show Units and Site a Must

Week 61 High School Scholarship

Week 62Visit You Neighboring Self Storage Facilities

Week 63 Car Washes

Week 64 Sell Christmas Trees

Week 65 Just You

Week 66 Over Coming Objections

Week 67 Sell Non Storage Related Stuff You Like in Your Office

Week 68 Dress for Success

Week 69 Don’t Give Out The Price on the Phone

Week 70 A Call & Visitor Log a Must

Going For The Kill - Weeks 71-102

Week 71 Public Announcements

Week 72 Premium Units

Week 73 Prizes More For Cash Flow & More Rentals

Week 74 Silent Auction

Week 75 Focus On The Community

Week 76 No Vacancy

Week 77 Connect With Potential Clients

Week 78 Make People Smile

Week 79 Do Not Wait For Customers To Come To You

Week 80 What Do People Love?

Week 81 Visit Your Renters On Site

Week 82 Focus Marketing

Week 83 Advertise To Your Number One Renter

Week 84 Major Event In Town

Week 85 Word Of Mouth

Week 86 Meet & Greet

Week 87 Talk To More Than One Person At A Time

Week 88 Provide After Hour Rental Phone Number On The Door

Week 89 Remind The Customer They Are Special Many Times

Week 90 You Need A Simple Marketing Plan

Week 91 Have A Marketing Tag Line

Week 92 Fast Is Not Fast Enough! Simple Is Not Simple Enough!

Week 93 Make Sure You Are Advertising For Your Self Storage Company And Not The Competition

Week 94 Wheel Of Fortune

Week 95 Be Creative

Week 96 Clients Do Not Rent Because They Want Storage

Week 97 Christmas & Holiday Marketing

Week 98 Learn From The Self Storage Community & Business World

Week 99 Make Free Money By Keeping Your Clients Longer

Week 100 This Book Is Not Perfect For A Reason

Week 101 Ask For The Sale Again

Week 102 Weaponize Your Marketing

Crush Your Competition The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

Make A Decision

Week 1

Make an Extra $24,000 a Year!

“The future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of sixty minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is.”

C. S. Lewis 1898-1963

Believe! First and foremost, you and your staff need to believe how simple it is and that is more than worth the time and energy to implement a marketing plan. Commit to at least 20 minutes every day to implementing new marketing ideas. Do the math: using an average rental of $100 per month and an average client stay of 10 months. All you need do is rent only 2 extra units a month in the next year and you will make and extra $24,000

2 units x 12 months x 10 month stay x $100/month = $24,000 extra

If you own more than one facility you duplicate that process for each one and realize additional profits. Let’s say that you have been at 70% occupancy for a couple of years with 150 empty units. You can use these marketing projects and concepts this year and repeat them every year for the next 4 years, for an extra $100,000. It may be necessary to repeat year after year because you may find that you may not fully implement each project every time and it will be very beneficial to repeat the process more than once.

I know the title of the book is Crush the Competition but you will learn that your neighboring self storage facility and the self storage community as a whole may be a great asset to you. YOU are your own real competition. Your thoughts and beliefs are the limiting factors in your success. If you do not have that complete belief now the knowledge and success you will get by implementing the ideas in this book will give you the belief you need.

While self storage is not a get rich quick scheme, it certainly is one great possibility for many people to obtain the American Dream.

Those who don’t commit at least 10% for their time to improving, marketing and getting new customers are destined to realize the same results.

Check out my face book site www.facebook.com/selfstoragemarketing.com for more marketing ideas

Week 21

Facebook First

“The finger that turns the dial rules the air.”

Will Durant 1885-1981

Why facebook first for self storage social networking? Facebook has 5 times as many regular users than all the other social network sites combined. Five out of every 6 minutes spent on social network sites are spent on Facebook. Social networking is outdated every day and has to be repeated everyday to be effective. People go to their Facebook page everyday, several times a day and sometime surf on Facebook for hours - just looking for stuff to check out. My kids and your kids each have over 1000 Facebook Friends! Facebook is the social network giant.

A self storage facebook is free and takes less time than the other social network. For example a successful business Facebook page only need to post once every other day but to be successful on twitter you need to post 20 times a day.

Facebook is a great way to get your name out there and increase your web presence. Prospects need to see your marketing information 12 to15 time before they start to connect with you. Facebook does this faster and certainly cheaper than any other medium. Even if your website does not come up on the first Google search page often your Facebook page will – or your web site will, after you have a Facebook page. Set up a business page – not an individual page.

Your goal will be to get at least 100 people to like your site, then each time you add a comment to your page you will be advertising to hundreds of people for free- your likes and their friends. The average Facebook user has over 300 friends. It will take a bit of work to get a 100 plus friends. First have your kids, friends and relatives link to your company page. Put a link from your web site to your Facebook page. Have a counter top sign made up and clip a dollar bill to it. The sign should read: “Friend us on your Facebook page now and we’ll give you this dollar bill” Let them know you occasionally send out special offers on Facebook.

Many facebook pages do not do a good job of creating business because some of the basics are not followed. On important thing to remember is local likes of your page are the most important because those are the people most likely to rent from you. So let me give you a few Facebook basics here for the best interaction for a Facebook success:

Post 3-5 times a week.

Always post a picture

Just 20% of your posts should be hardcore advertising. – think funny – think saying of the week- think unique pictures – think local kids accomplishments (your LL team won their game – hooray) think moving tips etc.

The best time of the day to post for maximum interaction is just after lunch.

Ask questions for better interaction.

Ask for people to share post. Example: If you know someone who needs a good laugh today share this with them.

Post GOOD Facebook only specials occasionally.

From your company site like other LOCAL company facebook sites and leave comments occasionally.

We don’t want to spend all day on the computer or take away from our critical task. Often there is a few minutes after the end of the day “shut down” and quitting time that is lost time and can be used to post on facebook.

Start your company Facebook page as soon as you start construction!

One must for facebook is for your FB Likes, is to have the ability to rent directly from your facebook page. Believe it or not most facebook pages do not even have a link to their web site - never mind let or suggest people can rent now.

Here is the quick run down on how to rent from your facebook page:

Add a Shop - Rent Now tab on the main facebook and second page to your facebook page with the free app at www. ecwid.com. At the bottom the page you will see their facebook app. After you get this done you will be able to add units for sale on this new 2nd facebook page. Photos with the size of each unit are important. They can click on the unit for more details and in the detail section you can provide a link for them to rent the unit.

On the main page you should have a web link directly to the site where they can rent units. If people do not need to see the units sizes or have already seen the units on the Shop page this is a short cut. To be fully modern I recommend that a QR bar code be uploaded in place of the small picture so people can scan with their smart phones and rent.

I have given you a quick overview so if you have any questions on renting units from your facebook page please email at SelfStorageMarc@gmail,com and I will be glad to help out.

Personal Story

We were at about 180 Facebook likes and we were moving toward our goal of 200 likes slowly. I happened to mention this one night to our daughter in law (twenty something) and she said she could get 20 likes with just one or two Facebook posts on her personal site. I doubted her and gave her a challenge - If she got thirty new likes in 30 minutes we would buy her a new outfit. To my disbelief we had over 50 new local likes in less than thirty minutes. Wow! Let the kids, I mean younger generation, help you with the social media. Then because we had 200 likes Facebook gave us $25 of free adds which gave us another 100 new local likes!

Offer specials that you offer only on Facebook.

Week 14

Web Site Reservations & Rentals

“There are books of which the backs and covers are by far the best parts.”

Charles Dickens 1812-1870

A lot of web sites do not take reservations because they think it would be expensive or impossible for the reservation to tie directly into the management software that determines the available units. This may be very true but you can make a simple reservation page that does not tie into your management program. It is a simple contact form like a typical contact page, with a couple of extra questions; what size unit, when do you need it; phone number and best way to reach you- email or phone. Simply state on the reservation page that you will contact them in one business day to confirm the reservation and get the deposit. Check your email everyday and it will be easy to make the contact, usually well within the 24 hours you promise. More importantly some of your clients want the choice to rent online (not just make a reservation).

With today technology your self storage management program should connect directly to your web site and rent units in real time. Our management program www.syrasoft.com does this and so much more to help us focus or marketing and get more rentals.

Every web site must have the capacity to make rentals or you are losing renters and profits. Many customers are so busy they are renting on line from the connivance of their home. Later you will even learn how to rent from facebook.

Customer service means you have to give clients what they expect - everything has to be available on line!