On July 7th, 2007 a concert called “Live Earth” took place. It was quite amazing…

It spanned across seven continents…including Antarctica…

Over 150 artists performed…

It was broadcast on over 120 television networks worldwide…

And was viewed by more than 2 Billion people.

I’m sure you at least heard about it – if not watched some of it. Being a fan of good live music, I TiVo’d the entire event and watched what I had time for.

The point of this entire event was to raise awareness of global warming and get folks from around the world to make a pledge to be more “green”.

The organizers used all sorts of great marketing to make this event as big as it was.

What a show…

But, did it really work?

Did it really persuade society to take it easy on Mother Earth?

The verdict is still out and will be for a long time. Some nay-sayers claim the event actually did more to hurt our environment than it did good. After all, how do you think these high profile artists arrived at their venues? Private jets and limos, baby! What about all the electricity used to power up Metallica’s music? Beer bottles? Water cups? Paper tickets?

I think you get the point.

But what nobody knows for sure is whether people will take the ACTION it takes to make this event worthwhile for those who were behind it. I have a sneaking suspicion Al Gore had his fingers in this at some level. While I don’t always agree with him, I have been impressed with his passion lately.

Anyway, the point of this post is to share something extremely powerful with you about self storage marketing.

As you read this post you’ll discover a way to drastically increase your occupancy and profits without spending a single penny more on advertising.

And if you implement what I’m about to teach you, you’ll even be able to cut back on your advertising budget (maybe even tell your yellow page salesperson “thanks, but no thanks” next year) and still watch your occupancy climb towards your goals.

But I must warn you. This simple concept will not be easy for you to implement. You’ll need to be persistent and determined to make it happen.

Here I go…

You see, like the organizers of Live Earth, you are probably able to draw interest in your self storage facility (although never enough right?). You have people showing up at your office. You have people calling and e-mailing with an expressed interest in giving you storage business.

But are you able to get them to take the ACTION you desire?

Are you able to convert the vast majority of them to paying tenants with signed lease agreements?

If not, don’t feel bad. Very few owner/operators are happy with their conversion ratios.

But why?

Do you think that people call, e-mail or walk-in to talk about the weather or the big game last night?

Probably not…

They inquire about storage because something in their life made them do so. Maybe a friend told them their garage looked like a bomb went off in it. Maybe they’re preparing to sell their home and want it to look nice. Who knows…?

My point is this: when people inquire about storage with your facility, they’re doing it for a reason. If you know what that reason is, your chances of converting them into a tenant go through the roof.

The fancy term for this process is called “Criteria Elicitation”.

In other words, you need to elicit your prospects purchasing criteria. You need to discover WHY they’re calling and WHAT is important to them when storing their belongings. They don’t care about everything you offer, just what’s important to them.

But, chances are, you or your managers aren’t doing that.

Something is happening between the prospects inquiry and them NOT renting a unit to dissolve their initial interest in storage.

Now, I’m not saying to expect 100% of the people to rent. There ARE legitimate reasons that people don’t. But I’ll bet that most facilities can increase conversion by 20%-100% by making this shift.

Here’s what this means to you…

If you have 50 people inquiring about storage each month.

And only 10 are renting (20% conversion rate).

You can double your return on advertising investment by simply converting 20 of those inquiries. Which comes out to be a measly 40% conversion rate. That’s still allowing 60% off the hook!

Think of the difference this will make to your bottom line!

Look, I recognize there are “Mystery Shoppers”, Management Consultants and call centers in this industry that have been telling the same story for a long time. You all get it.

But all they’re telling you to do is smile while you talk…call them by their name…offer them a special…help them with a space calculator…and so on. Which, believe me, will help. If you do anything, start with that.

But, a surefire way to supercharge your conversion ratio is to start eliciting criteria from those who call.

I’ve written a script for our clients to follow that makes this a breeze.

While I’m not going to give that out to everybody, I will tell you two questions to ask every caller or visitor that ever expresses interest in your facility that will drastically increase your conversion ratio.

Both are aimed at understanding why the visitor is looking for storage in the first place. Remember, it’s not to talk sports or weather.

Here they are:

“Mr. Jones, thank you so much for calling XYZ Self Storage. Do you mind telling me WHY you’re looking for extra storage?”

Say that in a nice, compassionate and sincere way.

They’ll tell you the scoop.

Then follow up with:

“That’s very common, many of our tenants have called for the same reason. Have you considered what’s important to you when selecting a self storage facility to provide this space?”

Do you see what’s happening here?

You’re eliciting criteria in a warm, authentic way and showing the visitor that you care about their needs and desires.

Most facilities blab on and on about themselves before ever asking a single question about the customer. That is a major cause for the transition of an interested prospect to a non interested prospect.

Now that you know the buying criteria, all you have to do is connect the dots between their criteria and your self storage facility to make the sale!

I understand if you think this is too wierd or hard to implement. Just try it for 30 days and compare your results against the previous months. You’ll find yourself having more meaningful and low-pressure conversations with callers/visitors, lower stress and best of all…more rentals!

Okay, that’s it for this post. But, I feel bad about being so serious during this long post so I decided to share a funny, yet subject relevant video with you. Turn up your speakers, click “play” and enjoy!

To your higher occupancy and profits!

Derek Naylor
President
Storage Marketing Solutions
800.941.4805

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