Using everything from search engines and social media to teenagers spinning signs in front of properties, self-storage operators have experimented with marketing techniques ad nauseam in the past year. But what makes a marketing campaign effective in generating revenue? In the eyes of several Self-Storage Talk contributors, even the most ingenious marketing plan is worthless without a smart, confident sales teamin other words, a sales-savvy facility manager.
Self-Storage Talk, the industry's largest online forum, is hosting a discussion called "Marketing Is a Waste of Time," started by member rcooper, who emphasizes facility manager's phone sales skills. Rcooper writes, "More often than not, increasing phone calls or web leads won't be effective if the person answering the phone doesn't know how to turn those leads into rentals. The facts show that 85 percent of prospective tenants still call first, so we have to know how to answer the phone in an effective, professional manner. When customers are calling around (studies show they call four to six facilities before they make a decision), whoever does the best job on the phone has the best chance of getting that rental."
Member SMSSId, an owner, says the purpose of phone sales is not necessarily to close the rental but to get the person to come visit the facility: "The two most common questions we receive: No. 1, 'How much is your storage?' and No. 2 'How much is a 10-by-x? Don't answer the question directly. Answer it with a question or multiple questions. You want to get this person to walk in the door. Caller No. 1 probably knows little or nothing about storage. Caller No. 2 is shopping around and has an idea of what he or she wants."
To share more phone sales strategies, techniques and even scripts, visit the Marketing section of Self-Storage Talk. Only registered members can post, but registration is completely free and can be done at http://www.selfstoragetalk.com/register.
Live and growing since January 2008, Self-Storage Talk is the official forum of Inside Self-Storage, a dynamic services company that provides publications, events and educational resources for the self-storage industry. In addition to more than 4,050 registered members, SST has approximately 4,073 discussion threads and 35,800 posts in 23 different topical subforums.
