If you’ve had trouble focusing on tasks and goals for the last 11-plus months, you’re certainly not alone. Setting and achieving goals, learning new skills, sharpening strategies and navigating through all the challenges during the pandemic have been difficult endeavors. And yet the need to persevere and push through barriers is critical to facilitating self-storage business and project success. Whether you’re a facility manager, owner, investor or developer, it’s important to maintain focus and hit the targets at which you take aim. Continuing your industry education is a smart and productive way to do just that.
For the last three years, the ISS Store has released a series of Mastery DVD sets focused on several areas of the business, from Career Development to Investing Strategies. These “greatest hits” packages assemble some of the best education sessions from recent Inside Self-Storage World Expo and other ISS educational events to drill down on requested topics of interest, while also offering significant savings from buying DVDs individually.
This year, we’ve continued to broaden these offerings to include two key areas of operations as well as addressing important aspects of development and investing.
On the operational front, the new sets cover Customer Experience and Technology. These are, perhaps, the areas of self-storage that have garnered the most attention the last several months. Maintaining and enhancing the customer experience in the midst of the health crisis has been among the biggest challenges for operators. Pivoting to a contact-free move-in process while maintaining strong communication and service is not only warranted but expected by today’s consumers. To serve customers well in extraordinary times means you must first master the hallmarks of an exceptional customer experience as a base foundation of your operation. As such, the five sessions included in the CX set include:
- The Pillars of a Winning Self-Storage Customer Experience
- Balancing the Personal and High-Tech Worlds of Self-Storage Customer Service
- The Three Rs of Customer Experience: Relationships, Results and Revenue
- Bridging the Communication Divide: An Omnichannel Playbook for the Modern Self-Storage Operator
- Turning Tenants Into Walking Billboards With an Exceptional Service Experience
Similarly, technology has played a major role during the pandemic in allowing operators to maintain quality of service and manage properties and business functions effectively. In some cases, operators have had to accelerate decisions and implement systems perhaps more quickly than initially planned. Thus, the five sessions included in the Technology set offer insight to systems integration, facility automation, mobile accessibility, getting buy-in from staff and tenants, and a glimpse at the tools and functionality at play now and into the future. They are:
- Let’s Work Together! Achieving Self-Storage Efficiency Through Technology Integration
- Will Your Next Self-Storage Manager Be a Robot? An Overview of Industry Technology
- A Self-Storage Automation Case Study: Costs, Implementation, Challenges and More
- It All Happens on the Phone: Mobile Technology and the Tenant-Centric Experience
- Resistance Is Futile: Helping Your Self-Storage Staff and Tenants Embrace Technology
On the development side of the business, it’s never been more costly to take a misstep. Whether you’re pursuing ground-up construction, a building conversion or facility expansion, doing your due diligence and planning properly is paramount to success. This is particularly true for those new to the industry. The five seminars included in the Project Planning package provide expert insight to financing, feasibility, development, design, potential pitfalls, startup challenges and more. They are:
- Landmine-Aversion Therapy: How to Avoid Detonating Your Self-Storage Dream
- The Anatomy of a Self-Storage Startup: An Owner-Taught Case Study
- Buy and Build: Self-Storage Owners Double Down With New Business Launch
- Smarter, Cheaper, Faster: Flexible Self-Storage Development
- Lending Platforms and Programs for Every Self-Storage Finance Need
Those same important themes permeate throughout the Real Estate set. Today’s self-storage market dynamics have never been more studied or complex. Whether you’re the buyer or seller, striking a winning deal takes patience, know-how and keen analysis. The five sessions in this bundle offer insight to deal structures, feasibility, property potential, value enhancement, due diligence and more. They are:
- Structuring Self-Storage Deals in a New Reality: A Guide for Buyers and Sellers
- Your Self-Storage Feasibility Study: More Than Just a 100-Page Document
- Acquiring Self-Storage: Predicting Cash Flow and Property Potential
- Get Pumped! Enhancing Self-Storage Facility Value Before You Sell
- Tips for Buying and Selling Self-Storage in an Ever-Changing Market
As the industry continues to thrive through adversity, it’s important to acknowledge that COVID-19 has added complexities. Whether you’re interested in entering the business or a seasoned professional, now is an excellent time to set your targets and sharpen your acumen. Become a master by broadening your knowledge, expanding your reach and hitting the bullseye.
