City council members in Glendale, Ariz., unanimously approved the development of a self-storage facility, gas station and restaurant on a vacant 6-acre site. The land was rezoned from commercial offices and condominiums to a planned-area development. Its one of several infill projects being greenlit by the Glendale City Council. Infill sites are popular among developers because much of the infrastructure, including water and sewer, are already in place.

The Mashburn Co. in Scottsdale, Ariz., plans to develop the site in several phases. A gas station and  convenience store will be developed first, followed by a restaurant and then the self-storage facility. The self-storage facility will include four single-storage buildings, no taller than 30 feet.

Jon Froke, city planning director, said the project has support from the neighborhood, which largely consists of single-family homes and multi-family residential units.

By Randy Smith

Hows business in your neck of the woods? Hasnt been so great, you say? Well, let me throw out a controversial statement: Business would be a whole lot better if you started creating demand for self-storage. Heres my contrarian view on how to increase your occupancy and revenue in any economy, especially this one.

At Another Closet Self-Storage in Texas, our business is doing great and getting better every day. How? Our approach to marketing is all about creating demand for self-storage.

Another Closet owns  and operates multiple locations in South Texas, totaling more than 612,000 net rentable square feet, with plans to add another 150,000 square feet in the next six to 18 months. I believe that by hiring great people, providing excellent training and employing several unique marketing strategies in our market, weve been able to create demand for self-storage and prosper, even in this economy.

Some quick stats: The last quarter of 2008 was our best of that year. Gross revenue in 2009 was up 18.6 percent over 2008. Actual revenue for 2010 is up 15 percent over 2009 at properties with stabilized occupancy. Occupancy and rents are up at all locations. Our newest location, a 54,000-square-foot facility, is 40 percent occupied in just 75 days from the grand opening. But were in no bubble. Were experiencing the recession like everyone else, except were not participating!

Determining the Need for Storage

If youve been in the self-storage business for more than 10 minutes, youve probably someone say, You cant create demand for self-storage. People either need it or they dont.  Erase that belief from your mind! That mentality has cost the self-storage industry billions of dollars over the last 20 or so years.

The problem with the they need it or they dont philosophy is whos determining the need. With this mindset, the customer determines the need and the self-storage operator waits around until the customer figures it out. That approach is like taking your boat into the middle of the lake and waiting for fish to jump into it.

Another problem with this frame of mind is the word need means different things to different people. Its a nebulous term you cant pin down. You have people renting from you right now who dont need storage. Some of your customers renting 5-by-10 units are homeowners with garages. They dont really need the unit because they already have enough space. The issue is whether they want to cram all that stuff in their home and garage.

Ive heard some industry experts say, No one gets into their car, drives down to Self-Storage Avenue and just rents a unit on a whim. True, but just because self-storage isnt an impulse purchase doesnt mean you cant create demand for it. Others have compared the self-storage business to the funeral-home industry: People dont come see us until they need us, but when they do, they usually need us pretty badly.

Lets not just wait for customers to show up due to an obvious and pressing need. Lets educate them about 101 great reasons why they need a storage unit now.

Steps to Create Demand

Let me introduce a new mantra for self-storage operators: Everybody needs a self-storage unit, and its my job to convince them why. Do you want to build demand for self-storage? Here are some suggestions for creating it in your neighborhood:

Change your mindset. Rid yourself and your organization of the philosophy that says you cannot create demand for self-storage. Almost every other industry spends billions of dollars annually to actively create demand for their products and services. Why not self-storage too?

Change your advertising. Never use the phrases, Do you need storage? or When you need storage  Your whole advertising message should be You need storage! You tell them they need it.

Provide a solution. Couple the you need storage message with and heres why. Tell them how theyll benefit tremendously by storing with you. Remember, youre throwing out an enticing lure, not waiting for fish to jump in the boat.

Educate your audience. Your job is to educate the public specifically on how they can use self-storage to improve their quality of life. Most ads for self-storage are focused on the business and not the benefit to the consumer. The benefit of self-storage needs to be bigger to the consumer than the loss of dollars to pay for rent.

Re-evaluate your advertising. Newspaper and Yellow Pages ads are now highly ineffective. Slash those forms of advertising and go heavy on radio. You can get hundreds of times the exposure from a 30-second radio ad or TV commercial than from a Yellow Pages ad. Two or three well-placed spots a day during the drive to or from work can increase your business dramatically. Its the best medium for educating consumers and creating demand.

Go Fishing

Look at creating demand like the process of fishing. It wont happen overnight, but you can grow your self-storage business substantially over time. Fishermen get up early, stay out late, and fish in every kind of weather. Theyre always switching bait and moving around the lake in search of a catch. They dont wait for the fish to come to them. They dont build relationships with people who know the fish and hope they refer the fish to them. They go fish. They educate themselves on fish behavior and become experts on what appeals to fishwhat makes them bite! Then they spend their days and nights out on the water creatively enticing the fish with everything theyve got.

As you educate yourself on local consumer behavior, you can tune in to what appeals to the fish in your neighborhood. If you make your message logical and enticing, they cant but help bite. Thats creating demand. You can rent more units and make more money than your competitors if you believe and practice creating demand for self-storage. Remember youre new mantra: Everybody needs a self-storage unit, and its my job to convince them why.

Randy Smith came to the self-storage industry nearly a decade ago with close to a dozen years of prior sales and management experience. He has managed Another Closet Self Storage in McAllen, Texas, for the past eight years. To reach him, e-mail [email protected].

Police in Pasadena, Calif., discovered a body in a self-storage unit Friday after being called to investigate a hit-and-run.

A man driving a sedan entered A-1 Mini Storage on Irwindale Avenue just after 4 p.m. using a security code. A code was also needed to exit the facility. The man apparently didnt have one so he asked an employee to let him out. When the employee refused, the man crashed through the gate.

Witnesses at the scene gave police the vehicles license plate. The same car also reportedly crashed in the city of Baldwin Park a short time later, and the driver was detained, police said.

Police traced the entry code used at the gate to a self-storage unit and discovered the body. The age of the victim, cause and time of death was not released. Police havent released the name of the man in custody.

The marquee reads, $1 per day for any size unit. Traffic starts to line up outside the advertising self-storage facility with tenants who want to take advantage of the cut rate. Suddenly, competing facilities in the area start to get nervous. How in the world can this facility make money by renting all of its units, even big units such as 10-by-25 spaces, for only $1 a day? And most importantly, how will the others compete?

Self-Storage Talk, the official online forum of Inside Self-Storage, has been hosting an ongoing discussion on the advantages and disadvantages of dollar deals, whether they be $1 a day (as in the example above) or $1 for the first month of a lease. The thread-starter, who is a competitor of a facility offering the dollar-a-day deal, was at first very concerned, but then she and her husband mystery-shopped the facility.

Apparently, several restrictions applied to the offer, including the fact that the dollar-a-day price was only for the first month; a different rate existed thereafter. But that discovery assuaged only the concerns about this particular discount. It still doesn't solve the industry-wide problem that many facilities, especially those from larger chains, can afford to offer dirt-cheap rent (at least at first) to reel in tenants with the vast majority of others left struggling to compete.

Member annek offered this bit of advice to other members who are facing sinfully low rates in their market: Remember, not everyone is an economic buyer. Not everyone cares about a $1 special. What have you got that they don't? Even if your occupancy is lower than you want, do you have to cave (in)? She also proposed offering matching deals on a case-by-case basis instead of offering them to everyone, which several other members agreed to.

Another member posted a valid concern: I would be afraid of trying the $1 deal because of getting people's garbage and things that need to go to the landfill. Could be a cheap way to dump.

So far, no one has posted in defense of the $1 deals, but the discussion is still live and active at Self-Storage Talk. You can post a response if you are a registered member. If you're not registered, you can do so quickly, easily and for free at www.selfstoragetalk.com/register.php.

Gimli Self Storage opened in the Gimli Industrial park near Gimli, Manitoba, Canada. The self-storage sits on 1.5 acres of previously unoccupied land near the citys airport. The steel building houses 28 climate-controlled units in a variety of sizes, and can accommodate 50 boats or RVs.

The facilitys security includes gates and coded gate locks, and can be accessed 24 hours. Security cameras will soon be added.

Self-storage owner Don Penner also owns a 1-acre parcel of land next to the storage site, which he may develop in the future.   

Massachusetts-based Cliff Acquisitions Inc., owner of a commercial property portfolio that includes a large self-storage facility on Nantucket Island, Mass., is attempting to renegotiate the terms of the $20 million loan backing its property.

Owned by Paul Steinfurth, the company defaulted on the loan last spring, drawing on $194,000 in cash reserves in June to help meet its monthly debt-service payment of $99,028. The $20 million loan was originated in April 2007 by the Royal Bank of Canada.

The Cliff portfolio, including Nantucket Storage Center, was originally appraised at $25 million. It was re-appraised in June for $15.8 million.

The 93,500-square-foot self-storage facility is managed by Denver-based Executive Self Storage.  It was 75 percent occupied as of February. In 2009, it generated $1.18 million in net operating income and paid out $1.17 million in debt-service costs, according to financial filings.

Wildecks patented AutoSenz technology is now standard on its mechanical and hydraulic vertical reciprocating conveyors (VRC). The companys new modular safety sensor, the AutoSenz M-Series, is now an integral part of the VRCs control system providing standard auto-ranging overload/VRC jam protection that will minimize damage to material and equipment should items become jammed during the lifting operation. 

Existing mechanical and hydraulic VRCs can also be upgraded with an AutoSenz M-Series Retrofit Module, adding a new level of safety and security on installed units.

In addition to the new AutoSenz M-Series for both mechanical and hydraulically-operated VRCs, Wildeck has also enhanced its original AutoSenz design for mechanical VRCs to incorporate an innovative VRC service and maintenance reminder.  The new feature can be programmed to appear on the display at specific service time intervals by the factory, the end-user or VRC service technician.

Wildecks optional full-featured AutoSenz package provides a PLC with digital-user interface, pushbutton controls, system-diagnostics capabilities, and the new VRC service/maintenance reminder. Its been re-named the AutoSenz D-Series.

Wildeck Inc. is a manufacturer of mezzanines, vertical lifts and safety-guarding products and provides complete applications, service and systems support to ensure safe and efficient handling, storage and movement of materials. 

In an effort to establish a national brand for its self-storage properties under the SmartStop name, Strategic Storage Trust Inc. has established a new retail website at www.smartstopselfstorage.com. The rebranded site, which replaces Strategicselfstorage.com, is exclusively devoted to the SmartStop brand.

In addition to promoting and renting the units, the SmartStop website provides consumers with a moving checklist, planning timetable, packing and storage tips and a list of supplies. The company is offering a website promotion, one month storage rental for only $1. 

Strategic Storage Trust is a $1 billion publicly registered, non-traded real estate investment trust comprising 24,500 self-storage units and 3  million rentable square feet of storage space. All of its properties will eventually be renamed SmartStop Self Storage. The companys sponsor, Strategic Capital Holdings LLC, manages 57 self-storage facilities in 16 states.

The California Self Storage Association (CSSA) will host a local area networking reception on Sept. 30 at Il Fornaio restaurant in Irvine, Calif. Open to all CSSA members, the event will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. The $25 per person fee includes cocktails, hors doeuvres and time to network with fellow self-storage owners, managers and vendors.

CSSA President Shelley Geiler will present a brief association update. Charles Byerly, partner and chief financial officer of Westport Properties Inc., will make a short presentation on the local real estate market. Event sponsor Extra Space Self Storage Inc. will talk about "Printing Money Through Operating Results! The U.S. Treasury Does It, Why Not You? Theyll stimulate discussion among local self-storage owners about their current operating results (occupancy, move-ins, revenue and net operating income) along with other trends and changes taking place in their markets.

To register for the event, call 562.304.2864 or visit www.cssaweb.com.