Tweet
I am new to the SS industry ( I closed on my first facility in June '23) but have a solid background in real estate development as a whole. The facility is small, 92 units total but there is a lot of room for expansion. I currently have engaged a call center through ESS and am curious if you think this is a mistake or should I be taking the calls myself? The leasing is not going as well as I would have hoped 3 months into this operation. I am open to constructive dialogue.
-
-
I think it's always better when someone that actually knows the facility is the one taking the bulk of the calls. It's so much easier to sell something you actually know than a call center with just a list of attributes.MamaDuke
-
well said I could not agree more, can't say how many times they give out wrong units or misinform customers and then are so
but I can usually turn that 
upside down 
Comment
-
piggyback on MamaDuke, I agree at specially if your just opening! Personally I like to know each of my tenants, get to know them and make the experience better. Customer service is key, but are you personally running the site or are you remote? What exactly is it that the call center is not doing that you don't like? Where are they failing? Have you talk to them? It's your site so you make the call. 92 units will fill fast in my experience, I would take all calls myself, however it's your choice. But please do share where they are lacking so we can better understand
Welcome to our storage family and congratulations
Comment
-
Secret shop your own facility and rent a unit through the call center. Then you will know exactly what the sales call is like and what +'s and -'s the call center is providing you.Comment
-
What is the size mix on the units? By size, how many units do you have available? What is your pricing by size?
a. What is your Street vehicle traffic per day?
b. Do you have a large business sign along the road?
c. Do you have a website?
d. If you have a website, is it ranked in the top 3 by google?
e. What is your street access from the main road? Right turn only? Traffic light? Two way turn lane?
Comment
-
Welcome to the world of storage!! From personal experience, I would suggest taking all the calls that you can if you are available. People love talking to the owner. And if you miss a call, send a text immediately letting the potential customer know that you are interested in getting their business. Also, many facilities have business office hours and you can pick up a lot of customers by answering calls when others are closed for the day.
On a different note, I feel like this summer has been slower than usual as far as rental volume goes. So you might be experiencing a slower market which makes every call even more important.Comment
-
Being nice & friendly is vastly underrated.
You have a vested interest in getting units filled, not like a call center. You could call some of your competiition & see how they treat you on the phone, like someone who wants your business or someone who is indifferent. Then ask if they are a call center or an owner/manager.Comment
-
All very good feedback. I am running the site remotely. There is no kiosk or on site management. I have good signage and a QR code that allows people to use our website to book units or by calling the number. I have leased two units myself in the last 24 hours since taking over the phone calls. I will keep it doing this because I do agree that I have the most vested interest than anyone. I was giving the call center the benefit of the doubt. I'm finding that they have there place though, it just so happens that the day to day needs to be the owner answering the phone especially getting out of the gate. If I have 50 locations, that's a different set up altogether.Comment
-
Yes, I have a solid website, I have subscribed to SEO from a local marketing company that does a very good job and is Google Certified. We are running FB and Google Ads, I'm in the top 2 searches in the area when googling 'storage near me'. The traffic count is high for a rural town and directly off a major state highway that takes both right turns and left turns (two way turn lane). I have very good signage, in fact probably as good as most. I have 20-5x10's and 72-10x15's. I feel like I am doing everything that needs to be done and have invested a lot of time learning and speaking to many people involved in the industry. The one thing that I do not have is lighting and security camera's which according to the estimates received is about a $20K investment. It's a very rural town, so security is not an issue. The other two competitors don't have any security fencing or gates or automation to speak of or good signage to note. I at least have a website that allows tenants to rent online, and they don't even have that.Comment
-
Let's go back to your original statement. 3 months in and renting is not going as planned.
1. What state are you in? More of a climate question. What size is the community and surrounding market?
2. June/July/August can be slower months depending on your location.
3. Based on your notes above, you have everything in place from a marketing standpoint.
4. Next you need to look at you're pricing and facility comparisons. Size versus size what are the competitive prices? Facilities is yours new, older or real old.
5. What is your occupancy rate and what are your expectations for rent up to say 90%. What time frame?
6. Next is to look at your competitors. What is their occupancy? How does their mix compare to yours? We use a factor of 6 units (10/15/20) per 100 people in the market area. Count yours and the competitions units. Divide by the market population. What ratio do you come up with? Trying to see how saturated your market is.
7. Then look at market. If you're in a small town (less than 30,000) I hate 5 x 10's. Plus, they will want bigger sizes 10 x 20's. If you're in a large metro area 5 x 10's are okay. They are normally your worst customers. I would offer 10 x 10's. Give them two 5 x 10's for a 10 x 10 price. Also, this expands your product offering.
8. Location. Where is the population? Where are the competitors? Where is your location? How does your location look strategically?
Those are the next issues after you have covered marketing.Comment
-
-
Reply to Simple EtiquetteCleaning up after yourself, put trash where it belongs!Yesterday, 02:54 PM
-
Comment