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By Tron Jordheim

Youve heard it said about a salesperson: He can sell ice to Eskimos. Usually, we take this to mean the person is so good at persuasion, so hypnotically dazzling, that he can sell people things they dont need. The quote is usually intended as an insult and compliment at the same time.

Id like to take a different perspective. If you were trying to build a business that sells a product or service, wouldnt you want customers who understood the value of what they were buying? Wouldnt you seek out people who knew the most about your product or service and try to find a way to satisfy their requirements? Wouldnt those people become your biggest usersand fansif you served them well?

One would think Eskimos know a lot about ice. Their languages have many ways of describing it. Some live in ice houses part of the year, hunt on ice during hunting season, kayak around ice flows, and put ice cubes in their Coca- Cola. If you knew about the different uses they had for ice and what it needs to serve each application, you could build a very nice business selling ice to Eskimos.

For example, if you could get the right consistency and coldness of pre-cut blocks, shaped especially for walls, ceilings and tunnels, you could sell igloos. If you knew the kind of ice required to keep animals preserved after a hunt, you could sell hunter ice. Ice-flow kayak races that traditionally feature obstacles would be pretty boring without them; so you could create a new market for kayak ice, selling large chunks to the races. And, of course, your company would want to be the exclusive provider of ice in the concession booths at these events. Having the same company that provides the best-quality igloo, hunter and kayak ice provide its best drinking ice would allow vendors to charge more per cup and possibly sell more drinks.

What about selling refrigerators to Eskimos? Gary Larson, creator of The Far Side comic strip, once featured a cartoon drawing of a salesman floating away on his boat, waving good-bye to Eskimos standing beside their new refrigerators. Is that salesperson a great BS artist? Are the Eskimos suckers? Maybe there is more going on there.

Just because it is cold in the arctic, doesnt mean the temperature is always ideal for storing food. Have you seen what happens to a nice head of lettuce if it is kept too cold? Besides, modern refrigerators have cool amenities like crushed or cubed ice and filtered drinking water. If the company that provided the best ice also sold its own brand refrigerator, it could develop product loyalty that would create years of profitable growth and many happy customers.

If your business was ice or refrigerators, would the Eskimos do business with you? Do you know enough about what your customers need and like? When someone who knows a little something about storage looks at your facility, are they satisfied or impressed? Try thinking of yourself as the ice salesperson who has just been awarded all the lands north of the Artic Circle as his sales territory. Could you develop a good business? Diversify your product to suit specific customer needs, and watch your business grow from ice-cube to iceberg proportions.

Tron Jordheim is the director of PhoneSmart, which serves the self-storage industry as an off-site sales force that turns missed calls into rentals. This rollover-call service serves as a backup to store managers. Mr. Jordheim has started several successful businesses from scratch, and assisted with acquisitions as general manager of the Mid-Missouri Culligan Bottled Water franchise. For more information call 866.639.1715; e-mail [email protected].

Construction Corner is a Q&A column committed to answering reader-submitted questions regarding construction and development. Inquiries may be sent to [email protected]. 

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Q: I own a facility in Nebraska and am having the biggest problem with people lassoing surveillance cameras off the building walls. Aside from putting some big ugly cage around each camera, do you have any suggestions? Or can you recommend another type of camera?

Gayle in Lincoln, Neb.

A: There is a wide range of high-quality camera housings available. For your application, you would probably want to look at something in a no-grip design. Picture a half-dome camera with a mounting ring around it. This camera is surface-mounted but doesnt provide any way for someone to easily grip or pull it off the wallwith a rope or otherwise. There is a wide variety of camera options that can fit inside this form factor, such as night vision, vari-focal, etc.

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Q: I am seeing more and more storage facilities with self-service kiosks. I would be interested in adding one to our facility, but I want to know what I need to do from a construction standpoint to prepare for one (e.g.,walls, cages, etc.).

George in Santa Fe, N.M.

A: There is no doubt that kiosks, or auto-attendants, are the wave of the future. Not only are they a great convenience for your customer, they are also a good way to reduce your operating costs by hiring less office personnel.

The construction modifications required will vary greatly with the type of kiosk you purchase. Some kiosks are self-standing units that require no construction (mostly for in-office use only). Others are surface-mounted to the exterior of your facility; and still others require a remodel of the wall into which you flush-mount the unit.

I recommend the latter design. Even though it does require some initial construction, it will look cleaner and offer long-lasting service, much like an ATM machine. The wall will help protect the unit from theft and vandalism. Once you decide on the model and get the specifications, contact a local contractor to get an estimate for the work needed to install it. It will likely pay for itself in a short period of time.

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Tony Gardner is a licensed contractor and installation manager for QuikStor, a provider of self-storage security and software since 1987. For more information, visit www.quikstor.com.

By Grady Carlson

Drug labs, chop shops, explosives...In 2004, self-storage security means a lot more than keeping the bad guys from breaking in. It also means keeping them from moving in. To do both, you need clearly defined and effective measures to ensure you know who rents space and works at your facility. These actions should be reinforced by a high-quality, uniform locking system to stop criminals at the unit door.

Know Who Youre Dealing With

Criminals want to hide their identities. For this reason, operators should ask every tenant for valid photo identification, as well as use photos and surveillance cameras to record their faces and vehicle license plates. Another significant part of any security program is an active, visible manager who makes it clear to every renter that he spends a lot of time on site. Working involvement with local law enforcement is another way to make your facility less attractive to the enemy. These measures protect your investment and your renters property.

You also need to know the people who work in your office. Can you trust your staff? Background and reference checks are in order to avoid making the wrong hire. While it is important to consider locks and security hardware to keep criminals out of your facility, you also need to know who you are willingly letting in. Not only is your renters property at stake, but your very business.

A Uniform Front: Locks and Latches

Set your own security parameters. Its time to end the your lock, your key school of self-storage security. Allowing renters to make their own lock selection may lead to the presence of methamphetamine labs, chop shops, and dangerous chemical and firearms storage on your premises. The problem stems from honest renters securing their units with generic hardware-store locks. A thief or someone who needs to dump unwanted goods then cuts the lock, does his business, and re-secures the unit with a look-alike lock. No one is the wiser until the legitimate renter attempts to enter his unit and asks you why his key doesnt work.

This old cut and switch technique has become the new cut and dump method for storing illegal and dangerous material. So for starters, upgrade your security by selling or giving away quality locks directly from a high-security lock manufacturer. In doing so, you improve your odds against crime, and your facility presents a uniform security front. If every unit is secured the same way, a thief cannot target particular units based on whether he thinks their locks can be compromised. Lengthen his odds, and improve yours, with standardized locks.

But uniform locks are only the first step toward thwarting criminals. Even the finest padlock or disk lock still hangs on a slide bolt; and while the lock shackle can resist a bolt-cutter, a slide bolt cannot. Most facilities use access-control systems, surveillance cameras and door alarms. But since studies indicate most self-storage thefts are committed by people who actually rent at a facility, you still need security at the door. Only a cylinder-lock system with a flush-mounted cylinder and no shackle or latch provides protection against bolt-cutters and other brute force. A hand-assembled, high-security system also provides protection against picking.

The Next Level: Master-Keyed Systems

You can take your cylinder-lock and latch system to the next level by employing a cylinder with a stainless-steel front that resists drilling and a unique key that cannot be duplicated. A hand-assembled, tubular cylinder- lock system provides tens of thousands of usable key combinations and precise tolerances to prevent picking. Combining a cut and drill-resistant cylinder with a unique key combination in a master-keyed system provides physical protection, maximum security and fast, safe access in an emergency.

A master-keyed system isnt for everyone. But if you operate a professional security program and write a lease that accommodates your system, worries of liability are better saved for other aspects of your business. A master-keyed system gives managers the ability to access units safely and legallyunder carefully controlled circumstancesin an emergency. It also makes it clear to every renter that you are serious about security.

With a distinctive, nonreplicable key blank and millions of key combinations, your master key will be exclusive to your facility. It can then be safely protected in an electronic key safe with controlled access by authorized personnel. The only people who love high-security, master-keyed facilities more than renters and operators are local fire marshals and zoning boards. Your payoff is significant market visibility as a safe and secure facility.

Grady Carlson is the self-storage operations manager for Lock America Inc. (d/b/a L.A.I. Group), a manufacturer of security products for the self-storage, vending, gaming, trucking and coin-op industries. He can be reached at 800.422.2866; e-mail [email protected]; visit www.laigroup.com.

I recently did an experiment: I called more than 50 storage facilities after business hours to see what kind of outgoing message I would hear on their answering machines/voicemail systems. I mostly encountered a lack of professionalism outgoing messages seemed to be an afterthought. Many didnt include the essential elements of good communication.

Whats the purpose of your phone message? If you didnt respond to sell more units, youre answer is incorrect. The majority of outgoing messages I heard went something like this: Thanks for calling ABC Self Storage. If youve reached this message, were either on the property or gone for the day. Leave a message and well call you back. But a message canand shoulddo more to assist your sales effort. Heres how.

Voice and Message

There are two components of your outgoing phone message: the voice you use and the content you deliver. First, lets talk about voice. Since the majority of renters (or those making the rental decision) are women, use a womans voice. It should sound professional, be easy to understand and use an accent from the local area. Although many people are enamored of a sexy British accent, your message should not sound like it was recorded by James Bonds secretary. Instead, find a local woman who has good diction and whose speech pattern wont intimidate callers.

In terms of content, your message should:

1. Thank people for calling.
2. Provide callers your USP (unique selling position) and benefit(s).
3. Explain to callers why youre not answering the phone.
4. Refer callers to your hotline for more information.
5. Give callers incentive to leave their names and numbers, such as a contest drawing or promotion.

The first thing callers should hear on your outgoing phone message is, Thank you for calling (the name of your facility). This is painfully obvious, but out of the 50-plus facilities I called, more than 10 didnt even use the facility name in their greeting. When callers listen to your message, they should learn what makes your facility different than any other in your areayour USP. (If you dont have a USP, you have a problem. See my column in the April 2004 issue for more information on this topic.) Along with your USP, you must explain its benefit to the customer. For example, if you tell people you are the only one in town with individually alarmed doors, also say, so we immediately know when an unauthorized party opens your unit. If you have more than one USP, pick your best or most powerful. To enumerate more than one on the phone would make the message too long.

Your message should also explain why youre not answering the phone. It should say something like, If youve reached this message, were either on the property showing one of our spacious units or were gone for the day. Give potential renters a reason youre not in the office, particularly during business hours when they expect you to be there.

Another important tool Ive addressed in past issues is the storage hotline. The hotline is a three- to five-minute message set up on a separate phone line that gives people a complete set of reasons to rent from you. You dont have the time to do this with your standard outgoing message, but you can direct people to a separate hotline for more informationit will do the heavy lifting for the sale. On your standard greeting, refer to the hotline as a 24-hour, free recorded message about your facility or the service of self-storage.

When you ask callers to leave their names and phone numbers, many will be reluctant to do so. You need to motivate them with an incentive. For example, provide the opportunity to be entered into a contest to win something. This will encourage them to leave important contact information.

Caller ID

If you have caller ID, it will often give you the names and phone numbers of people who called while you were out, even if they didnt leave a message. While it isnt appropriate to call those who hung up on your machine or voicemail, it is acceptable and even smart to send them a postcard with a special offer. By inputting a phone number into an online reverse directory, you can often get a mailing address. What will people who receive postcards think? Most will be shocked at the coincidence. The majority wont connect the two events, but even those who do shouldnt be offended.

Each morning, have your manager check the caller-ID unit and follow up with callers appropriately. It is crucial to take action immediately after the calls, on the same day you pull the numbers off the system. When people call about storage, they arent going to sit around and wait. Most will decide where to rent within the next few days.

Putting It All Together

What is a good outgoing message? It should sound something like this:

Thank you for calling ABC Self Storage, the only facility in Des Moines with individually alarmed doors, so we know when someone unauthorized enters your unit. If youve reached this message, were either on the property showing one of our spacious rental units, or were gone for the day. To hear a complete description of our facility, feel free to call our 24-hour, free recorded message at 555-1212, or check out our website at www.mystorageplace.com. At the tone, please leave your full name and phone number to be entered into our contest to win a free trip to Hawaii.

If spoken quickly but clearly, this wont be too much information to provide in your message. Whatever you do, take time to come up with a well-planned, friendly greeting.

You concentrate on selling people when you speak to them over the phone why not make sure that when they reach your message, they receive an equally effective sales effort?

Fred Gleeck is a self-storage consultant who helps owners/operators during all phases of the business, from feasibility studies to creating an ongoing marketing plan. He is the author of Secrets of Self Storage Marketing SuccessRevealed! (available for purchase at www.selfstoragesuccess.com) as well as the producer of professional training videos on self-storage marketing. For more information, call 800.FGLEECK; e-mail [email protected].

A webinar is a web-based seminar that can incorporate live or archived audio and video streaming, slideshows and desktop sharing. All that is required is a computer and a phone line. The user can call, click or dial in from virtually anywhere, eliminating the need for costly and time-consuming travel.

How It Works

To conduct webinars, a company sets up an account with one of the hundreds of web-conferencing services available on the Internet. It then has a choice of various services, depending on the provider. If a phone line is the primary connection, the company is assigned a permanent phone number (usually toll-free) and an entry code to use every time a webinar takes place. All webinars are held through the service providers website, which can be accessed at any point via the assigned code.

When a company is ready to host a webinar event, its designated liaison sends out an e-mail invitation and schedule, complete with a link and instructions to access the providers website. At the scheduled time, the liaison accesses the providers system via the web or, in some instances, a telephone, to log in and initiate the virtual meeting.

Following suit, the attendees also log into the website. If streaming audio is not used, they will also call the assigned phone number, which will connect them with other attendees. Participants can then view step-by-step screen shots and video that corresponds with what the presenter is saying. At any time, they can jump in and ask questions. Those who cannot attend during the scheduled time can access the proceedings afterward via an online archive.

Why Use a Webinar?

There are several reasons to use web-conferencing services. To list a few, webinars:

• Streamline meeting, seminar and training processes.
• Help keep costs low, saving money.
• Only require a phone and computer.
• Can be accessed by anyone in the world at any time.
• Allow for increased customer and employee interaction.
• Are effective and reliable.
• Do not require the user to be web savvy.
• Are convenient.
• Allow small companies to offer a higher level of service to the consumer.

Everything is about merging. Being wireless and getting rid of unnecessary components is essential in maintaining a modern infrastructure. Integration is key. A harmony can be found in the webinar, which allows businesses to keep things simple while increasing customer and employee satisfaction, productivity, and profits.

Businesses around the world are catching on to this trend. Webinars allow people to know and do more without having to pull themselves in a thousand different directions. Any business can use and benefit from a webinar. They really work!

April Howard is part of EnGenius Technologies Inc., a manufacturer of long-range, industrial cordless phones and wireless land-area network products for multiple industries, including self-storage, warehousing, manufacturing, business enterprise, grocery and retail, assisted living and others. Its products mobility, flexibility, and ability to penetrate concrete and steel, have made them popular for self-storage applications. For more information, call 888.735.7888; visit www.engeniustech.com.  EnGenius uses Infinite Conferencing for all of its webinar needs. Visit www.infiniteconferencing.com.

You may have heard the term enterprise solution, a phrase commonly used in the computer industry. An enterprise solution involves several distinct, remote sites tied into a single database using a wide-area network (WAN). This type of solution was once reserved for very large companies like banks and insurance companies using mainframe computers. With the growth of the Internet, the cost of connecting remote sites has become affordable for almost any business.

How WAN Works

In a wide-area network, the software programs and databases are established on a central computer. Each site gets a connection to the main. The connection can be a DSL line, frame relay, fractional T line or similar type of service. The cost of these types of connections has become quite affordable.

To maximize the bandwidth utility, we use what is commonly referred to as thin-client computing. The remote users connect using Microsofts Terminal Services or Citrix. Terminal Services is a module that ships with Microsoft Server 2000 and can be installed at no additional charge. Citrix is a more expensive third-party product purchased as an add-on. Both products allow all computer processing to run on the server. The only things passed over the WAN are the screen displays and other small transmissions of data.

Benefits

The benefits of an enterprise solution are obvious. Since all of the data is stored in a central database, the business can have instant access to information from all sites in a consolidated format. Management can print up-to-the-minute reports at any time. There is no need for cumbersome merge programs that are prone to problems. In a centralized database, all of the information is live and current. In the case of the Internet, you can have a single web server that allows your customers to rent, reserve and pay online for units at any of your sites from a single point of contact.

Another benefit is backing up and other routine maintenance is done on a single database at one location. There are also significant risk-management benefits. For instance, if you have 10 sites, each responsible for backing up its own data, it is extremely unlikely you are consistently getting 10 good backups. Most managers believe they are getting good backups; but when a disaster occurs, they are often surprised to learn they are not. People are trained to insert and remove a backup tape from their computer each day, but they do not fully understand the backup process and often fail to recognize the warning signs when a backup fails.

You must ask yourself: What is the cost of trying to reconstruct a lost database? What is the cost of trying to maintain adequate training and maintenance of multiple sites? It is important to understand that risk management goes beyond purchasing insurance. It is a philosophy of managing your business in such a way to protect its value and cash flow. In short, investing in the proper infrastructure for your organization can be viewed as a form of risk management.

Implementation

To implement an enterprise solution, you must first use software designed to run multiple sites from a single database. Unfortunately, most self-storage software is designed to manage only a single facility. To support multiple sites, the software must take into consideration all elements that must be segregated from a single-site-users perspective.

For example, the software must be able to distinguish what units are associated with each site. Security must take multiple sites into account and limit access to one or more facilities. When a user is assigned to a particular site, he should only see units associated with that facility. These examples illustrate only a couple of the concepts the software must support.

On the other hand, administrators must see data from all sites in a consolidated format. The database engine must be designed to work for multiple sites over a WAN configuration. Most self-storage software providers have their users install stand-alone versions of the software on individual computers at each site. Then they use a special extraction to mine information from each database and a consolidation program to merge it at the home office. To set up the infrastructure for a WAN, you must have a centralized server and some level of bandwidth to connect the remote sites. The computers at the sites do not need to be powerful machines, because most of the processing is done at the central site on the server. Local printers must be configured on the WAN. Setting up an enterprise solution requires a commitment of resources, but the benefits are well worth it.

Cost Comparison

You must compare the costs of establishing and maintaining a WAN vs. installations of separate copies of software at each location. Many of the costs of maintaining separate databases may not be readily apparent and are often overlooked. For instance:

• What are the costs of having multiple people performing database backups and other redundant tasks?
• What are the costs of gathering information from multiple sources, preparing the data for consolidation, scrubbing the data and merging it into a single source?
• How important is it to have accurate real-time data that will allow management to make instant, informed decisions? For example, is it important to know how many of a particular size and type of unit is available at each site? With this information, you can quickly react to market conditions and maintain a higher level of occupancy.

This type of solution is not for everyone. It requires a commitment to technology. But if implemented correctly, an enterprise solution is well worth the cost and effort.

Steve Hyman is president of DHS Worldwide, which provides an enterprise MS-SQL selfstorage management-software solution. Mr. Hyman has a degree in computer science and business administration from Vanderbilt University. He received a Juris Doctorate from the University of Miami School of Law and is a licensed attorney in the state of Florida. He can be reached at 800.377.8406 or [email protected].

Self-storage management software is more sophisticated than it was 10 years ago because the industry itself is more sophisticated. While you would love to have software you could learn in five minutes, you also want it to be robust enough to support and manage the new ideas and trends that grow and change in the industry every year.

When evaluating management software, make sure it will support your business rules and give you the type of reporting needed for your specific business requirements. If you include your manager or accountant in the evaluation, make sure they are aware of your longrange business plans and needs. Your management software should make you more productive and profitable. It is worth some study and training to use your software to its full potential so you can best organize your operations and maximize revenue.

Myth 2
If the software is expensive, it must be better.

The price you pay for your management software may or may not correlate to the quality of the product and service. When you select software to assist you in running your business, your initial investment may be a small part of the cost of the overall project, but will become a large part of your operation in organization, time and productivity.

Myth 3
Support fees are extortion.

Your software provider must keep up with the planned obsolescence of your computer operating environment. Self-storage management software interfaces with access-control technology, changing computer hardware and operating systems, payment processing, PDA software, point-of-sale software, the Internet and telecommunications technology. These interfaces constantly develop, and new ones are added every year. Your provider works to keep your software updated and gives you educational and technical assistance when you need it. Support fees are an insurance policy and business expense on which you collect many times over.

Myth 4
As the owner, I dont need to know how to use the software.

Why not just give your employees the keys and the checkbook? Your level of familiarity with your management software should include knowing how to perform day-to-day functions. You may or may not need to personally train managers to use the software, but you should know enough about it to supervise, conduct and/or review proper facility audits. Take adequate precautions against fraud by knowing how employees can cheat. Set up user passwords and user-appropriate profiles so employees only access functions necessary to their tasks and all transactions they enter are tracked with user identification.

Myth 5
My friend is good with computers, and he can create a database program to run my operation.

Reinventing the wheel is not necessary or cost-effective. Take advantage of the software packages designed specifically for selfstorage, which are ready to go right out of the box.

Myth 6
Any computer hardware will do.

Change is constant in the world of technology. Purchase computer hardware that provides you enough processing speed, memory and peripheral ports for interfaced hardwareaccess control, digital cameras, PDAs, magnetic credit-card and check readers, etc. Incorporate basic precautions such as antivirus and utility software, as well as safe data-backup procedures. Also include a capital expenditure plan for renovating and/or replacing computer hardware on a planned schedule. Have an emergency replacement plan in place in case your hardware goes down.

Myth 7
I can set up and install management software the day before my new facility opens.

As soon as you establish your business phone number, Yellow Pages ad and website, you should be prepared to accept inquiries on rentals, take contact information, and reserve units or unit-type preferences. Your business phone can temporarily roll over to another number where you can accept calls to market your facility before your office is open. Your management software should allow you to enter contact information for potential tenants who inquire about rentals. You can start collecting valuable demographic information on where your inquiries originate to best budget your advertising dollars and enhance your lease-up period.

Myth 8
Automating my business doesnt affect my professional image.

These days, most consumers are surprised to encounter a business that runs on a card system. They are also surprised to enter a modern looking facility, only to find a manager working with old computer hardware and software. Flat-screen monitors, wireless keyboards, a wireless mouse, and an under-the-counter, out of sight CPU communicates you have an up-to-date, with it operation. Many offices now have two or more networked workstations so employees can handle multiple transactions with customers simultaneously. Self-service kiosks and pay-at-the-gate systems further communicate an upbeat customer-service and convenience-business image.

Myth 9
My software does everything I need it to do.

Does your software really do everything you need it to do, or are your managers performing labor-intensive tasks that could be automated by software? If you dont periodically evaluate whether you need to upgrade or update your management software, you may be risking a lack of productivity you cant afford. Your managers could be working with updated and enhanced features that give them more time for marketing and renting units.

Take the time to investigate and comprehend the scope of features available in selfstorage management software. Make sure your software allows you to grow into features you may want to take advantage of later. There are many successful interfaces between management software and related technology. You may risk losing ground to your competition and leaving dollars on the table if you dont take advantage of what is available to your business.

Myth 10
Its the software, not the people.

The process of introducing or updating computer hardware and software for your business can be complex. The investment you make in hardware, software, people and training is much larger than your investment in management software. Some of the best features in software come from customer ideas and feedback. The quality of the relationship you build and maintain with your provider is essential to the successful operation of your business. A good management software tooland a responsive, knowledgeable, honest and helpful team behind itensures your long-term success.

Tom Garden is president and Alison Kiesa is the sales and marketing director of Syrasoft Management Software LLC, which has produced management-software solutions for the self-storage industry since 1991. For more information, call 800.817.7706; visit www.syrasoft.com.

All these tools contribute to one goal: Increasing customer service while reducing operating costs. We all love the convenience and speed these services provide, and self-storage now employs similar solutions. Like banks, storage facilities have a high volume of customers serviced by limited employee resources. New and innovative products have brought banking-style services to your storage business. To understand whats possible, well compare the old-school and new-school technology.

Off-Site Management

A self-storage owner appreciates the ability to remotely review business activity at his storage site, especially when he owns more than one facility.

Old School.

You manually dial into your sites computer-modem phone number and use a remote software product, like Symantecs PC-Anywhere, to take control of your management computer. Your site employees can do absolutely nothing with the computer until you are finished with your remote connection. Rather than sitting around being bored, the manager watches everything you do and reads the financial reports you generate.

You, or another employee, must then individually request each report desired for your off-site files. Maintaining a safety backup of your data requires an even longer transmission session. This is a process that must be repeated every day for every storage location you operate. When time is worth money, this is an extraordinary business expense.

New School.

Integrated remote-management software automatically stores a complete data backup at your facility and offsite office. Business reports are automatically emailed to the designated people on the desired schedule. You can instantly connect to any of your storage locations, and no one else can monitor what you are doing. Most important, there is no interruption to your managers normal work, and everyone remains synchronized with the current financial records.

Sophisticated security settings provide complete control over every employee and monitor what was done at each site. If an employee drives to a sister site, his usage rights can be remotely defined in seconds. You can access every aspect of a tenants account or view up-to-the-minute site collections at any time. The entire process is automated, and you never need to pay a monthly fee to any outside company to maintain your data.

Reporting Abilities

As your business grows, you will require tools to compare aggregate performance and identify under-performing properties.

Old School.

Each site manager generates a set of reports and faxes them to a corporate office. Another employee collects the transmitted reports, verifies their readability, and summarizes specific values into several consolidated reports for management. One report may analyze income efficiency, while another compares marketing productivity. The required man-hours accumulate into a significant expenditure and the results are prone to human error.

New School.

Consolidated reporting software automatically compiles and analyzes each of your facilities. The reports identify why a location is underperforming. You can instantly determine which managers need help selling inventory and which units are overdue for a rate change. The entire process is automated without requiring any actions by your staff. The labor savings are so significant you may easily save an entire employee salary.

Afterhours Services

No remote solution would be complete without the ability to manage reservations and delinquencies from an offsite location.

Old School.

A tenant calls your storage facility after hours. That call is forwarded to an off-site employee who keeps later hours and handwrites the reservation request. That request is faxed to the intended site, where a second employee must enter the same information into the management software. If the desired unit is no longer available, the facility manager must contact the tenant and try to sell him a substitute unit. If your staff is unavailable to answer the customers call, a reservation call center can provide the labor for $3,000 to $6,000 annually. However, you have no guarantee you will recoup that expenditure through extra rental income.

New School.

A tenant calls your storage facility after hours. That call is forwarded offsite to an employee who, using integrated remote software, enters the reservation directly into the intended sites data. The manager can only rent what is actually available and the entire transaction, including the credit-card payment, is performed as if the manager was sitting at the remote site. All work by the off-site employee is transparent and unobtrusive to anyone who may be simultaneously using the facilitys management computer.

If your staff is unavailable to answer the customers phone call, your phone message directs that caller to your website, as do your business cards and advertising. Your management- software company should create or enhance your website to provide convenient real-time reservations, payments and account information. The entire e-commerce service must be completely secure, include all webhosting fees and be economical. Labor-free after-hours solutions have allowed banks to compete, and they will do the same for you.

Absent Management

There will also be times when a prospective customer or delinquent tenant arrives on site while your manager is out of the office. How will you handle these clients?

Old School.

The customer honks his horn or uses a paging intercom/telephone, and waits for assistance. Anyone driving behind him also waits for this process to be complete.

New School.

The delinquent customer inserts his credit card into your pay-at-the-gate drive-up keypad. The walk-up and prospective tenant uses your ATM-style kiosk. Both provide instant, labor-free, anytime customer service. Modern kiosks are pay stations designed to operate outdoors in all types of weather. Quality kiosks sell for less than $6,000 and have the option to accept cash as well as most major credit cards. Both systems can be added to almost every site. Providing affordable, 24/7 customer service makes good business sense.

Consider what you want your customers to experience along with the operational costs to deliver certain services. If, over a five-year period, you are paying more than a few thousand dollars per site for management software, enterprise tools, e-commerce or kiosk solutions, you may be lining someone elses pockets with your hard-earned income.

Doug Carner is a former member of Self Storage Associations Western-region board of directors. He is also the vice president of QuikStor Security & Software, a California based company specializing in access control, management software, digital video surveillance, kiosk and corporate products for the self-storage industry. For more information, call 800.321.1987; e-mail [email protected]; visit www.quikstor.com.

Your choice of records-storage racking can improve your yield per square foot, long-term revenue and operational efficiency. The single most expensive mistake many records-storage operators make is buying cheap racks. Racking is a commodity and can be found anywhere, but rack design and planning requires professional assistance from expert resources.

Choosing the right racking is not easy. Racking choices affect storage density, profitability, operational efficiency and safety. Lets review these issues:

• Storage DensityBuildings and records-storage space range in size from 10-by-10-by-8-foot storage units to a 40,000-squarefoot building with a 40-foot or higher ceiling. Racking to fit these various options is complex. As height increases, the gauge of steel must reflect the enormous weight loads of high-rise recordsstorage boxes. The aisle width, beam width and catwalk requirements vary as the size of the racking system changes. There is always more than one way to design a space.
• ProfitabilityDensity may be the biggest issue, but it is not necessarily the most important in terms of profitability. It is always a balance between box positions per square foot and access to retrievals, which is a labor factor. Storage space is a capital issue, while labor rates often changealways upward. The decisions you make today may haunt you for a long time to come.
• Operational EfficiencySince boxes are stacked one on top of another, the number of boxes that must be moved for each retrieval significantly changes the labor cost. The records-storage industry has more or less settled on three-high, three-deep (or nine boxes) as the most normal configuration per bin position. However, this may not be what fits you best. There are variables that go into this decision.
• Employee SafetyThis is the issue that continues to amaze me. I have seen some of the most inappropriate racking designs you can imagine. Collapses of insufficient racking occur frequently, and dangerous operations can easily persist.

Catwalks vs. Order Pickers

I will attempt to be unbiased here, though it may be difficult, since I am convinced the foremost issue in rack design must be employee safety. There are also issues of insurance and employer liability to consider. For now, lets look at the design density and efficiency of each racking system.

Order-Picker Systems.

Order-pickers are forklift-like vehicles that move around a warehouse, usually under the control of a warehouseman. Since the width (base) of the order-picker is relative to the height of its mast (upright reach), it requires wider aisles than a catwalk. Wider aisles (45 to 48 inches) generally translate into less storage density. The argument for the pickers use is usually relative to speed. However, I have information that shows well-designed catwalk systems with well-trained and supervised warehousemen may provide faster retrieval throughput.

The most innovative new method used to attain greater storage density in picker systems is a four-deep, three-high, box-bin configuration. These require the picker operator to reach deeper into the racks at heights that may exceed 30 feet. This opens the door for huge safety and liability concerns. Pickers are large, heavy pieces of equipment that can attain speeds and force capable of toppling racks. Rack collapses are not uncommon and deaths have occurred as a result.

The force required to crimp uprights and topple racks is not difficult to achieve. Records-storage racking supports heavy boxes in configurations that may meet or exceed the strength limitations of its uprights and steel-gauge expectations, particularly if the rack design is amateur.

Catwalk Systems.

In catwalk systems, aisles are predominantly between 30 and 32 inches, and racks are made from metal grids designed to hold the weight of warehousemen and their box loads. These systems use ladders, walkways, elevators, gates and box slides. There may be multiple levels of catwalks depending on ceiling height.

The height of each walk is usually between 8 and 9 feet, or three shelf levels of three-high, three-deep boxes. The most common depth of racking uprights is 48 inches. This depth computes equally to three letter/legal-size boxes or two 24-inch storage-transfer boxes. Safety and storage density are the prime reasoning for the catwalk system. To achieve or exceed the order-picker retrieval throughput, the operations manager should have a well-trained and managed workforce.

Personally, I prefer catwalks. Shelving options are always arguable, since design is an art as well as an engineering science. There are certainly reasons pickers may be a good choice. It has been my experience that these usually relate to odd ceiling heights or unusual circumstances. Regardless of your choice, make sure your warehousemen are trained and safety is always a mandate. Following are some other warehouse musts.

Warehouse Absolutes

1. Safety FirstNothing is more important to your business than employee safety and protection against liability.
2. Training, Training, TrainingEmployees must understand operating issues and dangers, efficiency methods and tools, mechanical equipment operations and lifting techniques. Formal training also reduces your liability. Training videos are available in several languages.
3. Post RulesWarehouse rules should be signed, dated and posted for all employees.Safety classes should be held regularly and required for all employees, especially new or temporary employees.
4. No Horseplay AllowedWarehouses can be dangerous places, so no one should be allowed to be casual about your operation. I have actually witnessed such foolishness as picker races, skateboarding, and children of owners and managers playing in warehouses. This is simply not safe.
5. ConfidentialityAll employees must sign and be trained on the confidential nature of client records. Any violations must be handled immediately.
6. SecuritySecure warehouses require that no one except employees be allowed in without an escort. Gates and entry passages must remain locked. ID cards should be worn and smoking rules followed exactly.

I could and may write a book on racking and safety, but for the moment, let these general guidelines be sufficient. In the words of comedian Dennis Miller, This is my opinion and Im sticking to it.

Regular columnist Cary McGovern, CRM, is the principal of FileMan Records Management, which offers full-service records-management assistance for commercial records storage startups, marketing assistance, and sales training in commercial records-management operations. For assistance in feasibility determination, operational implementation or marketing support, call 877.FILEMAN; e-mail [email protected]; www.fileman.com.

The same is true in the self-storage industry. Because of the diversity in products and services, there are companies everywhere willing to give you leads and information. Three years ago, when we subscribed to this magazine, the helpful salesperson gave us the name of a gate company that might possibly integrate its access-control system with our software. This is when we first realized how tight-knit the self-storage community is.

A common goal in our company is to give customers what they want or, at the very least, help them find it, even if you have to direct them elsewhere. We think our software is great, but other products on the market have features ours does not. Evaluating software is not what most people consider fun; and many dont have the time to assess 10 or more packages to find the one with the features they need. If our product doesnt have a specific ability, chances are we know which software does and can point customers in the right direction. We may lose some sales that way, but a sale is not worthwhile if a customer isnt happy with what he purchased.

Following Intuition

You may be wondering, Why would a company want to introduce a new product to a competitive, established industry? The short answer is the industry should offer the best products possible. Although there are several high-quality packages available on the market, there is always room for improvement.

We originally developed our product in 1999 for a local storage facility. After several years of enhancements and versions, we released it to the public. The program went through various changes to make it specific to self-storage. One of the challenges we faced was the diversity of how facilities do business. Applications have become cluttered with options difficult for users to understand. To mitigate this problem, we employ a philosophy common to the software-development community. It is best described by Joel Spolsky, a renowned developer and author. The following excerpt can be found on his website, www.joelonsoftware.com:

In designing a user interface for anything, the very first question you always want to ask is: Who is the user? Specifically, is this a casual, occasional user, or one who will be spending all of his time using your program? For a casual user, learnability and simplicity are more important than usability and power. By learnability, I mean the ability for novices to figure out how to get tasks done rapidly. By usability, I mean only the ability to do tasks in a convenient, ergonomic way without making mistakes and needing to do repetitive tasks. A data-entry system that minimizes keystrokes by prefilling fields and automatically jumps from field to field is more usable for experienced users, but its harder for a novice to learn because it behaves unexpectedly.

It sounds simple and makes plenty of sense, but many products on the market werent developed with this type of mind set and are difficult to use. Of course, functionality is one of the most important things to look for in a self-storage software package, but an application that is intuitive is much easier to understand.

Once Upon a Time

As the competitive nature of business would have it, companies with similar products would like you to stay away from the new kid. Software companies and products come and go all the time. They are attracted to what they believe is a lucrative industry, but soon realize its not as easy to conquer as it looks. That may be true of several companies that have failed in selfstorage. But even experienced software companies were new, once upon a time.

Experience makes for a great product, but imagination, ideas and ingenuity make for a healthy industry. What a new product brings to the table is a fresh view of what management software could be. It keeps the experienced companies on their toes, pushing them to keep up with technology. Its a good situation all around. Just imagine what it would be like if new products were always shunned and excluded. Youd be forced to purchase software that was potentially outdated. Bright ideas coupled with the latest technology create a win-win situation for everyone. You get the best the industry can offer, even if its not from the new guy in town.

Those of you who have taken a chance on a new product should pat yourself on the back. Youve paved the way for others to follow and given this industry a boost in the right direction. The developers of new products are usually very flexible with pricing and support. They make that extra effort to satisfy you. They know every customer makes a difference. These companies will often be responsive to making changes to their product to suit you. Sure, every company needs to make money to survive, but smaller companies can survive on less revenue.

The bottom line is: When you decide to evaluate management software, give all the available packages a chance. The functionality should speak for itself. If the software does not have what you need, move on to the next option. If a newer product has the features you want, give it a try. You may be pleasantly surprised.

James Boyd is the president and CEO of AndraTech Software Corp., a provider of self-storage software and a new kid on the block. For more information, call 703.766.2700; e-mail [email protected]; visit www.selfstoragepro.com.