On the evening of Aug. 3, 1492, a brave Italian named Cristoforo Colombo did something that required more faith, courage and confidence than anything you or I can ever imagine. At 41 years old, Cristoforo held a very unpopular belief that would’ve had him killed if spoken in the wrong circles. As we all have learned, he believed the world was round instead of flat. Such belief was heresy in his time.

Before he set sail on that historic date, and for a number of years after, humankind operated with a major false belief. Every fiber of being thought the world was flat. And that belief largely limited the possibilities of many great developments that became available after knowing that the world is round. Can you imagine what that would be like?

Take any major belief you hold as 100 percent true and think about suddenly finding out that it’s not true. Like one day finding out that water is unhealthy. Or that gravity is not an invisible force pulling us down, but a controllable force from above is pushing us downward.

Of course, I don’t know if either of those speculative predictions will ever happen, but I am absolutely certain that we do all have other false beliefs and operate our lives based on them.

In this article, I’m going to take you on a little voyage of our own. Not unlike Columbus, we will disprove four falsehoods (I call them "bold-faced lies") most self-storage operators believe to be true regarding marketing.

Perhaps you, like so many others, have been taught these things, perhaps by folks with an ulterior motive. Maybe you’ve always assumed them to be true. If so, prepare to change your thinking.

I’m certain this will cause a stir among advertising people who make a commission from selling you space. But, be assured that I have no motive other than to help you make more money at the end of each year.

Lie No.1: You Should Focus on 'Getting Your Brand Out'

Every now and then a buzzword hits, and everybody talks about it before it fades away. "Branding" is a perfect example. It originally started as a way for livestock owners to show ownership of their herds. Somehow, this was transferred into the business world. For a long time thereafter, a brand was simply a logo. Add an "ing" and now it’s an activity.

There is so much confusion about what branding actually means that most folks who try it end up wasting enough money to feed a small country. Some operators feel that "getting your brand out" is branding. I guess it could be. But, I can’t think of a more colossal waste of your hard-earned profits than simply running ads with your logo on it.

Media salespeople love to sell you this because you buy into the falsity that you need to run an ad over and over again for it to pay off. Bogus!

Don’t get me wrong: Having a solid brand that people trust, talk about and perceive as having value is priceless. But it’s a holistic process that involves much more than simply slapping your logo on a billboard or direct mailer.

Coca-Cola, Proctor & Gamble and GM have the billion-dollar marketing budgets to pull this off. Most likely, you don’t. Therefore, when you spend a dollar on advertising, you need a measurable response that puts at least a dollar back into your pocket. An ad with your logo and tagline do not accomplish this, yet many operators have bought into this lie.

Branding is a long-term process that involves an entire customer experience from the time an audience sees your first ad, to thoughts of your customer service, unit cleanliness, pricing, innovations, etc.

When you do all of those things exceptionally well, you will begin creating a brand in your marketplace that is priceless. Just don’t buy the lie that you "brand" by simply putting your logo "out there."

Lie No. 2: To Make More, You Must Spend More

I have yet to find an operator in this industry that doesn’t have at least five underleveraged facets of a marketing system. By this I mean that many have been brainwashed to think that by spending more on a particular facet, you can get more results. For example, by simply changing the words printed on your Yellow Pages ad, you can increase response by 10 percent to 100 percent, without spending another penny.

By answering more of your phone calls and converting them into tenants at a higher rate, you’re leveraging anything that is generating the phone call, without spending another penny! By learning how to up-sell tenants on ancillary products and utilizing marketing strategies to help you do that, you’re leveraging that tenant and making more money and, again, it’s without spending another penny!

Get the drift? Before you buy into a lie that you need a bigger Yellow Pages ad, more radio time or whatever you’re currently being sold, make sure you’re leveraging your existing investments before you dump more money into a never-ending pit.

Lie No. 3: You Must 'Close the Deal' With Prospects

This one drives me absolutely crazy. Think of the last time you were trying to make a buying decision and the salesperson kept pushing you. How did you feel? Did you instantly lose any intelligence or priorities and decide to buy just because they "asked for the sale"?

Better yet, think to the last time you were considering buying something. You weren’t quite sure if it was a good fit for you, but thought you would explore options. How did it make you feel when that salesperson pushed you? If anything, I’ll bet it pushed you away from the sale, not toward it.

It’s awfully pretentious and naive to think that every person who calls or stops in needs to become a customer. The key to a successful closing is to help the person determine if you’re a good fit for each other or not. By assuming the sale, you will not only annoy people but also reduce your chances of ever having a good conversation that will set up a win-win, long-term relationship.

It’s a bit of a paradox, but as soon as you quit pushing people to buy from you and begin trying to determine if you can really help the person, your sales numbers will soar. Yet many people are still teaching old school "push for the sale" tactics that simply don’t work anymore and are an insult to your prospect’s intelligence.

Lie No. 4: Yellow Pages Are Still the Most Effective Advertising Medium

Every time I read a statistic saying that the highest percentage of tenants come from the Yellow Pages, I shudder. The statistic is absolutely real. But, a vast majority of operators only advertise in the Yellow Pages!

If you’re only doing one thing, of course it’s going to account for most of your results. Operators that test other mediums report numbers that are quite different. Once you accept the fact that other marketing mediums exist and work and begin testing them, you’ll notice your percentage of Yellow Pages rentals will drop.

The good news is other mediums are much cheaper to implement and easier to control, and you’re not stuck with them for a year if they don’t prove worthwhile. Yellow Pages still have their place in this industry, but I challenge you to test other mediums as well.

Please forgive my boldness. I realize I’m not changing beliefs of the magnitude that Christopher Columbus did 516 years ago, but I do hope that I’ve helped you think about a few of your current beliefs. Moreover, I hope you can save the fortune you may be wasting on these falsehoods and put it toward better use and more effective marketing methods.

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. 

Though you still see some facilities with little more than a small fence and a gate open all day, most sites now have a tight integration of high-tech security components coupled with various software packages. This seamless integration allows for better security for tenants and higher revenue for you.

First, let’s take a look at the diverse offerings of software that can be used to better manage your facility. The most important piece of software any facility will purchase is management software. This allows the manager/owner to move people in and out, accept payments, track delinquencies and run multiple reports, all of which will assist in greater control over the business. A well-designed management software system will also control inventory, have an easy-to-use interface and a tight integration to your access-control system, allowing you to see your gate activity right on the main screen through your software.

Another key piece of software is an electronic-commerce module that allows prospective tenants to reserve or rent units. E-commerce also serves existing customers by providing them with the means to make payments or check transaction history, all from the comfort of their own homes via the Internet. The invention of e-commerce has revolutionized the storage industry because it gives tenants the option to handle many traditional transactions independently, thus freeing your manager’s time to handle onsite customers and facility operations. The fact that you can collect money 24 hours a day doesn’t hurt either.

Having an integrated software and security package takes e-commerce to the next level. If a tenant rents a unit online at midnight, he will immediately receive an assigned gate code giving him access to his unit the next day without any interaction with the site manager. If you prefer to rent the unit, then wait to assign a gate code until the tenant comes into the office to meet the manager personally, that works too.

There is also software that enables tenants to make payments at the gate. Many times, a delinquent tenant will try to go to his unit after hours to avoid the site manager. Typically the access-control system will inform the tenant he is delinquent and deny access. However, wouldn’t it be better if the keypad system instead informed the tenant that he is delinquent and offered him the ability to pay right there on the spot? The keypad will tell the tenant how much is due, and give him the option to slide a credit card and pay at the gate. The transaction is processed in the office by the management software, and a receipt is e-mailed or printed and mailed to the tenant. This is seamless integration at its best.

Going Digital

What about offering a digital layout of your facility? Imagine having your entire facility, including your office, restrooms, RV-dumping station, elevators, etc., all electronically displayed on a large LCD monitor when a prospective tenant enters the office. Many software vendors have these programs, commonly called "site graphics." Some companies even offer a 3-D version of the program.

But this program isn’t just a pretty face to make your office look more inviting. In fact, it is actually a useful tool, giving your manager an immediate snapshot of your facility at a glance.

Once again, integration to your security system makes all the difference. Each unit is controlled individually via your management software, and each status is assigned a color based on a unique legend of your choosing. For example, if you have an integrated access-control system, you will instantly know when a tenant is onsite because the unit color will change from the "offsite" color to the "onsite" color. This gives you a good understanding of who is currently on the property throughout the day.

Higher-end facilities that incorporate wireless door alarms on each unit can take this software to the next level by not only knowing who is on the property, but also knowing if units are opened or closed by simply glancing at the layout monitor. This program is fantastic for marketing to prospective tenants as they enter your office, and also a great tool for your manager to use in his daily operations.

Another software system no storage facility should be without is designed for your digital video recorder (DVR) system. With aggressive pricing offered by most vendors, there is no reason to still use old VCR tapes and multiplexers. New DVR software allows you to record and multiplex just like the old systems, but with a lot more features. For instance, almost all systems allow you to remotely monitor your facility via the Internet by using either a Web browser or a software program. You can also easily copy events onto CD or DVD, or quickly search for an event using a date, time or other criteria.

The evolution of software and security systems—and the tighter integration of the two—has brought a myriad of benefits to tenants and owners alike. During the early days of self-storage, most people were forced to use pen and paper to track transactions. They were also required to either use featureless access systems that were not integrated with their management systems, or worse, open and close the gate manually each day.

Thankfully those days are over, and with the many options available there is no reason for any storage facility to not benefit from new software and security technologies. Both are affordable solutions that actually pay for themselves in increased efficiency, better control over cash flow, and improved protection of tenants and their belongings.

This month we have concentrated on the evolution of software and how its integration with your security system can save you time and money. Next month, in the Inside Self-Storage Annual Security Issue, we'll take a deeper look into the various security system components, such as wireless door alarms, digital video surveillance, paging systems and the next generation of access-control systems. 

Jacqui Kuzmin is an account representative for QuikStor. With an emphasis on customer service, she specializes in helping owners and managers choose security and software solutions based on their unique business needs. To reach Ms. Kuzmin, call 800.321.1987; e-mail [email protected]; visit www.quikstor.com. 

Planning your self-storage site layout can be tricky. It can make or cost you money. Your key factor is to remember you are building your storage business for the marketplace and your customers, so don’t make decisions based entirely on construction costs.

Build Your Team First

Building a team of experts knowledgeable in self-storage is vital to the successful development of your new site. Don’t fall into the trap of believing your architect or contractor knows all about the demographics of your area or all about the self-storage industry. By the time you eventually find out they were making reasoned assumptions, it’s only you who will be left holding the bag. Find a specialist to consult, and conduct a feasibility study yourself to better understand the area demographics.

All of the different members of your technical team will be helpful in their respective areas of expertise but do your own research, find out about local competitor sites, and develop your own understanding of how your new self-storage business can find its place in the market.

Zoning, Codes and Regulations

Building codes and zoning need to be researched and are different in every city. Some locales will allow you to build with a basic site plan and with manufacturer’s drawings. This is becoming rare, so if you are building in a major city on a main road in either single-story or multi-story, get ready to complete a long list of requirements.

Elements of a Good Site Plan

A great deal of consideration goes into a good site plan, including:

• Building setbacks
• Distance between buildings
• Size of buildings
• Fire walls
• Fire routes
• Water drainage
• Maximum site coverage
• Parking spaces
• Water supply, services
• Electrical services
• Hallway lengths
• Fire sprinklers
• Natural space requirements
• Security-camera angles

These items will be needed to complete your site layout and could be taken care of by your manufacturer, architect, engineer or design/build company.

Plan to maximize the natural visibility of your site. Carefully consider how big and where to place your signage. Use the best visual exposure point to your advantage. Sign advertising and your curb exposure is virtually free. Where is your best exposure? Does your lot back on a road or highway? Does the lot corner on two main roads? Use the free advertising from signage and road exposure to fill your buildings quicker, but remember to consult local bylaws to determine if there are limitations on how much square footage of signage face is allotted according to the size of your building or lot.

If your building code allows, build perimeter buildings to maximize the site. This design may also eliminate fences and add firewalls. The site may require you to set the buildings back from the lot lines to eliminate firewalls and add fences.

Maximize Every Foot

The use of single-story larger buildings or multi-story buildings with interior hallways can eliminate driveways on your site and create more rental footage. Buildings can be 10 feet to more than 200 feet wide, but keep in mind most of your customers will prefer the drive-up units so don’t over do it.

To minimize the damage to your buildings put large units around good access and turning points or on fire routes, and use protective bollards at every corner of every building about 16 inches from the building. The cost to install four bollards will be the same as replacing one corner of a structure.

The entrance and security gate should be a drive-in and drive-out system. Offer a bigger entrance than required to make your customers feel comfortable at the gate. If your site has an office, make sure your clients can access it from outside the gate and add parking for office visitors.

Every site contains a different unit mix and should be researched to suit your marketplace demographics. Keep in mind, 20-foot to 40-foot buildings can give you more versatile options over time by allowing you to remove and install walls at 5-foot increments to make different size units whenever you may need to. An example unit mix is 15 percent 5-by-10, 30 percent 10-by-10, 25 percent 10-by-15, 20 percent 10-by-20, and 10 percent 10-by-25.

The Conversion Option 

There have been many changes in self-storage design in the last few years. Many more two- and three-story sites are developing in city areas. Single-story drive-ups with 20-by-20 units and larger mini workshops with heat, hydro and phone lines are now available.

Teardowns of old cold-storage buildings and an upgrade re-install of larger climate-controlled buildings is moving the self-storage industry into a new phase. Old conventional buildings in downtown city cores are being converted into one- or two-story facilities all the time. In cottage areas, 45-foot heated and non-heated drive-through units with doors on both sides with 9-by-9 doors for storing off-season boats and RVs are definitely worth planning.

Laying out your site will require research, building code and bylaw experience and, most important, site-area maximization work with your design firm. Let the designers know you want to maximize your site to meet minimal building code requirements. Firms can get carried away with appearance, and building costs can rapidly escalate.

Stay involved in the process. You only get to build it once.

George Gray is the president for the Ontario-based Grayveld Builders Corp., a design/build company specializing in self-storage development. For information, call 866.855.2769; visit www.grayveld.com.

Big Yellow Self Storage Co. recently opened the United Kingdom's first wine-storage facility in London. The site offers 1,200 temperature- and humidity-controlled wine cellars in addition to four floors of self-storage. Prices start at £7.50 per week for an 18-case cellar, with 36- and 54-case cellars also available. Full-height units have capacity for 500 cases or more. Rentals can be made in one-week increments, and customers have 24/7 access to their private units. Security includes full-time CCTV monitoring by staff, fire-detection systems, individual unit alarms and PIN-code access. For more information, visit www.bigyellow.co.uk.

In response to the recent tornado disaster in Georgia, SpaceMax Storage, an Atlanta-based self-storage operator, is offering four months of free storage to qualifying state residents. To date, the company has donated more than 3,500 square feet of storage to locals affected by the tornados. It is also providing free use of its moving trucks. After witnessing the devastation from the disaster, John Rinehart, assistant manager of the Virginia Highlands facility, asked supervisers about offering help. SpaceMax is a new company with several available units. Info: www.spacemaxstorage.com

TVM Product's Bull Seal is a modified, silicone-based, adhesive sealant that will cure to form a bull-strength seal. Bull Seal is an all-in-one product designed to outperform any latex, silicone and polyurethane adhesive product with its high initial tack strength and the ability to caulk, seal and bond. The product will adhere to wet surfaces, may be applied on submerged surfaces, and will even cure under water. Along with being 100 percent waterproof, it can be painted or stained, is UV-resistant, and remains permanently flexible. Bull Seal is made with a solvent-free formulation. The absence of volatile organic components makes Bull Seal environmentally friendly. Info: www.bullseal.com

Bird-B-Gone introduced the Goose Chase Super Sonic sound deterrent that uses recorded goose distress calls mixed with predator calls to deter geese from outdoor areas. Different modes and sound combinations will baffle pest geese. A LCD panel on the front of the unit displays the status and user settings. This unit is weatherproof, and can be programmed to shut off automatically. The Goose Chase Super Sonic is designed for anywhere geese are a problem. Each unit can cover up to an acre of land with options to add additional speakers for up to five acres of coverage. The unit is easy to install and adjust. Info: www.birdbgone.com

BDH Door & Hallway Systems, a subsidiary of BETCO Inc., has increased the warranty on its door springs from two to 10 years. In addition, all BDH roll-up doors now include a newly designed tension adjuster, with permanently lubricated radial bearings as standard equipment, enabling door springs to be set precisely and operate smoothly. Info: www.bdhsystems.com