Why is this? Well, for starters, many companies that are actively using a consistent level of secret shopping services on their employees and businesses usually do so as some kind of incentive program, offering rewards for improvement, rather than to find and single out bad workers, as is sometimes assumed by the very nature of the evaluations being unknown. Many companies offer cash bonuses to those employees who are rated as above average or excellent when they have been the recipient of an evaluation. It is logical to assume that once an employee realizes that doing their job to the best of their ability not only gets them brownie points with the bosses, but also cold hard cash, then just maybe they think to smile a bit more often, and greet the customers more regularly.

In fact, entire training programs are very often created around the basis of the secret shopping services that are routinely performed at a company. For the most part, companies who use the results of their shadow observations and evaluations to come up with fun, convenient ways to motivate their employees to try harder often have the best scores over all. As an example, imagine working for a company whose manager hands out something along the lines of smile tickets, when he or she sees and employee smiling frequently or doing their job exceptionally well. The employee then puts their ticket into a tumbler and each week a name is pulled out of the tumbler for a cash prize or some other prize. Even though there may not be any evaluations going on that day at all, the line is cast, in that employees are asked to consistently participate in friendly, courteous service with their guests. It becomes a theme, and a recurring one.

Honoring employees for the work that they do and for the progress that they are showing just makes them feel good. Working for a company who values them, and rewards them in fun and exciting ways, enables them to be more responsive to customers and patrons whether the secret shopping services are being performed or not. That is, after all, the ultimate goal, friendly, courteous customer service every day, not just every other day, or once a week when they feel like it. Good customer service makes a lasting impression on guests to an establishment, and fun, respectful and unique management makes for happier, more responsive employees. At the end of the day, it is this combination of excellent management and training skills and responsive, happy employees that turn a guests experience from mediocre to stellar, and that is something that all businesses want to achieve.

Customer Service

Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

Tweet This Post 

The online real estate management courses will include a fixed hours of education and training to provide you the guidelines. You will receive varieties of course materials on the subject. Time to time you have to sit for online quizzes. All the study will be conducted over the internet. You have to attend the quizzes, enrichment exercises, extra lessons and a final test. The courses offered by the universities have part time or full time facilities. Students can learn while they work using a part time course or devote their full effort for a long time course. The master degree course requires several years of experience in this field.

The online real estate management courses provide the materials having latest information regarding the industry. Normally the materials supply information on following aspects.

• It provides textbook giving detail information to become a high quality landowner. The book shows different communication methods with the tenants and teaches you how to become comfortable in critical situations.

• The main study material is a book dealing with details of management of properties. This includes total overview of the industry, economics, property analysis, marketing, advertising, lease formalities, forms, daily operations, management of commercial properties and so on.

• The online real estate management courses will also give you a workbook, which will lead you step by step through the various levels of the course. The book has enrichment exercises and lessons, which will help you to learn and build up your knowledge.

• A tutorial for basic and complex mathematics is also provided within the course. This will help you to become confident in solving the realty estate math problems.

• The course provides a dictionary explaining the meaning and applications of the terms used in realty.

• Finally, it supplies a demo disk for the software that deal with properties. This will help you to learn about the most common functionalities of the software. This acquired skill will guide you to operate other major software also.

After completing the real estate management courses successfully, you will be prepared to deal with any challenges of this industry. You will be well trained in following aspects.

• Classify the management of different properties and the purpose.

• Generate a financial statement for any property.

• Create a suitable marketing plan for the business.

• Explain ways or methods to maintain a friendly relation between owner and tenant.

• Apply the leasing processes to fill up any vacant property.

• Understand the major legal issues related to the industry.

• Differentiate between the scope of managing residential and commercial property.

A career in managing different properties is highly recommendable these days. It has good employment prospects all over the world, offering you lots of challenges to overcome.

Storage

Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

Tweet This Post 

This may mean that a real estate management firm suggest third party training services, such as a secret shopping program to its clientele. In fact, secret shopping is a great way to look at sales training because such a program would allow your clients a chance to see what their service really is at the customer level.

After all, a great accountant has less to count if customers are not buying, right? This is why, as a real estate management firm it is in your best interest to recommend reputable sales training or secret shopping services to your clients. This is also in the best interest of the client and they may appreciate a valuable recommendation.

Of course, this means that your real estate management firm can not just go recommending any old sales training material or secret shopping vendor. You will have to research those that seem to fit your client base the best.

For example, if you manage storage properties, then find some of the self storage niche shopping programs and ask to have a few trial or demo calls done. Evaluate the program. When comparing secret shop programs, here are some things to consider.

• Was the program customizable to your needs?
• Did you have easy and productive communication with your contact person at the shop office?
• Were the secret shops conducted well enough to not give it away?
• Were the results of the secret shop delivered in a timely manner?
• Were the results accurate?
• Does the shop program have updated technology (i.e. Are the shops recorded on cassette tape, CD, or mp3? Are the results accessible to you via online access, mailed to you, or emailed to you?)
• How many secret shoppers does the company have? If there is a limited pool of them, then you may see or hear the same shoppers too often. If the shopper company has a large network of shoppers, that is best.
• How long has the company been in business? You do not want to recommend a new company to your clientele that may be out of business in a few years. Find a company that has proven they are going to grow their own business.
• Ask for a discount for all the clients who sign up for their services through your recommendation. If you can offer your clients discounted third party services and products, they will appreciate your management services even more.

Other services you may want to gather as third party services could be insurance to the client, and insurance for the clients customers. Take the self storage industry again, they would like to sell renters insurance to their customers. If your management service had a collection of recommendations, they would be pleased to do business with you.

The goal should be to cover all the need of your client base. Make your management firm more than just an accountant and a lawyer, make your firm a one stop shop for business owners. Become a consultant for them.

Self Storage in Kansas City

Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

Tweet This Post 

So Mark took control and decided that though his old plan would probably never come to fruition, that did not have to stop him from making a new one altogether. He got online one night and searched for online and short term degrees that would take him in the general direction he had wanted to go those years ago in high school and college, and he eventually found what he was looking for.

He came across a site that offered property management classes . It was completely online, which meant he would not have to travel to and from school.  And it would only take a year or less to complete. Mark realized that within a couple of years he could probably find a job and work his way up in it with experience, but he knew that a degree such as the one he could take with property management classes would take him further faster, and this is what he wanted.

The property management classes that Mark began to take soon thereafter were designed specifically with distance in mind. They were easy to follow and since everything was online, Mark was able to check his grades and assignments at any time necessary, night or day. What was even better was that with the school he decided to go through, the property management classes had no set time. He was able to set his own schedule and work at his own pace, turning in assignments and taking tests whenever had had time in his busy schedule. Mark was also thrilled to learn that all of his tests and assignments were open book and open note, as the course focused more on actual learning and researching.

With the real estate position that Mark currently held, he was learning about certain business and managing tactics already. But he knew that with the property management classes he was taking in order to obtain a degree and certification, he would have the means to jump immediately and actively into the competitive job market as soon as he graduated. The courses would allow him to learn things now, the same things that being on the job might take years to find out.

After a year had gone by and Mark had graduated with his degree and certification, it took him only a couple of months to find a job that he wanted. It was one that had enormous potential, and his employers were very impressed with his enthusiasm, his degree, and the fortitude Mark had shown in taking the initiative to take control and do what he wanted with his career.

Kansas City Furniture Storage

Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

Tweet This Post 

Like many online work at home opportunities, there are scams that you should watch out for when doing your research. Businesses need feedback on their services and products in order to make good marketing decisions. In order to do this, they hire shoppers for pay to shop incognito to evaluate the typical daily activity of their shop from a customers perspective. These marketing research assignments include shopping, auditing, merchandising, scheduling and Internet shopping. Every assignment has certain criteria it needs and is scored based upon those assigned criteria.
 
A shopper needs to be patient when getting started with secret shopping jobs , remembering this is self employment and probably will not happen overnight. It takes time to build a business.

Getting Started

The application process. A potential shopper begins the process by submitting applications to shopping companies. They should do a search online for directories, through forums and other shopping sites to find possible jobs. Respond directly to the company, signing up with as many companies as you can. Pace yourself. Filling out large amounts of applications is time consuming. Spread it out. Each company will be different. Some will want faxed applications. Others will require you to email them for their application. The application will almost always require you to write a paragraph or two. This is so they can evaluate your grammar, spelling and punctuation skills.

Use a word processor for your application and answer each question, editing your writing until it is accurate. Save it for later applications, using copy and paste so you will have very minimal retyping to do.

The Assignment

Follow the clients guidelines. Secret shopping jobs require the shopper to report their observations. Be sure to take good notes once you leave the shop. Have any necessary materials with you to complete the assignment. A notepad and pencil should be available to you, a hand held recorder or cell phone, a PDA or any other device that will help you record your findings.

Verify your store location. Often clients will have multiple locations near each other. You do not want to waste time shopping at the wrong location. If you have multiple assignments for jobs they can be combined in one trip when located in the same mall or retail area.

After the Assignment

When you finish each of your secret shopping jobs , complete your report and questionnaire forms according to the assignment requirements. Be detailed. They are very important. Give associate names if possible, if not provide a good description including hair and eye color, approximate age and distinguishing features such as glasses or a scar. Be prompt in returning your report.

Make sure your reports are well written and factual, with good spelling and grammar. Provide complete details when requested and read through the questions carefully. On time, detailed and factual reports go a long way in earning you more secret shopping jobs , increasing your income and the enjoyment you have in each shopping experience.

Well, there you have it. The three basic steps in the mysterious world of shopping are finding the jobs and apply, do the assignment and fill out the report.

Milledgeville Furniture Storage

Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

Tweet This Post 

The Price Stall

The price stall is a great sales technique that allows you the sales person to control the presentation and reel in the customer. By waiting to give the price you will start to build value in your product or service and you will be gaining rapport with the customer. Customers want to be able to trust and believe what you are saying, that way they feel good about their purchase. You do not want them to have a case of buyers remorse and return the product or service that you worked so hard to sell them on.

How do you Price Stall? There are many techniques and styles out there in the land of sales but the basic price stall is pretty easy to master. The basic price stall is exactly what it sounds like, stalling to give the price so that you can qualify the customer and figure out all of their needs. As mentioned above, the stalling part of the sales presentation can be an art in itself. You want to be able to present the customer with the appropriate product or service and you want them to purchase it.

Listen to how others are presenting their sales pitches and see what works for them. Everyone can have his or her own style and flair, which what make salespeople so great. Then the next thing to do is practice. You want to be smooth but not slick, you want to helpful and knowledgeable not pushy. You want to be friendly not pompous. You want the customer to buy your product or service and you want them to come back next time they need something from you. If you do the customer right, they will show their loyalty by returning in the future. Another good reason to treat customers right is the possibility of them referring your company to someone else. This is free advertising for your company and is a great way to gain new customers. They say that many people will give a good referral about a service or product they receive, but that many more people will give a negative referral if they did not receive the customer service that they were expecting. Better make it a good customer service experience.  

The Price Stall is just one thing that a mystery shopper is looking for when evaluating an employee. The mystery shopper might even play devils advocate and ask for the price of the product or service up front. This is a good test to see if the salesperson can get back on track and use the correct price stall technique. The mystery shopper might even go a step further and interrupt the salesperson during their price stall to see if the salesperson can overcome the interruption.

Sometimes a mystery shopper will notice another salesperson that is having a difficult time with a customer. For whatever reason the customer wants the price and they want it right now! The only way to get around these types of customer interaction is to go ahead and give the price but do not give up on the sale. Hang in there and ask for the sale, you will be surprised at how many new customers you will get this way.

Miami Car Storage

Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

Tweet This Post 

Most people like the idea of feedback secret shopping because you get immediate recognition on what you did well, and some coaching points that can help you going into the next call. In the past, secret shopping  just shopped different storage managers, evaluated their call, and then sent the call to the district manager for them to do as they please. Think how many calls in between the secret shopping calls, that self storage manager in between that time could take. They still could be using not as good sales presentations that they did not know they needed help on. The only problem sometimes with instant feedback from secret shopping, is that some people are too prideful and choose not to listen.

It is so refreshing that there are managers out there who receive a perfect score every single time they participate in secret shopping, mostly unknowing. We should applaud you for you efforts, but what about those who do well in the secret shopping evaluation? Even the perfect managers can still learn and tweak their presentations. They should still open up their ears during their secret shopping evaluation and be humble enough to say that they do not know it all. Whether you have been in the industry for over ten years or ten minutes, everyone can improve on their skills. It is up to you to want to. That is why secret shopping is in place to help all different experience levels.

With secret shopping, there can be a huge lift in your company if you use the feedback correctly. Of course, as stated, earlier that is easier said then done. You have to check your pride at the door and realize that no one is perfect. That is another reason secret shopping is out there. People just need to get over the fact that they believe secret shopping is there to judge, bring down the individual or attempt to get someone fired. It is hard to believe that there is a company out there that would spend money to have an outside source listens to their associates, just to have reason to let them go. Now with the secret shopping evaluations, if the associates choose not to improve or for some reason cannot, they need to not be part of your company. Let us be honest. Why would you have someone on your team who is not willing to accept feedback from secret shopping when it gives them a true snapshot of how they assist customers? Do they not believe that will help them see that they have something they need to work on?

Instant feedback seems to be sky rocketing with more and more companies signing up. Companies know that the quicker they change some behaviors the quicker they can see profits. It is good for these companies to sign up and use the instant feedback way of doing secret shopping, but they need to get their people on board to check their pride at the door and be more receptive to criticism. They have to remember, not all criticism is bad, and it is just how you receive it.

Self Storage 

Florida RV Storage

Oakland Storage

Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

Tweet This Post 

The business game plan needs to include ways in which you can spend money on training your employees while getting the most value for your dollar. How does this happen? It starts with evaluating what you want your employees to be doing while they are at work. Are they there to sell, clean up, and provide customer service and a safe and secure atmosphere? Sometimes when employees are given many duties they will prioritize them in an order that is not the best for the company. If you have an employee that is well organized and likes to clean, they might put selling a little lower on their list of duties. If you have an employee that is a super people person than customer service and a well-kept office might be lower on their list. It is important to convey to your employees how you would like your business to be run. 

Secret shopping is a great way to help your employees with additional training. Typically, secret shopping programs are affordable and very helpful to many businesses. Here are some things that a secret shopping program can help your business with.

• Monitoring- evaluating employees in their natural setting. For example, the sales floor, the counter, the register, the entrance and more.
• Compliance- making sure that your employees are following company procedure at all times.
• Incentive based- giving your employees rewards based on their positive secret shopping evaluations. Rewards can be monetary, gifts, awards, a pat on the back, lunch, or whatever sounds like fun.
• Customer service monitoring- making sure that your employees are giving the best customer service possible.
• Competitor information- some secret shopping companies will shop your competitors and provide you with evaluations on their customer service and selling skills.
• Training- we all know that training is important. It is important to train new employees and provide on-going training for existing employees.

Most secret shopping programs can be tailored to fit your business and your business profile. Not all secret shopping businesses and programs are the same, so be sure to do your homework to see if they will work with you. The best secret shopping programs will examine your business needs closely and communicate the best plan of action for you. Sometimes it can take more than just a secret shopping program to complete the big sales picture. Ask potential secret shopping companies if they offer other training services to help and back up their secret shopping. Additional training can sometimes be combined in packages with secret shopping to obtain the maximum amount of training exposure to the employee.

By doing a little homework you will be able to provide your employees with the best training solution for the money. Investing in a secret shopping program will help your employees bring in more sales and more sales equal more revenue for you and your business. Remember, get the most out of your hard earned money. Make sure your business game plan includes additional training for your employees to insure a long and profitable business.

NE Storage Units

StorageMart Eola Rd & New York Aurora, IL 60504

Automobile Storage

Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

Tweet This Post 

The first noticeable change our company made this year was that we started the hiring process much sooner. We now have plenty of time to get our new hires trained and well versed in the storage industry. Our spring storage rush is approaching fast and our summer storage season even faster. Our company has always believed in internal monitoring with a secret shopping program. The type of prospective applicants we have had recently seemed much more experienced and available for consideration for the openings we have available. Maybe the change in the type of applicants we had is due to the over spending during the Christmas season or the college students moving to Columbia during the Winter break. Either way, it has made a noticeable difference. We are planning to do the same at the start of each year seeing the results we encountered this year.

We will continue to hire about every 3 weeks until our call center cannot bear to add any additional employees. This way we have plenty of time to prepare for this summers expected high number of storage inquiries. We know they will only continue to increase as we get closer and when we are in the heart of the summer season. Overstaffing will not be an issue since we will fill any open time with additional storage sales training exercises. Plus, by starting an early training regime we can monitor the staff with our own secret shopping evaluations.  

During the storage training regime, we can usually predict who will make it in the required training time frame before we send them to the wolves to see if they can make it on their own. Those who are motivated and sincerely interested, will do anything to make it will make it work for them. Those that show this type of interest should be given a second chance.  Invest in them as they are trying to invest in your storage company.  These dedicated personality types usually tend to be there for the long hall making your turn-over rate smaller than normal. And, surprisingly they can also end up being one of your tops storage sales professionals. Taking risks are part of the business. Make sure that your secret shopping program is set up to handle new employees as well as old employees.

Letting these people go without the extra attention will just set you up for the next trainee who walks through your door. So, find their weaknesses and encourage them with the idea that even the best of the best need extra training to stay on the storage team. Secret shopping is a great tool for this job. If they have a great personality and an ambitious drive to learn the storage trade, then invest in the additional training time with them. Secret shopping will help your employees see their strong and weak spots. It is important to not give up on someone you think would be a great employee.  Everyone has their own learning pace and secret shopping will help you determine what areas the employee needs to work on. 

Do not try to overload them with monotonous training regimes, instead give those breaks so that they can work on other projects and feel needed in other areas. This builds their confidence and shows them that they are needed within the company. Secret shopping can be a program that helps boost your sales, try it.

North Dakota Storage Units

StorageMart Halsted & Chicago Ave Chicago, IL 60622

Boat Storage

Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

Tweet This Post 

This particular convention is popular in the self storage industry because it attracts many newcomers to the business. Besides information about secret shopping services, there were companies that build self storage, manage self storage, supply self storage, gates, boxes, tapes and sales seminars rounded out the convention floor. Besides our company that offers self storage call center services, secret shopping services and management training, there were only a handful of competitors in our market.

Here are some of the great responses that we received while on the trade show floor.

Your seminar this morning on motivation was excellent.
We already do business with you and we love it.
You guys have the booth that is the most fun.
What else do you do besides call center?
I cannot wait to get started with your company.

We made sure that most of the people passing by our booth received some sort of handout about our company. We provided people with call center information and information about our secret shopping services. Our secret shopping services are just the icing on the cake as far as what we do as a whole to provide the self storage industry with appropriate services.

On Friday morning we presented our vendor information in the morning to a small crowd. We considered this a great turnout considering it was the last day of the conference and it was an optional event. We took turns speaking about our call center services and management software along with our secret shopping services and our management training. The presentation was well received and a few attendees stayed and inquired about additional information.

The last day on the show floor was a little slower than the first, but it was to be expected. Many people try and visit the booths they are interested in the first day. But that did not deter us from staying strong and meeting and greeting. A few more potential clients came by to take advantage of our call center show special and our special on secret shopping services. Because many people choose to shop around there is still business to be had on the last day of the conference.

We would like to take this opportunity to Thank all those folks that came by and said hello. We got to visit with current, past and potential call center and clients looking for secret shopping services. Las Vegas treated us well and we are thankful for the opportunity to spread the word about our company and the great job that we do. Contact us if you are looking for call center or secret shopping services. We would love to talk to you!

Arkansas Storage Units

StorageMart Rt 59 & Lake Street (Rt 20) Elgin, IL 60120

Automobile Storage

Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

Tweet This Post 

People usually have some idea as to what they will be putting into a self storage unit.  Whether it is junk from the garage, or files from the business, or an entire three bedroom home, they usually know.  But what they do not know is what size of a storage unit they will need.  That is where a phone rep from either the call center or the self storage office comes in handy and why it is important to have a secret shopping program in place. Some smaller self storage properties can monitor their own employees but larger sites often require an outside secret shopping program to help their managers.

A great way to help a caller determine what size of a self storage unit they will need is by comparing sizes to things they can relate to.  Instead of simply telling them they need a 5×5 unit, explain what it looks like and what it will hold.  Tell them that a 5×5 unit is similar to a small guest bathroom size, and will hold a little furniture, some boxes, and some files.  Let the caller know that this is a good sized storage unit for a sales rep needing to store samples. By being able to know what your managers are telling self storage callers, you can continually help train them with a secret shopping program.

A 5×10 storage unit is like a walk-in closet size, and will hold the equivalent of a small efficiency apartment.  This is a popular sized storage unit for pharmaceutical reps and for homeowners de-cluttering their house to put on the market.

A 10×10 is comparable to an average bedroom.  This is probably the most popular sized storage unit that people rent.  It holds the equivalent of a one bedroom apartment with major appliances. Many secret shopping programs will test the manager to see if they will offer the correct size for what the shopper is storing.

A 10×15 storage unit is similar to a large family room.  It will hold a two bedroom home with appliances.  A small VW Bug is able to fit into this size of this unit.

A 10×20 unit is a standard one car garage size.  It will hold a large three bedroom house, or is popular for storing a regular sized vehicle.

Most facilities have a 10×30 storage unit as their largest space.  This is like a one and a half car garage size, and holds a four to five bedroom house.  This size is popular for businesses needing to store a large amount of inventory. Having a secret shopping program can insure that your managers are not recommending a 10×30 for only 10 boxes.

Secret shopping programs can be tailored to meet your self storage facilities needs. Self storage facilities have different sized units available because people have different needs. Listen next time one of your managers takes a call and see if they are offering the correct size unit. If not, you might want to think about some additional training like a secret shopping program.  But it is always important over the telephone to give the customer an idea as to what the different sized spaces will hold and a secret shopping program can help your manager with that.  Comparing the size of a self storage unit to something that can be found in a person’s home is a great way to accomplish this. 

Secret Shopping

Property

StorageMart Bandera and Loop 1604 12430 Bandera Rd Helotes, TX 78023

Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

Tweet This Post 

An example of this would be hearing something that the shopper may never have thought to try them self, on an incoming call.  In most cases, however, the one who truly benefits the most would be the person on the other end of that secret shopping call.  When you are secret shopping you can be anyone who you want to be and use any type of self storage scenario you feel the mood for.  Using various scenarios is always the best way to evaluate and educate someone so they get use to different situations.  This way they can be prepared and have new ways to handle those odd ball calls.  We have 2 types of services in which both are beneficial.  It is up to what you are looking for and what you are looking to gain in the process. 

My favorite is our Feedback Secret Shopping because at the end of the call we can reveal who we really are and that we were in fact secret shopping them.  It seems that in the beginning when we started this type of secret shopping service that it was a bit touchy as these store managers were not familiar with us and took being secret shopped in maybe not the best light.  As they got to know us and our true intentions they looked forward to us secret shopping them again.  We see the level of interest and sales increase and we can watch them grow by way of feedback and evaluations given to them.  It is not only us helping them to be better because if it was not for them taking advantage of our suggestions, and using them, it would not work anyway.  Sales techniques continue to increase with these self storage managers and employees as they get called every month. 

Not only do we critique them on their presentation, but we take advantage of also receiving feedback as to how they thought we did as a secret shopper.  Our Secret Shopping team gets better and better each month as they too are critiqued on what they could do differently to sound more like a real prospective renter. There are advantages to both sides.  We freely take the helpful hints and tips to make us better, so we can in turn make the managers and other employees better at what they do.  It goes hand in hand.

Before we end the secret shopping call with each individual person we ask what they would like their goal to be for the following month.  They are not hesitant to give a realistic goal for the following month and we are pleased to see each of them increase their scores, enthusiasm and knowledge.

California Storage Units

EZ Mini Storage

StorageMart Willits & Park . Basalt, CO 81621

Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

Tweet This Post 

• Our self storage units have drive up access, so it is easier for you to unload your belongings into your unit
• This phone has Caller ID, which allows you to see who is calling
• This car has Cruise Control, which will help you avoid a speeding ticket on long trips
• Our property has a fence, which gives you better peace of mind

 
No matter what the feature is, you can always put a positive spin on it and relate it to what your customer’s particular needs are.

• Our self storage units are all inside the building down the hallway, so we can better monitor who is coming and going and improve security
• This phone will announce who is calling, so you do not have to find your glasses to read the Caller ID
• This car is a manual transmission with a stick shift, which makes it easier to get out of snow drifts
• Our fence is 8 foot tall and gated so only customers can get into the area

Simply telling a customer the features you provide is not enough. Showing them how these features will improve their lives is what is really important, and will make it far more likely that they will want your product or service. That is why we here at PhoneSmart stress giving the feature (drive up, caller ID, cruise control, fence) and then giving the benefit (monitor and security, announces who’s calling, better for snow, and 8 foot tall). Both of these things, benefits and features help provide the caller and walk in customer with all that goes into pricing a self storage unit, car, caller ID or security. If you can help the potential self storage customer visualize the value of the self storage unit for the money, then the potential customer will be more likely to spend their money.

Sales techniques and good sales training along with being a first-class listener will let you convey to the potential customer that your self storage property is worth the money and the peace of mind of storing your belongings. It takes a flexible and seasoned sales professional to be able to convey to a potential customer that they are getting their money’s worth. So whatever you are selling take these tips and run because the name of the game is getting more customers who will spend more money while giving them a top quality service or product.

Storage Concierge is your premier Storage, Storage Unit, Car Storage, RV Storage, Furniture Storage, Boat Storage, Yacht Storage, Self Storage finder.

Canada Storage Units

Storage Unit

Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

Tweet This Post 

• Employee Training- we offer a comprehensive self storage training packet that is set up to be used classroom style.
• Call Center services- our call center can provide you with that extra sales person that you do not have to employ. We can take 100% of your calls or set up the system to answer when you managers cannot come to the phone.
• Secret Shopping or Mystery Shopping- this is a great tool for monitoring, compliance or incentive based evaluations of your self storage managers.
• Feedback Shops- similar to the secret shop but at the end of the call our trained evaluators revel themselves to the manager and go over the call right then. This allows the self storage manager to talk with the evaluators and go over any sections of the call that they might need help on.
• Role Play Helpline- your managers call our dedicated sales staff and role play any part of the sales call that they want to work on. Many of our clients love this service.

Written by Natalie Thomas, TQAS agent.

Storage 

Self Storage Article Directory.  Visit our Self Storage Section

Secret Shopping 

Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

Tweet This Post 

Yesterday while doing some secret shopping, I came upon a gentleman whom did a sub par job on trying to sell self-storage. He just gave me the price when asked and put no effort behind it. I was surprised actually at the poor level of customer service out of this manager. I attempted give him some feedback and he shut down. He went on to tell me that he was busy in the store, there was a customer right in front of him, and there was nothing he could do but give out the price. I went on to try to help by saying, If the customer is already at your store, most likely they won’t mind waiting a couple more minutes for you to answer the caller’s questions. The customer in the store is getting an idea of the level of customer service they will get if they have to call to have a question answered. The manager believed that could not happen. He was not responsive to my coaching. We ended the call with him saying he would try to do it the way we discussed but he could not see how it would work.

Now, I have been in sales for a long time. I believe that I know how to take care of every type of customer that walks through my door or calls on the phone. I have been secret shopped before and have not scored so well sometimes. I took the coaching and tried to improve the next time. I did not fight back; I willing took the feedback to improve myself. I am a stubborn person, but when it comes to customer service, the customer is more important than my ego.

Joel Little, experience customer service expert.

Storage Units

Self Storage Article Directory. Visit our Self Storage Locations by State Section.

Secret Shopping

Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

Tweet This Post 

Here at PhoneSmart, we have all of our phone representative refresh their sales dialog and presentation. Because we care about our clients and our callers we hope to deliver the best customer service to each and every caller. Besides turning your missed calls into self storage reservations, we also can answer some manager questions and take payments for self storage units over the phone. So depending on what your self storage business needs are, you might need PhoneSmart to help make you business even more successful.

Written by Natalie Thomas, TQAS executive.

Self Storage 

Self Storage Article Directory 

Property Management   

Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

Tweet This Post 

Over the course of several days, she taught them principal sales techniques that are sure to help bring a sales increase to each of their self storage facilities. Before she introduced herself to the group, she visited each location and conducted a secret shop on their store.

I’m sure the look on some of the managers faces could be compared to the Candid Camera television show when they realized she had been their customer just hours ago. DJ was able to benchmark their sales level by shopping them and her training was more focused on what she knew their growth areas were.

The client is now following up the training by reinforcing the lesson with monthly Feedback Mystery Shops. These shops are a great way to begin a training program or follow it up.

This is one example of how the many services at PhoneSmart compliment each other to form a complete sales solution. Some of PhoneSmart’s services include call center, Mystery Shopping, Feedback Shopping, Role Play Helpline, Telephone Teachers, Sales Training, Sales Seminars and more.

If you’re interested in having a PhoneSmart trainer come to your self storage company for sales training contact Sarah Little, TQA Director at 855-639-1715.

Total Quality Assurance Services is brought to you by PhoneSmart – A quality assurance firm .

Self Storage Locations

Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

Tweet This Post 

Conversations like this always hit a nerve with me. The reason is that we are doing the customer a disservice if we do not ask them what they are storing or find someway to ensure that size is the one that will fit all of their belongings.

We are here to provide the customer with the best service that they can get. What happens if the customer comes down to the site and is ready to store their belongings, and they find out that they need a bigger size? What would happen if the facility just sold out of the size that they needed an hour ago? This customer would be angry and maybe decide not to rent self storage from that facility. Then that facility is losing business.

We cannot be scared to ask the caller what they are storing. This way we can 1). Ensure that they are not storing things that are not supposed to be stored in the space and 2). Ensure that the size will accommodate their belongings. The caller would be happy because we asked them and now the size they are paying for is the size that best fits them. Go above and beyond for the customer always, but sometimes it’s the basics that will win you over with the customer.

Joel Little, Experienced Sales Manager

Total Quality Assurance Services is brought to you by PhoneSmart – A quality assurance firm . 

Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

Tweet This Post 

Monitoring- we have basic evaluation forms for secret shopping calls so you can see that your employees are answering the phone and giving some basic information about self storage, shoe storage and property management.

Training- we offer a comprehensive training packet that allows you to train your employees or managers classroom style. By putting your self storage team on the same page your business will see improvement. New hires and seasoned employees both will benefit from the training packet. PhoneSmart also offers private training sessions at your business; these are conducted by Tron Jordheim, Director of PhoneSmart and member of the National Speakers Association. One of the newest training tools and currently exclusive to PhoneSmart is our Feedback Evaluation. In our Feedback shops, we call and shop your employee like normal then before the absolute end of the call we let the manager know that they have been secret shopped. A dialogue is then engaged with positive feedback and helpful tips and sales advice. We have had a great response with this new shopping style and our clients love the training aspect of the call.

Reward- some of our current customers reward their employees based on scores that they achieve through our secret shopping or mystery shopping evaluation. When the employee reaches a certain percentage we send out a Certificate of Excellence to the employee.

Contact us for information about your monitoring, training, and reward needs. Call 866-639-1715 for information today.

Written by Natalie Thomas of the TQAS department.

Total quality Assurance Services is brought to you by PhoneSmart – A quality assurance firm.                           

Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

Tweet This Post 

Secret shopping and mystery shopping is like helping your employees learn the self storage business and then they help their customers and then those customers tell their friends and co workers about how great your storage site is and they come in to rent. Do you see the connection here? By providing a cyclic track for your self storage business to provide excellent customer service they will be paving the way for future customers to come and rent a self storage, wine storage, or an automobile storage space from you.

PhoneSmart provides different and varied methods to help your employees and managers get on the right path to being able to provide great customer service. From the Role Play Helpline to the newest release of the Feedback shops, PhoneSmart has many tools to fine tune your staff. Contact us at 866-639-1715.

Written by Natalie Thomas, TQAS Executive and business blog writer.

Thanks for reading our secret shopping blog, an inside peek at the secret shopping and mystery shopping industry.

Planning a move to Pompano Beach, Florida? Visit our partners at the Pompano Beach, Florida moving information center.

Storage available at 14985 Old Hickory Blvd, Nashville, TN 37211

Find your next car storage, boat storage or self storage at your StorageConcierge – Your premier national and local self storage search engine and free quote provider.

Self Storage Owner — Where Self Storage Owners meet Self Storage Customers

30622 Automobile Self Storage

Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

Tweet This Post 

How you help people accept your offering is by understanding before you counter. If someone is raising a concern, allow them to tell you what their concern is. You may have heard this concern 57 times today, buy if you cut that person off thinking you know what they’re saying; they’re not going to like it. So let people finish what they have to say. Understand what they said. Try to look between the lines to understand their emotional position. Use paraphrasing to help them to explain it some more, and then assure the person that what you are offering is a good thing. That’s how it works. Understand before you counter, assure that person that their concern is not a new concern. Show them how your offering takes these concerns into account and makes everything better.

Written by Tron Jordheim, Director of the PhoneSmart Call Center

Thanks for reading our property management blog, a blog about the property management industry.
 
Planning a move to Oakland, California? Visit our partners at the Oakland, California moving information center.

Self Storage available at 958 Portranco Rd, San Antonio, TX 78245

33040 Automobile Storage

Find Self Storage at your premier national and local self storage unit finder.

Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

Tweet This Post 

We’re not going to talk about dealing with current tenants now, so we’re going to get them right off of the table. I am hoping that you and your staff already know how to be friendly and helpful to your current tenants. If you learn to sell with better effectiveness, it will automatically improve your interactions with current customers. But for the sake of keeping it simple, let’s just talk about new potential renters. 

The conversation will usually start one of two ways. It’ll either be How much is. . . and they’ll name off a unit that they think they’re supposed to get, or they’ll say something like, I need to store my stuff. Help me. One of these two things are going to happen. They’re either going to ask you for a price or they’re going to ask you for help.

The people who start off asking for help are great to deal with. All you have to do is act the part of the storage expert, take them by the hand and lead them through the process. The people who start out the conversation asking about price can sometimes be handled in exactly the same way, but sometimes they require more thorough and more careful handling.

exerpt from Selling Self Storage, by Tron Jordheim

Thanks for reading our secret shopping blog. We offer call center, sales training and secret shopping to the self storage industry.

11217 Wine Storage

Rent storage at 808 Gleneagles Ct, Towson, MD 21286

Are you moving to Queens, New York? Visit our partners at Queens, New York moving information center.

Find your next car storage, boat storage or self storage at your StorageConcierge – Your premier national and local self storage search engine and free quote provider.

Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

Tweet This Post 

If you are the owner, operations manager or regional director I was writing about in the last paragraph, I apologize for suggesting that you hatch some half baked schemes and then don’t follow through on them very well. But you often have too many irons in the fires and even some of your sensible initiatives have died for lack of resources, attention and follow through. Isn’t that correct?

Contact PhoneSmart for your secret shopping, mystery shopping and self storage training needs.

Excerpt from the writings of Tron Jordheim, Director of PhoneSmart.

Thanks for reading our secret shopping blog, a blog about the secret shopping and mystery shopping industry.

Storage Available at 15601 FM 1325, Austin, TX 78728

Find your next car storage, boat storage or self storage at your StorageConcierge – Your premier national and local self storage search engine and free quote provider.

Planning a move to Saint Paul, Minnesota? Visit our partners at the St Paul, Minnesota moving information center.

94612 Automobile Storage

Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

Tweet This Post 

Depending upon the learning curve that the individual has, depends on how long they need to be in the initial training.  Most employees need the full 2 weeks, while a select few have trained in as little as 3 days.  Then there are others that we’ve put that extra time and effort into who have taken longer than the 2 week period to learn the self storage rates. If we think they have the drive to stick with it, the ambition to want to learn our self storage sales techniques, the self motivation to study on their own, the enthusiasm for the position and a positive attitude, then we would certainly give the extra time and effort to try to make it work for the long haul.

Written by Robin Turner, Call Center Manager for PhoneSmart.

Thanks for reading our property management blog, a blog about customer service and the property management business. 

Storage available at 714 Markley St, Norristown, PA 19401

70601 Self Storage

Planning a move to West New York, New Jersey? Visit our partners at the West New York, New Jersey moving information center.

Find your next car storage, boat storage or self storage at your StorageConcierge – Your premier national and local self storage search engine and free quote provider.

Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

Tweet This Post 

I thought that was a very wise strategy. Have you ever been to an electronic specialty store? My husband works for a Big Box electronic retail store. Occasionally, I go there to shop with him. From the moment we walk in the door he tells me the details about which speaker has this, what TV has that. I usually follow along pretty well, but when we walk by the appliances he lights up and makes me look at all the new TV/Refrigerator combos and washers and dryers with smart technologies. He tries his sales techniques on me and I always tell him, when the frig cooks the meal and the dryer folds the clothes, I’ll buy it.

I’ve come to expect it. However, your customers usually expect to ask you how much a 5×10 is and hang up to make the next call. They are thankful when a self storage manager takes the time to help them with all their needs and will probably reserve the space on the phone or make an appointment. However, if the manager goes overboard and begins spewing too much information, the caller is turned off.

The manager I was speaking with said she likes to talk about three or four amenities of her location and drive the benefits of them, rather than list too many without personalizing them. Personalizing your store to meet the customer’s needs is an excellent strategy that builds value in the facility.

Written by Sarah Little, TQA Account Executive

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

33165 Self Storage

Rent storage at 5201 Forbes Blvd, Lanham, MD 20706

Are you moving to Oakland, California? Visit our partners at Oakland, California moving information center.

Find your next car storage, boat storage or self storage at your StorageConcierge – Your premier national and local self storage search engine and free quote provider.

Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

Tweet This Post 

As I am walking around my box, I think to myself, what do I expect out of my business? After I determine that, I ask my associates what they think I expect out of them and what they expect out of me. We sometimes are so caught up in our daily routines that we do not do a check up once in a while to see where our business is at in terms of expectations. 

I made a mystery shop of a self storage manager the other day and I was pleased when they said their regional storage manager was just in and that they are in frequently checking on the facility. You have to know what is going on inside your stores to get a good grasp on what is going on with that particular business. 

As property managers, we have to lay out expectations, follow up to ensure that those expectations are understood, and being met. If we do not do that, how profitable do we expect our business to be?  Whether it is weekly, monthly or quarterly, make an effort to get to all of your people and ensure they are being trained and are executing what they’ve learned when giving a self storage quote.  Here’s a question for you. If you are not training and coaching your people and holding them accountable to their performance, who is?

Written by Joel Little, Experienced Sales Manager

Thanks for reading our property management blog; a diary of life in the property management industry.

33312 Self Storage

Rent storage at 800 Ritchie Rd, Capitol Heights, MD 20743

Are you moving to St. Paul, Minnesota? Visit our partners at St. Paul, Minnesota moving information center.

Find your next car storage, boat storage or self storage at your StorageConcierge – Your premier national and local self storage search engine and free quote provider.

Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

Tweet This Post 

I just did a role play with Jeannette. She was very helpful to me in presenting the move in special. Her approach is really great and I will use it on my next phone call. It is nice to try different approaches and see what works best. 
Jan
 

I just did the role play with Carmen and we both seem to have enjoyed it. She and I both made it relaxing and not intense. We were role playing not able to have a come back response for the customer when they ask us certain question like, is this 99.00 for the whole year for rental of the space? She helped me with selling points as well as telling me the good things I did.  Helping our customers should not be intense but should be enjoyable knowing that we are there when they need us and we have what they need.
Deborah #122 Kansas City Self Storage

I am sending this to let you know that the role playing line has helped me a lot.  I was having problems getting people to give me phone numbers and they helped me by telling me to say, it helps to have a number just in case the unit you need becomes available sooner or so we can call you with any information that might apply to you as a new prospective customer.
They have also helped me to get credit card reservations-by telling self storage customers, you know we are very limited on number of units available-so to assure you have a unit you might want to go ahead and reserve with $10 credit card payment today.  Believe me this has really helped you should see my bonus envelope this month. I was also having problems with keeping customer on line long enough to give them information before the price and they helped me in this area.  They told me to let customer know that I had to wait for the price to come up on the computer and until it does let me tell you about our property and the specials we have to offer. This really works too, as we are getting many more hot leads, etc.
Today I called and spoke to Julio and asked him since we are 95% full and unsure if we would have a certain size available when they needed unit in future-how to handle this.  He helped me by saying we could always let them know don’t have that size at this moment- we do have 2 units that are side by side and we could rent them for the price of the one you want, but would need to hold with credit card.  He also said that if the size they want should become available then we would call them.
So you see the Role Playing hot line helps as well as all the help we get from our upper management. Thanks for being there when we need you and keep up the good work.
Jean Hawkins #1610

If you would like information on how the Role Play Helpline can help your managers contact us at 1-866-639-1715 and ask for the secret shopping department.

Compiled by Natalie Thomas, TQAS executive and business blog writer.

Thanks for reading our secret shopping blog, an inside peek into the secret shopping and mystery shopping industry.
 
Planning a move to West New York, New Jersey? Visit our partners at the West New York, New Jersey moving information center.

Storage available at 9455 215th St W, Lakeville, MN 55044
 

Find your next car storage, boat storage or self storage at your StorageConcierge – Your premier national and local self storage search engine and free quote provider.

Self Storage Owner — Where Self Storage Owners meet Self Storage Customers

94607 Self Storage

Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

Tweet This Post 

The ultimate goal is to gain a new tenant. A customer shopping on the phone is usually going down the list in the phone book or a short-list they’ve been given. Your goal on the phone should be to get them to crinkle up that list, or close the phone book. The only way to do that is to get strong commitment from them over the phone, until they come into your store. While setting up a site visit is an excellent way to gain commitment, it doesn’t guarantee that they won’t visit another facility or keep calling around. However, if you ask for their credit card to hold the unit, then they’ve put up some collateral, if you will, and they feel ownership towards your facility. Now they’ve forgotten all about the other guys.

If you find yourself a little hesitant when it comes to asking for a credit card, try a phrase like this, Because we have a limited number of units left, let me hold you a space so it’s here when you’re ready. I can hold it with a credit card and you can rent the unit when you come in. What credit card would you like to use today? And when is the best day/ time for you to come in?

Now you’ve created urgency, encouraged a credit card reservation and asked for an appointment all in one smooth close.

Written by: Sarah Little, TQA Account Executive

Thanks for reading our property management blog. We help you close more sales and increase conversion rates.

Self storage is available at 3100 N Mannheim, Franklin Park, IL 60131

Are you planning on moving to San Antonio, Texas? Visit our partners at San Antonio, Texas moving information center.

Find your next car storage, boat storage or self storage at your StorageConcierge – Your premier national and local self storage search engine and free quote provider.

Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

Tweet This Post 

The last third is the group that needs our sales talent!  They know they need regular self storage or perhaps something more specialized like boat storage, but they have not yet made any decisions.  It is our job as PhoneSmart storage professionals to take this group by the hand and let them know that reserving a storage unit with our assistance is the easiest thing they will do all day!

It is important to keep the Rule of Thirds in mind when assisting storage customers.  Not every caller needs a unit today, but making a great impression is ALWAYS our first priority! Thanks to our great training that is available to help your business also.

Written by Ann Sheehan, PhoneSmart sales rep and business blog writer.

Thanks for reading our secret shopping blog, an inside peek at the secret shopping and mystery shopping industry.

Planning a move to Oakland, CA? Visit our partners at the Oakland, CA moving information center.

We have storage at 807 South Frederick Ave, Gaithersburg, MD 20877

Find your next car storage, boat storage or self storage at your StorageConcierge – Your premier national and local self storage search engine and free quote provider.

Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

Tweet This Post 

I am glad that I had the opportunity to go to AMU, assistant manager university, because it helped me establish a road map to my success. I realized that my business’ potential was astronomical. The only thing that was holding my business back was myself and not ensuring that I have a strong team around me. Through a series of group, self-reflection, and critical thinking activities, I was able to grow more as a leader. I was able to see my business from a distance, and see what areas I had some opportunities in. We were actually given materials that will help us develop on a more documented and tracked basis.

Luckily, for the self-storage and property management industry, there are training programs that PhoneSmart provides. There is secret shopping, which involves calling into a particular business and pretending as if they are a customer looking for assistance. That presentation is evaluated and then sent to site manager and the regional office. For on site training, the director of PhoneSmart will actually fly out to different parts of the country. Another form of training PhoneSmart provides is their training booklets. They have great training and tools that can really help you grow your self storage or boat storage business.

It is good to get a lot of training on a subject matter, but it what you do with that knowledge that makes a difference in the bottom line of your business.

Joel Little, Sales Manager

Planning a move to Miami, Florida? Visit our partners at the Miami, Florida moving information center.

Storage available at 5329 Westbard Ave, Bethesda, MD 20816

Find your next car storage, boat storage or self storage at your StorageConcierge – Your premier national and local self storage search engine and free quote provider.

Self Storage Owner — Where Self Storage Owners meet Self Storage Customers

Visit our Self Storage Pod cast

View the latest insight from Digitech International, Inc. – Self Storage Security

Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

Tweet This Post 

PhoneSmart has been in the secret shopping/mystery shopping industry for about 5 years. We have grown from handling a few climate controlled storage clients to managing many clients. The services we offer continue to grow with our expanded customer base, and knowledge we have obtained from doing thousands of shops and evaluations. We can help your company with basic training, with items like our training packet. Or, we can help you customize a secret shopping program that will meet your needs. Side by side with calls and evaluations (secret shopping), we offer continuous training to help your managers maintain an excellence in customer service. Contact PhoneSmart for information on how we can start your company on the road to great customer service. Call 1-866-839-6715 or email our director, Tron Jordheim for information. It will be worth your time to check us out.

Written by Natalie Thomas, TQAS executive and business blog writer.

Thanks for reading our secret shopping blog, a blog that examines the secret shopping and mystery shopping industry.

Storage available at 10401 Rhode Isle. Ave, Beltsville College Pk, MD 20705

Planning a move to Oakland, California? Visit our partners at the Oakland, California moving information center.

View the latest insight from Digitech International, Inc. – Self Storage Security

Visit our Self Storage Pod cast

Find your next car storage, boat storage or self storage at your StorageConcierge – Your premier national and local self storage search engine and free quote provider.

Self Storage Owner — Where Self Storage Owners meet Self Storage Customers

View the latest insight from Digitech International, Inc. – Self Storage Security

Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

Tweet This Post 

1. It ensures that both the caller and the phone rep are talking about the same storage facility
2. It reinforces to the caller what all they get for their rental fee
3. It gets the caller into the habit of saying yes.

The first agreement is location.  It is always important to get the storage customer to agree that this location is convenient for them, whether it be close to home, or work, their child’s school, etc.  Location is the number one reason people give for choosing a particular storage facility.

The second agreement is timeframe.  Does the customer need a storage unit this weekend, or next year?  The answer to this question can determine both the availability and the price of a space.
 
Thirdly, we get an agreement on the actual unit size.  When a customer says they need a small unit, they may be thinking a 10×10, we may be thinking a 5×5.  And when describing unit sizes it is always a good a good idea to give the customer a visual that they can relate to, such as a 10×20 is the size of a one-car garage.
 
Fourth, we need to get the customer to agree to the importance of all of the amenities we provide. Things like,  the access controlled gate, so only customers get into the area, the extensive line of moving supplies to help with storage needs, 24 hour access, for better convenience, and so on.
 
Our fifth agreement of course is the price, with any available discounts.  Once this final agreement is made, we simply explain to the customer that we need to reserve that storage unit for them.  When done properly all the agreements, and the reservation, are made in just a few minutes! 

Written by: Ann Sheehan, call center guru

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

Rent storage at 11122 N. Newport Hwy, Spokane, WA 99218

Are you moving to West New York, New York? Visit our partners at West New York, New York moving information center.

Find your next car storage, boat storage or self storage at your StorageConcierge – Your premier national and local self storage search engine and free quote provider.

Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

Tweet This Post 

Old? I was a little shocked by that. I sat back and began to think about their specific shops and what course they’ve taken in the last two or so years that they’ve been our client. It was clear to me that they hadn’t been implementing their secret shopping program, or at least not implementing it effectively because we’ve seen little improvement. So yes, I can see that after two years, the managers would be tired of being shopped. If they don’t know how to use a tool then it won’t help them.

It annoys me to no end when Joel has his Best Buy papers lying all over our house. To me, it’s junk, trash, worthless clutter. To him, it’s useful and necessary. It is an essential tool that enables him to do his job better. Is he able to perform his job when I accidentally (that’s my story and I’m sticking to it) throw away one of those papers? Yes, of course he can. But he would be more equipped to increase his performance if that memo about the newest features on plasma TV’s hadn’t crinkled itself up and fallen into the trash can.

This client and I might have something in common. To those managers, secret shops became clutter, useless information lying around the office. Most likely, they paid little or no attention to the calls and evaluations they received every month because they saw no value in them.

This is where it gets tricky. We’ve all heard the saying, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. Maybe Tron, our resident dog trainer, would disagree but I say you can make that horse drink. Pushing on the horse’s neck will probably only get you a swift kick in the pants, but brining a little water to his mouth might convince him. No, I’m not saying your managers should eat their evaluation papers. I’m saying that they might need a little coaxing and encouragement. Show them that there’s nothing to fear about secret shopping and that they can use it to their advantage.

And if they are tired of the kind of mystery shopping they’ve had we can always change things up. We offer many levels and kinds of shopping so there’s no excuse for letting your managers get bored with it. But remember, we aren’t mind readers, if you are looking for something different in your mystery shopping program, tell us. Chances are, we already offer that service.

Written by: Sarah Little, TQA Account Executive

Thanks for reading our secret shopping blog and inside view of our self storage mystery shopping program.

Rent self storage at 16825 Tye St. SE, Monroe, WA 98272

Are you moving to Oakland, California? Visit our partners at Oakland, California moving information center.

Find your next car storage, boat storage or self storage at your StorageConcierge – Your premier national and local self storage search engine and free quote provider.

Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

Tweet This Post 

In your current occupation, have you every felt like you have all the resources but still can’t reach your goals? Sometimes, we have everything we need to accomplish a task or to reach a goal and somehow we fall short.

Start over. Go to the beginning of the process and begin again. Look at it with fresh eyes. Take stock of the tools you have assembled, are you missing any pieces?  Ask co-workers for tips on how they were able to overcome an obstacle that they might have had. In our call center it is feasible to listen to a neighboring cube to hear how your co-worker walks the customer through the sales process. It is helpful to hear words and phrases that you might not have heard of, and often what works for one can work for many. We also have trainers, shift managers, and a call center manager as well as others to answer questions and help the reps on the floor.

Bottom line, don’t fret. Stay calm. You will often find the lost tool to make your set complete. This in turn will help you achieve you goals.

Written by Natalie Thomas, TQAS executive and business blog writer.

Thanks for visiting our secret shopping blog, an inside peek at the mystery shopping/secret shopping industry.

Find your next car storage, boat storage or self storage at your StorageConcierge – Your premier national and local self storage search engine and free quote provider.

Looking for self storage? 7332 Tolbert Rd, Nashville, TN 37209

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

Want to have your blog posted here? Contact Sarah Little for information on how you can get your blog posted.

Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

Tweet This Post 

PhoneSmart is the perfect reason why you don’t have to put it off any longer. We can train your sales team and create an ongoing monitoring/ coaching program to keep your sales team in tip-top shape. Call us today and ask for Tron Jordheim, PhoneSmart Director.

Written by Sarah Little, TQA Executive

Thanks for reading our property management blog and journal of the property management industry.

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

Rent self storage at P.O. Box 1213, Skippack, PA 19474

Find your next car storage, boat storage or self storage at your StorageConcierge – Your premier national and local self storage search engine and free quote provider.

Self Storage Owner — Where Self Storage Owners meet Self Storage Customers

If you’d like to be a guest blogger, send your entry for consideration to Sarah Little, Blog Editor.

Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

Tweet This Post 

Giving your employees the necessary tools to do their job is important. I recently heard a secret shopping call in which the manager told our shopper he doesn’t like talking on the phone, even with his family; that it just wasn’t comfortable for him.

Don’t make the mistake of overlooking sales training. After all, if your managers don’t know how to build value, use a good price stall, get agreement and close the sale then they won’t even get to filling out the lease, assigning a gate code and so on.

Thanks for reading our secret shopping blog and inside view of the self storage secret shopping industry.

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

Rent storage from 363 Huguenot St, New Rochelle, NY 10801

Find your next car storage, boat storage or self storage at your StorageConcierge – Your premier national and local self storage search engine and free quote provider.

If you’d like to be a guest blogger, send your entry for consideration to Sarah Little, Blog Editor.

Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

Tweet This Post 

I remember taking care of a customer and getting them all set up with everything that they needed to bring their experience to life. We were sitting down chatting about stuff other than their home theater system and building a great connection. Unfortunately, time came to where I had to move on to the next customer and they wrote me a check for the transaction. I looked at the check to verify all the information was correct and then I looked at who they wrote it out to. They wrote the check out to Circuit City!!! I looked at the young lady and she looked back at me with a confused look on her face. I asked her where she was and who she was making this purchase from, she said, Best Buy.  I agreed with her and then showed her the check she had written. She seemed embarrassed and then wrote the correct check. I asked her if I didn’t take care of her and if she got a better experience at Circuit City and she said emphatically,no. But she was just there and she apologized.

As I evaluate these self storage calls and listen to the property managers talk to the calle’s in efforts to get them to rent from them, most don’t remind the caller about who just helped them. As most people are looking for pricing, they might call a couple of different facilities. It is up to you to differentiate that experience for them and engrain in their head which facility to rent from. Always end the call with, Thank you for calling (your company name here).  This way the caller remembers who took care of them and their needs.

Written by: Joel Little, GO BLUE MACHINE!!!

Thanks for reading our secret shopping blog and inside view of the self storage and sales industry.

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

Rent storage at 111 Cedar St, New Rochelle, NY 10801

Find your next car storage, boat storage or self storage at your StorageConcierge – Your premier national and local self storage search engine and free quote provider.

If you’d like to be a guest blogger, send your entry for consideration to Sarah Little, Blog Editor.

Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

Tweet This Post 

1. Convenience.  Location has been found to be the number one reason for a person’s choice in a storage facility.  (A competitor may be half the price, but if someone has to drive an extra ten miles then it is a waste of both precious time and expensive gasoline.)  Therefore convenience should always be the first factor in which you get an agreement. 

2. Timeframe.  It is vital to know early in the call when the customer will need a space.  If he needs to park his car next winter it is still very important to sell the store.  Making a good impression now will insure that he will remember you and rent from your facility in the future.  On the other hand, if a college student needs to be out of her dorm by tomorrow, then she needs to commit to renting a unit right now.

3. Security.  Customers are funny about security.  Some are very concerned about it because they are storing all of their worldly possessions.  Others say they do not care because they are storing their ex-wife’s clothing.  Either way, it is important to discuss the features/benefits so the client knows what all is included in the price of storage. 

4. Size.  It is important to help a new renter get an idea as to what size bin they will need.  A small unit will mean two completely different things to two different people.  It is a great idea to help a caller visualize a unit by comparing it to the size of something they are familiar with.  (A 10×10 is the size of an average bedroom, or a 5×5 will hold about thirty standard file boxes.) And always assure the customer you will show them the different sizes when they come to the property.

5. Price.  It might seem like price would be the most important factor when a person is considering a storage facility, but in reality it ranks rather low on the list.  But always be certain to remind the caller that your location is convenient, you can assist them now, your security is first-rate, and the size they need is available today.

Happy Renting!

Written by: Ann Sheehan

Thanks for reading our secret shopping 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 a storage unit at 718 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217

Find your next car storage, boat storage or self storage at your StorageConcierge – Your premier national and local self storage search engine and free quote provider.

If you’d like to offer your advice, send your blog entry for consideration to Sarah Little, Blog Editor.

Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

Tweet This Post 

One of our great training tools is called the Role Play Helpline.  Storage facility staff members call and tell our rep what phone skills they would like to work on.  Some employees are brand new and are just trying to learn the trade.  Others are seasoned veterans looking for some fresh ideas and tips on how to better sell their storage units to customers via the telephone.

I recently had the opportunity to work with a storage consultant in both of these instances: 

Isaiah called on the Role Play Help Line and was extremely nervous.  It was only his second day on the job, and his first time calling.  He had previous retail and customer experience, so he was not new to a sales environment.  He simply needed to work on getting his script in order and gaining some confidence.  He improved ten-fold by the end our conversation!

Sarah has been a storage facility manager for several years, so she just called to practice.  She did an awesome job; I am sure her location has a high rental percentage!  The only suggestion I had for her is to avoid the dreaded….um.  This is a truly American habit that many of us, um, don’t even realize that we, um, have!

Are you looking for an effective and easy way to help train your employees?  Give the PhoneSmart Role Play Help Line a try!  I think you will be very impressed!

Written by Ann Sheehan

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

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

Rent self storage at 1816 Boston Rd, Bronx, NY 10460

If you’d like to say something on our blog, send your 200-400 word article for consideratin to Sarah Little, Blog Editor.

Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

Tweet This Post