When asked about marketing, most people think of TV commercials or ads placed in Yellow Pages, newspapers and magazines. The truth of the matter is marketing is a much more holistic process with ads representing just a piece of the pie. You must create an excellent selling advantage, communication strategy and be able to close the deal before the process is complete. Most important, you need a manager with sales savvy.

Most operators would do much better by cutting their marketing budgets and increasing the salary of their management position to attract a professional salesperson. For example, if you have an underperforming Yellow Pages ad costing $850 per month, you’ll get more bang for your buck by offering a qualified manager $10,000 more per year than you will by continuing to run that ad. You’ll attract a better manager with this salary, and I guarantee you’ll get a better return on that investment.

How is that possible? Consider the following:

A poor manager can negatively affect tenants’ experiences, leading to reduced referrals, lower retention and ultimately higher costs to acquire a new customer. If your average customer is worth $700, this will cost you a fortune in income and property valuation over your career.

A poor manager will have a low inquiry-to-rental conversion ratio. If you’re tracking marketing properly, you know your cost-per-inquiry ratio. If you pay $50 to make the phone ring but your manager is rude, impatient or just not a good salesperson, you can kiss those dollars goodbye.

A poor manager will not proactively implement great marketing systems, but will wait for the phone to ring or a customer to walk through the door. This costs you time and forces you to use more expensive advertising mediums to increase occupancy.

More Marketing, Please

The truth is a good manager needs to have more marketing experience than operations expertise. With exceptional advances in management software and operational systems in this industry, self-storage management in itself isn’t difficult to learn. Give your manager the right training, legal forms and technology with the latest in self-storage management software, and he’s well on his way to handle daily operations. But does he know anything about marketing?

Hiring a manager with marketing experience is a must in today’s competitive marketplace. In fact, I don’t think there’s a better focus for managers than sales and marketing. We’ve consistently seen managers with little-to-no self-storage experience wildly outperform an industry veteran because they have marketing expertise in the bank.

I speculate that some managers who have been in this industry for a long time have old, passive habits that are hard to break. If they still operate under the assumption that self-storage tenants will find their services no matter what, they’ll be left in the dust. In some competitive markets, savvy sales strategies will make all the difference.

Snagging a Good Manager

So, how do you hire the best manager with these characteristics? In 2002, I had the opportunity to talk with bestselling author John C. Maxwell. Through the course of our conversation, we discussed finding and hiring great people. We shared stories of finding high-quality people though traditional methods like classified ads, etc.

John made a simple but profound statement about finding the best people for a team. “Do you want to know where the best people are?” he began. Of course, everybody perked up and awaited his answer. “Great people aren’t answering ‘help wanted’ ads,” he continued. “They’re not coming in to hand out resumes. They’re already working somewhere, doing a fantastic job and making things happen for themselves and their employers.”

Have you thought about recruiting? Maybe not, but I encourage you to adopt an “always hiring” attitude. Keep on the lookout for the perfect person throughout your daily activities. Maybe the next realtor to visit your home or the Blockbuster salesperson impresses you so much with his or her sales aptitude that you should consider asking them to work for your facility.

You need someone with the ability to market aggressively, build loyal relationships with your customers and strive to increase your conversion ratio drastically. You never know where you’ll find the perfect candidate, but I assure you there are plenty of excellent people out there looking for a new career if the right opportunity presents itself.

I realize this doesn’t sound like conventional marketing advice, but I assure you the right manager is one of the most important ingredients to your overall marketing success. Hire Mr. or Ms. Right as your new manager and your operation’s pie will be complete. Savor the success!

Derek M. Naylor is president of Storage Marketing Solutions, a full-service, results-oriented marketing and advertising agency dedicated to the self-storage industry. For a free subscription to his e-newsletter, call 800.941.4805; e-mail [email protected]; visit www.storagemarketingsolutions.com.

The facility opened in January, but its management team has been in business for the past two-and-a-half years operating an outsourced model. The company grew rapidly from storing a couple of boxes at a home to renting warehouse space all over the country. It made sense to consolidate the operation in one location.

Thinking Inside The Box

It was obvious that customers wanted a one-stop storage solution in a single location, but where to locate it? There were two challenges to building the company’s first facility: The first was to find a suitable site. There is a huge demand for warehouse space in Dubai, but a suitable site was found in Al Quoz Industrial Area 4 in the heart of the city.

The second challenge was to design the site to meet customer expectations. A leading Dubai contracting company designed the facility incorporating steel and wire mesh partitions.

The priorities included safety, moving convenience within the facility using lift systems, air conditioning, 24-hour access and 100 percent space optimization. The latest in fire detection and sprinkler systems was also installed.

Security is provided by 24-hour security guards on the site as well as a CCTV infrared digital system. Each customer is provided with a magnetic access card allowing 24-hour access and a log of all activity is retained in the store.

 

The single-story facility offers more than 15,000 square feet of climate-controlled storage. More than 150 units range from 50 square feet up to 155 square feet. Customers can request to meet with a specialist to determine how much storage space they will need.

In addition to storage, The Box also offers packing and removals, document management, inventory control, vehicle storage, inventory management, courier and local and international hauling.

The facility reached 100 percent occupancy in less than a year. Although the company’s marketing program consists of press releases in local papers and magazines, 90 percent of its customers are referrals by existing customers.

With the success of The Box, the company is planning storage locations in other major cities and the Gulf Cooperation Council including Kuwait, Oman and Qatar.

 

Wadih Haddad is the managing partner for The Box Self Storage. He has a background in logistics and supply-chain management. For more information, visit www.theboxme.com.

By now, you’ve probably heard of COWs: Container on Wheels, a mobile-storage system and business solution engineered by TrailPods LLC, a company producing auto-hauling products and custom-container fabrication. The COWs system is designed to include everything needed to offer mobile storage and more. The system includes 8- and 16-foot steel-built containers and hydraulic trailers, both patent-pending. Container wheels allow the storage units to be loaded onto the trailer with minimal effort via remote control. TrailPods’ trailers attach to any pickup, eliminating the need for commercial vehicles or expensive personnel.

What’s So Special?

“Let’s start with the container. We build one heck of a box, which is constructed of steel and should last for decades,” says Chuck Frank, director of operations. “Potential customers wonder if adding a ‘mobile’ service to their existing facility will hurt business, but many of our customers have found that the occupancy level has gone way up as a result of adding COWs to the operation,” he adds.

Before designing the COWs system, the TrailPods management team spent more than 20 years designing and fabricating specialty trailers for corporate America’s road-tour marketing events, including Indy Car Racing, as well as for the U.S. government and armed services.

“With our expertise in building and modifying high-quality containers and hauling devices, it made sense to design a next-generation mobile-storage system, and one that’s built to last,” notes Frank.

Easy Rider, Easy Business

High fuel costs impact everyone these days. To help, TrailPods designed the COWs to be shipped as flat kits, enabling customers to maximize the number of containers they can fit on a standard flatbed tractor trailer. “Customers love the idea of getting 20 to 30 COWs delivered on one truckload, as opposed to only three standard 16-foot assembled boxes,” notes David Nathan, national sales manager.

When contracting with TrailPods, customers are not charged franchise fees, royalties or additional fees, says Nathan. “Customers buy what they want in the quantity they want.”

The company has developed two starter packages that allow a customer to get up and running in no time. Each package includes a handful of COWs and the TrailPods trailer.

Next Up for TrailPods Customers

New this fall is the Stow It OR Throw It, a combo 8-foot container and 8-foot residential dumpster. “Whether de-cluttering in preparation for the sale of a home or performing a long overdue spring cleaning, this product is completely unique and presents a great new way for our customers to make a lot of money,” Frank says.

In addition, the company’s Jump Start Program offers new customers the option to “pre-market” the new mobile service in their region. It is designed to help ensure immediate rentals and positive cash flow.

As Trailpods introduces new products, existing customers can simply add the new products ala carte to their existing inventories in whatever quantities they choose. All are designed to be part of the TrailPods system, which requires no new delivery device or personnel—ever!

For more information, call 866.GET.A.COW (866.438.2269); visit www.get-a-cow.net.

Atlanta-based eGAD Design Group was founded by Bert Brown as an architectural and engineering firm specializing in the self-storage industry. Although only four years old, the firm will have completed more than 50 projects by the end of 2008. Brown’s career in self-storage began 22 years ago when he was hired by Door Systems Inc. Later, he worked for DBCI and Janus International. Brown also developed and owned self-storage facilities in Atlanta, which were bought a few years ago by a REIT giving him the financial freedom to launch his own design firm.

Brown’s unique perspective enabled him to recognize a gap between design and true efficiency, and inspired him to open his own business to bridge that gap. His “aha” moment came while reviewing a set of facility plans for a general contractor, when he discovered another 3,000 square feet could fit into the site, increasing the project’s value by $500,000. It was no surprise that eGad’s specialty became producing an aesthetically pleasing building with an efficient layout that maintains the highest return on investment possible.

Over the ensuing three years, Brown added structural engineering to his firm’s service roster. This was followed by the mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering. Staff additions are based on discipline excellence coupled with self-storage experience. “Many architects and engineers are experts at commercial development but do not understand the unique requirements of self-storage,” he explains.

Inside-Out Design

Brown stresses the most important point is to have an experienced architect or engineer involved early. Too often, an owner hires a civil engineer without self-storage knowledge to produce the site plans before bringing in an architect, Brown says. “The engineer knows he must get as much square footage inside as possible, but lets the exterior drive the interior.” The greatest challenge then becomes convincing the owner to take a step back and invest a little more in re-drawing his plans, he adds. This step back can result in a tenfold return on the new design.

Brown’s approach is to let the interior design drive the exterior’s. The design team obtains as much interior square footage as possible, which determines the shape and size of the building’s exterior. “We rate ourselves based on how much square footage we get inside the envelope of the building,” he says. Most of his projects have 78 percent efficiency, and some are up to 80 percent.

Owners acting on expansion plans without adequate due diligence present another challenge. Brown has heard horror stories of self-storage owners who added a service, such as boat/RV, based on the recommendation of the facility manager, only to discover customers won’t pay the going rates for it. “We help the owner determine if the service is needed and if customers will pay for it,” he says.

Looking Forward

The greatest challenge facing the self-storage industry today is financing, Brown says. Even though banks know self-storage is one of the safest industries to invest in, they are not in a position to loan money. “Successful storage companies have a project on the books with a great location but can’t move forward because they can’t get funding,” he says.

Brown sees the typical industry model changing. New drive-up, garage-style facilities are becoming fewer and fewer. Multi-stories will become more prominent as land costs increase. Eighty to 90 percent of eGad’s projects are multi-story, climate control for maximum revenue.

The eGad team’s industry experience means a self-storage developer can find ways to save money in the design, increase space use and, ultimately, his return on investment. “An efficient design will always yield greater profit,” Brown says. “And in the end, that is what it is all about.”

For more information, visit www.egadgroup.com.

On Nov. 21, the board of trustees of InStorage Real Estate Investment Trust provided an update regarding the company’s review of strategic alternatives to the take-over bid made by Canadian Storage Partners ULC (CSP), a subsidiary of TKG-StorageMart Partners LP. In mid-October, CSP made an unsolicited offer to acquire all of InStorage REIT’s outstanding trust units at $3.75 per unit.
 
InStorage advised by press release on Nov. 19 that the two companies were in discussion. They initially expected to complete a definitive support agreement by noon on Nov. 21, the expiry date of CSP’s take-over bid, but decided to continue negotiation in pursuit of an agreement in which the offer is raised to $4 cash per InStorage unit. Partners ULC has now extended its deadline until 10 a.m. on Dec. 5.
 
InStorage is the largest owner-operator of self-storage facilities in Canada, with 52 self-storage properties in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec.

TKG-StorageMart has 70 facilities in the United States and Canada, including five in Columbia. The Burnam family has been involved in the self-storage industry since 1974.

MJ Partners Self Storage Group sold StorageOne in Las Vegas for $4.85 million. The property consists of 54,355 square feet of rentable space and 466 units and 27 RV parking spaces. The facility will be renamed American Mini Storage. MJ Partners’ Marc A. Boorstein and David E. Kohn represented the buyer, Equity Based Services Inc., and the seller, JK Investment Properties Inc. For more information, visit www.mjpartners.com.

Recordant Inc. recently debuted its Recordant Solution, new technology for capturing and analyzing interactions between associates and customers. Recordings may be used as training tools for self-storage managers and owners seeking to optimize sales and customer service skills to the fullest. In addition, the Recordant Solution can provide mystery-shopping activities, capturing real life interaction as opposed to infrequent scripted shops.

The Recordant Solution is engineered to provide a range of services:

• Comprehensive coverage of face-to-face and telephone associate/customer interactions.

• The ability to quickly download and access captured interactions through a secure, web-based portal.

• Near real-time feedback on training effectiveness and retention.

• Complete customized assessments while listening to interactions.

• The option to identify key areas of the interaction through notes and bookmarks.

• Export and e-mail clips of interactions to share best practices and recognize achievements.

• Automatic record and upload capabilities, without the need for manual action.

Info: www.recordant.com

Over the last 15 years, the internal fit-out of self-storage facilities has become a specialized segment of the construction industry. Developers are squeezing in more net-lettable areas than ever before. Designers are paying more attention to the potential of the building. Builders are incorporating mezzanine floor designs to give head heights not thought possible before.

This article, based on 30 years experience in the steel-frame, cladding and roofing industry and 15 years of fabricating and building self-storage, offers advice on choosing the right materials for your self-storage facility. To select materials and systems for your storage investment, the products need to be durable and easily installed with no unnecessary parts. In addition, they need to be readily available, delivered on time and designed specifically for self-storage applications.

Codes and Regulations

To ensure you meet all municipal and public service agency regulations, blueprint the design of the complete site including all exits, emergency escape routes, corridor layouts, lighting and smoke detection. If you plan to add a mezzanine floor, test the building’s concrete foundation to ensure it has sufficient load-bearing capacity to support the weight of the additional interior height. This report along with the completed plans should be given to the nominated building regulation agency or outside consultants responsible for obtaining building permits.

Many sites include at least one mezzanine floor. In most cases, this means hiring an expert in design and construction to guide the project from the initial feasibility study to the completed self-storage center.

If preparing the specifications for the work yourself, ensure all work conforms to the newest local and regional codes. Areas often affected by regulations include mezzanine floors, fire lobbies, suspended ceilings, electrics, etc. Most local and national building regulations are available on the Internet.

Materials

Apart from the mezzanine, the partition system and the access-control products, most materials needed for the project can be off-the-shelf designed for storage applications. Source the mezzanine floor from a supplier that understands the concept of self-storage layouts (no posts in the fire lobbies, etc.). However, seek advice from industry specialists and compare like-for-like price and specifications.

Several key points should be considered when selecting the best materials for your storage project. They are as follows:

Durability: Whichever systems you chose, be sure they are produced from materials used in an external environment to reduce the problem with erosion. The most common cause of damage to your self-storage facility is from impacts from the consumer pushing trolleys. To protect your investment, budget for corner protection plus kick plates in corridors and all main areas of the site.

Cost-effectiveness: Determine the exact number of units and net-lettable area you’ll have, and plan your unit mix. Small units require more materials. This layout can make a difference in building cost and final return on investment. Determine the type of door and size. In addition, always ask for the exact specification of all products you are getting, including thickness of materials.

Practicality: Have your contractor use local materials suppliers where possible. This reduces the possibility of issues with ongoing maintenance such as light fittings, smoke heads, etc. If you use a national supplier, be sure the company can support its products with ongoing services.

Ensure the materials used for the storage units meet current specifications. Also, choose a supplier that will provide parts promptly during project construction or if you need replacement parts after you open your doors.

 

In addition, be sure you get your hand-over file from the contractor with a summary of the work and details of all specifications of materials and products.

Health and safety: All products must be safe for customers and designed for the purpose you intend. Products should be fitted in accordance with manufacturer’s instructions and be user-friendly for the consumer with no sharp edges on doors, door jambs, wall joints, etc.

Ease of use: The ideal interior system needs to be relocatable with ease because room changes are common to suit demands of existing and new customers. This system requires the least of amount of parts with maximum inter-changeability.

Take the time to properly research and choose the materials best suited for your self-storage project. This early due diligence will help go a long way to making sure your self-storage project opens on time and provides the services you intend.

Gary Jennings is the managing director for SAS Services Ltd., which provides turnkey solutions for self-storage building conversions and is the European authorized distributor for Sentinel Systems Corp.’s access-control system. For more information, visit www.storagematters.info.