What are the best things a manager can do help the business succeed?

Shauna

Hello, I have been the manager of this facility for a little over 2.5 years. This was a new business that I started with and helped grow. I set up sitelink, built our website (always learning and changing), did advertising, and I work office hours as well as on call. I am the only employee, so I do all of the tasks for daily operation. I have tried to keep customer service as the top priority. My phone and laptop stay with me at all times. This is my first storage endeavor, so now I would like to really learn where I can improve on (since I don't really have anyone to learn from in this field). Any tips from owners or managers that really help the business would be appreciated. We are at least breaking even or better each month, but I really want to ramp up the growth as well as be the best asset I can. What does your managers do, or you wish they did, to help the business succeed? Thank you for any advice and input. 

JonnyB

Just being on site, and always being available seems to work for me, and just be happy and respectful. Its sounds like you are doing a great job, just keep it up

ESS

What Jonny said and also encouraging tenants to leave reviews. A lot of our business is repeat and referral or they saw our reviews on Google. Upsell when you can and always offer merchandise if you have it. Renting a unit? We sell locks. Buying boxes? Do you need tape with that? Honesty works very well here too. Yes, our competitor offers a $1 move in, but then they will jack your rate up more than we regularly charge. Yes we cost a bit more, but we have better lighting, etc. Keeping the property clean! And when tenants mention seeing me outside cleaning or how clean the facility is, I let them know we are keeping it clean for them and we want them to get their money's worth. Utilize your Lead to Lease. When people are calling to check prices before committing, mention your qualities that are better than your competitions: We don't charge a deposit or require insurance like they do. 

Shauna

Thank you for the tips! 

igotthisnow

I believe phone skills go a long way toward success.   It's not referred to very often, but it's a strong selling aspect to handling the phone.  Most perspective tenants will call around...so be very nice.   I've found the more one can get them talking the better.  I read once, you have 3 minutes to convince someone as to why they should store with you.  We never do business with someone we don't like. 

Bradley

How large is your facility?  While always being available sounds great, you also need to set boundaries.  This is good for both you and your customers.  Trust me, they will adjust their situation to meet yours.  It isn't a one way track.  Being tethered to the facility 24/7 isn't the best for your health or service either.  We have 24/7 access at our facility, but this is storage (not apartments) and as such it is hardly ever mission critical.  Your office has set hours for a reason.  Get a call center to monitor calls when you aren't there.  It's a great backup when you're out touring other customers or servicing units.  It's a heck of a lot cheaper than another employee.  You're in Texas.  XPS Solutions (also in Texas) does a great job for us here in New York.  

Also, always give good phone and letter.  Always thank people for their business, and assure that they are the focus of your efforts.  I train all staff in this manner.  They sound genuinely interested in the needs of the customer.  It's the only way it works.  Don't rely on for letters in Sitelink.  They are a good start, but so many times they don't fit the situation.  Don't be afraid to erase all or part of the form letters and add your personal touch.  Goes a long way.  True for any business.   I'm sure you do much or all of this already.  Haven't really met a storage professional who doesn't.  Feel free to message me any time.  I might not be a sitelink expert, but I am one for managing businesses.  

 

hloevrona

First of all, you need to have a lot of knowledge in the field of business. Get a lot of business friends and periodically ask them different questions. You don't have any experience in this field yet, and that's fine, at first I did. Then I created a joint business with my friend, which gave me a lot of income, and only recently did I learn about such a thing as the Financial Modeling Tool for SaaS and Subscriptions, although I have been in business for more than ten years. I would advise you to read about it on the Internet, and I think you will be interested, it can help you in business development.

_________________________________________________

https://sturppy.com/models/financial-model-for-saas

Shauna

 Bradley said:

How large is your facility?  While always being available sounds great, you also need to set boundaries.  This is good for both you and your customers.  Trust me, they will adjust their situation to meet yours.  It isn't a one way track.  Being tethered to the facility 24/7 isn't the best for your health or service either.  We have 24/7 access at our facility, but this is storage (not apartments) and as such it is hardly ever mission critical.  Your office has set hours for a reason.  Get a call center to monitor calls when you aren't there.  It's a great backup when you're out touring other customers or servicing units.  It's a heck of a lot cheaper than another employee.  You're in Texas.  XPS Solutions (also in Texas) does a great job for us here in New York.  

Also, always give good phone and letter.  Always thank people for their business, and assure that they are the focus of your efforts.  I train all staff in this manner.  They sound genuinely interested in the needs of the customer.  It's the only way it works.  Don't rely on for letters in Sitelink.  They are a good start, but so many times they don't fit the situation.  Don't be afraid to erase all or part of the form letters and add your personal touch.  Goes a long way.  True for any business.   I'm sure you do much or all of this already.  Haven't really met a storage professional who doesn't.  Feel free to message me any time.  I might not be a sitelink expert, but I am one for managing businesses.  

 

Thank you! Yes I am horrible with boundaries because I take everything I do so personally. There have been a lot of late night trips to help. This is something I am definitely working on. I text, email, and call people. I send individual rent reminders. I just have to work on balance. Our facility is in a rural area, and is only about 120 units, but we are building more currently. 

Jim0623

There is a lot that goes into being a good manager. I was a manager for 8 years before I went over to operations.  The biggest advice I could give is, give the best customer service you can give. You more than likely work for a smaller storage company and I find our managers are what differentiates us from the big guys.  I don’t have the marketing dollars to keep up with them , but I do have the people. 

In this day and age most facilities are full as well. Stay on top of your property. Know your inventory.  Daily walk thrus are a must at this point.  With most facilities over 90% you don’t want to turn a customer away when there is an empty unit that hasn’t been found for a couple days.   

AnitaJohnson1269

Be confident in your value!  Have a confident answer to the usual questions.  "Why should I store with you?" etc. Listen, and let then know how much you would love their business. 

flyfishinguy

Hello & Good Luck to you.
a few small items
Many people will call to several local storage providers.  That means that for every 10 calls you receive, you'll close X prospects.  Be mindful of this ratio and ask people how they heard about you.
We find that, usually, if we are able to get the prospect to commit to visiting the facility, they will become a customer.  
Watch your past due status.  Someone who is already 60 days past due can quickly become 90 days past due and, at that point, bring the customer back into current status can be daunting.  
Try to encourage commercial accounts.  These folks know they have to pay you every month and they tend to stay longer.

Rezorios

I think it's much more important to understand that the manager has to build the right strategy to help improve the business. For great success, it is worth finding a few valuable intuitions to ensure that progress does not stop. I went straight to innovation-park.eu for this, and it had a very positive effect on my company. I felt that my business idea was not perfect and was not perfect for the market that I had chosen. Eventually, I realized that there were some advantages that would guarantee success in every area. That's what I started to look for.

SimonSanderson

I've been a manager for a few years now and I've learned that one of the best things you can do to help your business succeed is to focus on online growth.  I recommend checking out the link https://www.namecheap.com/relate/.  They have a lot of great resources and tools to help you boost your online presence and drive more traffic to your site. Just remember, online marketing is all about understanding your audience and finding ways to connect with them in a meaningful way.