You get a customer who is looking for a 10×20 self storage unit and as you look into your system to see what you have available, you start to discuss their storage needs.  How soon they’ll need storage, if the location is good for them and how long they’ll need to rent the unit. Security features are discussed and so far everything is looking very good.  You have a good rapport built with the customer and as you pull up and see your availability, you notice that you don’t have any 10×20 units currently available for them. 

Don’t let that be the end of the conversation.  Many times the customer will be in a hurry to rush off to find a storage facility that has exactly what they’re looking for… a 10x 20 unit. Because they don’t have time to sit and chat.  They have a million things to do on their list.  In the self storage business, you have to make adjustments and explain to your customers how they can benefit from those minor adjustments that need to be made, in order to satisfy their needs. 

Okay, so you don’t have a 10×20.  You don’t even have a 10×15.  And of course they don’t want to pay more by getting a larger unit, so what do you do?  Offer the two smaller units to accommodate everything that they need to store.  Maybe you have two 10×10 units that would work.  Even if you have two 5×10’s and a 10×10.  At least make those options available to them before they even have a chance to head in the other direction.  In our Call Center you may can often hear us offering two smaller units to equal a lager size. Sales is all about options.  What is it that you can offer the customer? What if you don’t have what they need? Can you offer a special in order to make up for it? Offer options and let them decide which one works the best for them. 

Written by: Robin Turner, Call Center Manager

Thanks for reading our business blog. We put sales and self storage together for you.

PhoneSmart is your offsite sales force and call center in Columbia, Missouri.

Tweet This Post 

Anywhere there is customer service or sales, there is a need to discover the caller/customer needs. After those needs are discovered, it is up to us to find out how we can accommodate their needs and find solutions. By doing this, we will be in a better position than our competition to gain the customer’s business.

For those in the self storage business, there are five things that are important to the customer. Those things are price, value, availability, convenience of location, and the size that they need. As a self storage business owner, it is up to you to discover and answer their questions based off these metrics. Of course, we all know that it is not as simple as finding the answers to the above questions. It is also in the way you present your business and finding out what is the most important metric to them.

I have seen customers rent from a facility that had a great price, but they didn’t get anything for that price. I have also seen customers rent because the facility was closest to them, but their price was higher. It is really hard to predict why the customer will decide to rent from a particular storage facility. One thing that you can do to give yourself a fighting chance is to cover the five things listed above with the customer and then try to determine what is most important to them.

Written by: Joel Little

Thanks for reading our business blog. We offer sales training and quality assurance to the self storage industry.

PhoneSmart is your offsite sales force and call center in Columbia, Missouri.

Rent self storage at 4001 Southwestern Blvd, Baltimore, MD

Tweet This Post 

Until I needed storage for the first time, I didn’t ever realize that it was a service available. My needs were simple. I was moving out of a duplex in one city and into a someone else’s home and didn’t have room for my things. So I was forced into storing my things until I could get my own place. It was about 4 months that I had my belongings in storage – basically over a summer. I was just out of college with very little extra money so I went to the place in town with the cheapest price.

No one ever warned me (especially not the facility) of the many different things I should and shouldn’t do when putting things into a storage unit. Everything in my small duplex had to be put away. So without thinking, I packed the living room, the bedroom, the bathroom, and the kitchen. Yes. The kitchen. I packed pots, pans, dishes, silverware, and the pantry.

When I returned four months later to get my belongings out of storage, I was very unhappy with the results. Everything was covered with mouse droppings! They had chewed through all five boxes that I had packed food in. They ate all my cereal, packs of uncooked noodles, hamburger helper. They chewed a hole through my bag of flour but luckily they left most of it in the bag. The problem was that meal worms were happily eating what the mice had left behind.

Okay. So maybe that was mostly my fault for not having enough common sense, but the property owners never told me not to put food in the unit. At least they told me I couldn’t store the propane tank from my grill, but the grill ended up falling off the truck rendering it useless. Needless to say, I sold my tank.

This was a little over 5 years ago and in that much time, the way people do storage has improved. We advertise monthly pest control, super clean facilities, climate controlled units (I won’t even go there. All I’ll say is antique coffee table.), and security. If only I had known then what I know now.

Written by: Julio Montes

Thanks for reading our property management blog and inside view of the self storage industry.

PhoneSmart is your offsite sales force and call center in Columbia, Missouri.

Tweet This Post 

In order to examine the necessity, effectiveness and efficiency of business intelligence, one has to define it in its most basic terms as well as determine the necessity of it. Generally speaking, business intelligence is mostly referred to the materialization of tools in order to support proper decision making which may include informational technology, customer data as well as industry standards. The main concept in business intelligence or BI is simply enabling the best possible decision making in order to improve on business practices as well as profitability. Essentially BI should result in effectiveness and efficiency by preparing and enabling the most obvious, viable and effective decision. As previously mentioned, it is obvious that BI can and is a part of large business; however, the small and midsize business may not have the same ability or desire to use BI.

First and most importantly, one should determine the necessity of implementing and using BI in small and mid size business. Small and mid size businesses have comparatively rather limited resources in terms of funding, human capital, material and market shares. Hence it becomes even more important to be more effective in product development, production, marketing, advertising and sales in order to grow market shares as well as increase competitiveness and profitability. That is where BI becomes even more important; by allowing for collection of data and analyses, the given organization may be enabled to pursue more effective modes of operation which in turn are meant to steer the company toward more competitive standing in terms of effectiveness and efficiency.

Secondly, it is important to explore the ability of small and mid size business to take advantage of BI by effectively and efficiently implementing it. One of the most significant factors is the nature of cost and available resources. In general terms, the limitations of resources may be the greatest burden to overcome, however, the smaller organizations may have alternatives. Historically large external service providers such as IBM, GeoVu and HP have provided a wide range of BI services to large business. Those services range from design, planning, hardware, and software. Though most of even those large service providers offer solutions for small and mid size businesses, it is expensive and may require internal resources that may prevent those organizations from using those external services. For instance, the cost could depend on factors such as the required hardware and software as well as quantity of users.

Consequently it is important to determine the alternatives and choices of small and mid size businesses to utilize BI in an appropriate manner. Two of the rather common software applications that have been used in small and mid size businesses are File Maker Pro and Microsoft Access.

File Maker is produced by File Maker Inc. In essence, File Maker software allows for organizational data collection by enabling the user to take advantage of database driven data collection, storage and access. File Maker allows the user to design specific databases for individual projects which in terms allow for data collection and analysis. File Maker inc. offers several versions including packages for individuals, academia, non profits, government and small businesses. Essentially this particular software is designed to make data collection and data sharing universal, real time, as well as available to all key personnel.

Similarly, Microsoft Office Access is designed to enable the end user to take advantage of database and its valuable impact on data collection and data analysis. Similarly to File Maker products, there are several versions including standalone MS Access as well as the combination of all MS office suite, with different licensing agreements depending on end users.

The main difference between Microsoft Office Access and File Maker products is within their cross functionality and market shares. Microsoft Access is cross compatible with a wide range of Microsoft Office products such as MS Word, Excel, Outlook, and Power Point, which are all very popular and commonly used in business, government, non profits and academia. Another rather not obvious but important advantage of MS is its existence in Academia: most universities and higher education institutions either use of recommend using MS software due to price advantages as well hardware availability on campuses. This naturally leads to generation after generation of college graduates that are virtually proficient in using MS products hence resulting in reduced costs of training for employers which in turns creates greater market shares.

On the other hand, there maybe advantage to using File Maker products. The manufacturer argues that its products are superior to MS Access because of its better security features, improved macros and queries, better graphic user interface (GUI), and most importantly the self explaining nature of its products.
Both software are available on Windows and Mac platform and cost less than $200 for basic versions, whereby per user licensing may increase the cost. Additional cost may depend on additional components such as server space, script ad on as well as individualize programming.

Moreover it is important to explore as to how such software can have practical application in every aspects of small business. There are several general ways in which such software can be significant.

First and foremost, database driven application allow for individualization of data collection. For instance in Microsoft Access, the user can chose from many options such as how to name each field in tables, format in which data are saved or retrieved, report format and details, specific queries, individual modules and end result output. Such customization and/or need based designed may have several impacts, including creation of expertise, experimental design to improve decision making, and flexibility to change at will without delays or reliance on third party.

Secondly, the availability of such detailed reports and information creates a robust mode of inter organizational communication by providing the same quality and quantity of information to all stakeholders and participants. For instance, departmental decision makers have uniform data which can be their base of decisions as well as their ability to cross organize departmental and/or individual internal and external efforts.

Thirdly, since all the stakeholders and participant have the same information, the decision making process becomes more transparent which in turn may positively impact the decision making process as well as cross coordination among different divisions and decision makers. Similarly, uniform data availability may impact the customer service aspect of business by allowing the decision makers to provide continuous and uniform service based on constant information.

Fourth, uniform data availability will create a viable platform for performance measurement: data availability may enable the decision makers to mine and examine the results of departmental and/or individual contribution/s and performance/s which in turn will enable the decision makers to have the quantitative platform for fair and viable performance evaluation. For instance, budget projections can be judged retrospectively based on their accuracy and viability which in turn may enable the appraisal of management and/or all participants in compiling budget projections. 

Fifth, business intelligence and use of appropriate software such as MS Access or File Maker Pro may create a more effective mode of communication and decision making among small businesses and their respective vendors. For instance, it may enable the sma

Tweet This Post 

I had the pleasure of spending a couple of days in New York last week attending a conference on mystery shopping and secret shopping.  The Mystery Shopping Providers Association got together to share ideas and work on their professional development. I had not spent much time in Manhattan recently and it took me about an hour or two to get my New York rhythm back in my walk.

It is clear from the new buildings and the ever growing pedestrian traffic that New York continues to be on e of the capitols of the world. The transition form industrial to residential continues at a brisk pace in many of the older neighborhoods. The capital continues to flow in. The immigrants continue to flow in. The tourists won’t stop. I guess the early European sailors like Hudson and Verrazano knew what they were talking about when they reported finding one heck of a spot to build a trading port.

The dichotomy between rich and poor also continues as the rich get richer and the poor get nowhere. I was reminded of a famous evangelist named Reverend Ike who used to work the New York Market. He was one of the early “prosperity preachers” who talked about how getting rich was righteous. He once said something like, “the best thing you can do for poor folks is to keep from becoming one”. Amen, reverend.

Tweet This Post 

I’d like to share a letter written to a prospect. It is a great highlight of the secret shopping service offered by PhoneSmart. Hi John,  I will be happy to get your secret shopping started.

I’m not sure what Bob has discussed with you about the details of secret shopping so let me begin by giving you a brief overview of our service. We have mystery shoppers who will call your storage facilities and pose as a potential customer. They will ask your managers questions about storage such as, “How much is a 10×10?” or, “I’m looking for storage, can you help me?” Our shoppers put the ball in the manager’s court so we can see how well they sell their store.

Once the calls for your company are completed, we will evaluate each call and provide a written report for each. At the end of the month we’ll mail you the CD of the calls along with the written reports. We can also email mp3’s of the shops if you prefer.

We offer a standard evaluation form for the self storage industry. I’ve attached the form; feel free to review it and let me know if you would like to make any changes. It’s completely customizable and can be formatted to meet your needs.

I have a few questions that will help me get your shops started:

1. Would you prefer we call each facility and shop whoever answers, or that we shop specific employees?

2. How frequently would you like the shops? (i.e. monthly, bi-weekly, etc.)

3. How many shops do you estimate we will make each month?

Hopefully I’ve answered some of the questions you may have had. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Thanks,

Sarah Little

Written by Sarah Little, Total Quality Assurance Executive at PhoneSmart.

Thanks for visiting our secret shopping blog, we’ll give you the honest details about the self storage and mystery shopping industry.

 Your local self storage unit provider in 2021 Griffin Rd. Dania Beach FL. 33312

Tweet This Post 

I had another opportunity to attend a trade show in Las Vegas. Those of us who get there several times a year have a bit of a warped perspective of the city. Each time I fly in, I see that the city has spread further. Each time I take a cab to the Strip, I see new hotels in the works and new condos on the rise. I read in the local Vegas paper that the group that owns the Venetian and Steve Wynn are now developing casino properties in Macao, China. SO it is quite likely that our most valuable import to China will be gaming.  We may depend on gaming to restore some trade balance with China. As American consumers pump money into China from purchasing everything made in China, the new monied class in China will send their profits right back to Las Vegas by way of the felt tables and spinning roulette wheels.

This would prove my gut feeling that Las Vegas has all the money. I mean all the money. If you traced the path of money movement, I would bet that 63% of the world’s money passes through Las Vegas or through a Las Vegas based company.

I tell people I know who have never been there, that you can smell the money as soon as you step off the airplane. The place is dripping in money, the way the Louisiana Bayou drips with dew in the late Spring. Because of this, the city continues to grow in leaps and bounds. Jobs of all kinds are crated every day. Service industries of every nature spring up around theses jobs. Hustlers of every stripe, legitimate and otherwise, flock there to try to get one little droplet of the money that you can feel dripping everywhere.

A boom market like this has its own biology and chemistry. If you do not know the market and do not have insiders guiding you through it, you could easily end up like the gold miners who headed to California in 1849 and be stranded with no more than a shovel in your hand. On the other hand a boom market like this is just what is needed for entrepreneurs to make their mojo happen and create prosperity for their companies.

I imagine the next time I go out there in a few months, there will be even more money out there and more hustlers trying to get their mojos working.

Brought to you by PhoneSmart & Public Relation Solution

Tweet This Post 

I recently took a trip to Newport Beach California for a day long business conference. The Orange County Coast is a great place to visit for business or pleasure. Flying in from St. Louis to John Wayne airport in Santa Ana (Airport code SNA) is very convenient. The flight schedules at American allow you to leave St. Louis at a reasonable time in the middle of the day and still get into Santa Ana in the mid afternoon. Flying home, you can get out of bed at a normal time and be home in Columbia for dinner. This time I chose MO X to get to St. Louis and back. Their schedule matched my flight schedule nicely and parking at Parkade to boarding the van is pretty easy.

The only thing I don’t like about John Wayne airport is the landing. The airport is tightly surrounded by the office and commercial areas of Irvine and Santa Ana. You pretty much have to drop out of the sky to make the landing and sometimes you can get a pretty good bump on landing. Once you get through that, you find the John Wayne airport is very easy to get around in. It has all the amenities you need, but the traffic and size make it very comfortable. I choose it over LAX every time I can, when coming to the Los Angeles area.

Flying into the Los Angeles/Orange county are is always amazing. You fly over so many hundreds of miles of unpopulated, uninhabitable desert. Then you cross one last mountain range and presto, you see development as far as the eye can see, and the ocean, which is usually covered in some coastal cloud cover. This time we got to see the massive Yucca Valley wild fire from the plane. It was only up to about 25,000 acres at this time, but the smoke plume was still hundreds of miles long. We could see the fire line from the plane, too, and it was a bone chilling sight.

Once you are through security at Santa Ana, you take a short walk across the road to the parking garage and you are right at the rental car pick up. On the way you pass a big bronze statue of John Wayne in cowboy character. The statue captures his “swagger” very well.

On this trip Avis was promoting their new “Cool Cars” that they have available and they upgraded me for free to a brand new Mustang convertible. Nice. They hadn’t even taken the plastic wrap off of the steering wheel yet. If you are going to drive a convertible, Southern California is the pace to do it. So I saw the place like a native might…with the top down.

When flying to Santa Ana, the first thing you must do is drive southwest on Mac Arthur Boulevard. Once you pass the entrance to Fashion island ( a great spot for food and shopping by the way) you will come to the crest of the hill and all of a sudden you are looking over the ocean. What a lovely sight and a lovely site. Keep going down Mac Arthur and take a left on the Pacific Coast highway. Drive a while. You will see beautiful homes and gorgeous gardens. The weather is ideal for all sorts of flowering everything.
Then you will drive by Crystal Cove State Park where you can see how the California Coast line looked to the first settlers. You can understand how people have been and still are mesmerized by the place.  A little further on you will come to Laguna Beach, which is a great art and shopping community. It gives you an idea of what Columbia’s downtown could grow into as we add more interesting shops and wonderful galleries and delicious restaurants.

Now you will have to make a decision. Where will you take your dip in the ocean? Do it now in Laguna Beach, or on the way back to Newport Beach? Will you swim, boogie board, surf or just jump around in the surf? This will effect your decision. Most of this you can do anywhere along this stretch of coast. If you want calmer water, try Laguna Beach or head back up the coast to Corona Del Mar State Park and try Big Corona Beach just south of the channel jetty.  In any case, spend some time at Crystal Cove Park. You will love to see the different flora and fauna. It is nothing like you see here in the Midwest.

If you are not going to swim at Corona Del Mar, you need to at least walk the bluff top side walk above the beach close to sunset. Wow. What a view. And the homes up there are very sweet. No one has much yard and they don’t have many square feet of space, but what they have is a view of Catalina Island and sunsets like nobody’s business.

Okay, time to get something to eat. There are umteenth choices all along the Pacific Coast Highway and in the Fashion Island Circle. You can do like I do and just stop wherever the fancy strikes you, or you can hunt down something you favor.

There are lots of options for a great place to stay. If you want to save a few dollars and have a quick trip to the airport for your journey home, there are some good choices up by the airport. The meeting I attended was at the Balboa Bay Club, which is an older and elegant property right on the Newport channel opposite Lido Island. It would be a neat experience if you want an older California feel. I stayed at the Hampton by the airport. You get some extra room at very reasonable rates and a five minute trip to the airport. But if you are coming for vacation, try one of the hotel/spas on the beach in Newport Beach. I hear they are very comfortable.

If you love boats, you will love Newport Beach. The open portico where we had our meeting at the Balboa Bay Club looked out over the slips. There were some magnificent yachts and some beautiful sailboats that you could almost reach out and touch. Watching the boasts large and small going through the channel helps you understand why people put up with living in such a densely populated and expensive part of the world. The living is good.

If you come to play, try taking a sailing course or a surfing class while you are there. That is the real California life. A friend of mine who I see at these California meetings says his favorite surfing spot is at 56th street right there in Newport Beach.

Well I have to get to my meeting now. It is time to get to work. If you get a chance to come to Newport Beach for fun or for a function, make sure to take a few minutes to explore the area. You can have a mini vacation even if you have just an hour or two to spare.

Brought to you by Tron Jordheim — Director of Operation at PhoneSmart Your off sites sales solution.

Tweet This Post 

Usually we don’t re-post published article, but today is a bit different. We ran into this article published at Yahoo.com which talks about the U.S. Navy sending its top admirals to be re-educated. The article states that the goal is to get the military leaders to acquire a business management mindset. You can view the article at

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060611/ap_on_re_us/reeducating_admirals

This is of utmost interest. The question is can you do the same thing for your small business? The answer is most likely a big No. Ask yourselves what the alternative is? 

Email us with your thoughts.

Tweet This Post 

PLC or Product Life Cycle refers to traditional stages in which a product / services are integrated into market. Those traditional stages include: introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. PLC in general illustrates a traditional theory which may not hold for long because of the change in business environment: considering the current trend in globalization and the ever changing dynamic market, it is a logical assumption that those traditional theories may be in decline. Consider the following: in a business environment where internet technology dominates other vehicles of advertising and marketing, it is hard to quantify cycles that are either overlapping or non existence. For instance, eCommerce dictates a dynamic approach in which products are introduced and experience rapid growth and maturity within a very short period of time. Further, the overlapping of introduction and maturity makes it even harder to distinguish cycles.Personally, I believe that PLC theory is one of those propositions that may hold theoretical values, yet not adaptable to the flexible and ever changing business environment; especially in terms of small business.

Brought to you by World Consulting Solution Your one stop firm for all your consulting needs.

Tweet This Post