The Five Agreements

There are three things we’re looking for in our sales structure. We’re looking to build agreement with that caller, because if you recall, in Sales 101, agreement is what this is about. We’re also going to need an effective price stall, and what I mean by that is when someone asks you, How much is that unit? if you’re not ready to tell them what the price is, you’ve got to stall that caller, but you’ve got to stall them in such a way that they’re comfortable. You can’t just say, Well, I don’t want to tell you the price of that until I’m ready. That’s not going to work.

Now there are also concerns that people bring up when they’re looking to rent a storage unit. The third part of the structure is dealing with concerns. The typical ones are: I’m still shopping around, That’s more than I’m looking to spend, I need to get permission from somebody else before I can actually do this.

So let’s first talk about building agreement with our prospect. I maintain there are only five issues you need agreement on before you can ask some one to rent from you. Let’s look at the five agreements. Here’s how they go – and you can do this on your hand by ticking off each finger. The first agreement is timeframe. If you can’t agree with that caller that they need the unit pretty soon, you can’t put one on hold for them. So, the first qualifying question you ask is, How soon are you going to need to store with us? or How soon are you going to need something? How soon? is the first question. If it’s not until next year Christmas, your call is going to go quite differently than if they say, I need it tomorrow.

The time frame agreement goes on your thumb, because if someone needs a unit right away, you’ve got a thumbs up. If someone needs a unit very soon, they will have tolerance for all kinds of other things. They will have tolerance for price and be willing to pay a little more. They will have tolerance for location and e willing to travel a little further. They will have tolerance for features and amenities and accept pretty much whatever you have to offer. They will also have tolerance for size. They will accept a unit that is perhaps not exactly right for them, because they do not have time to mess around. They need to get their stuff in storage soon.

The next agreement is the convenience of your location. Do you know where we’re located? Have you ever been by here? Do you know where we are on 5th Street? That’s a very important question to ask because if the caller or the prospect knows where you’re located and says, Yes, it’s a convenient location, you’re halfway home. All of the studies that everyone has ever done tell you that the reason people store someplace is because it’s convenient for them to get there and use. Location is the number one reason people rent. So, agreement number two is the convenience of the location.

Location goes on your index finger, because it is the number one reason people select a storage place. If your location is convenient for your prospect, that prospect will have tolerance for any and every thing else.

Size is the next thing you have to agree on, and most self storage owners or people who’ve been in the storage business for more than a few minutes are great at helping people figure size, but here are a couple of things to consider: It’s not important what size you think they should fit it; it’s important what size the callers think they should fit in. And it doesn’t matter what you agree on as long as it’s close. If that person really needs a 10×15 but they agree they need a 10×10, you’re going to show them a 10×10 and a 10×15 when they come down anyway. Now if they need a 5×5 and you agree they need a 10×20, well, that’s a different story. But as long as you’re close, it doesn’t matter. I once made a secret shop to a storage facility where the manager argued with me for five minutes over what size I needed. What a waste. Mr. Caller, it sounds like you might fit in a 10×10 or maybe a 10×15. If you can visualize your belongings in one of those sizes, which one do you think might work best for you? The caller says, Hmm, probably the 10×15. Great! Hold a 10×15. Show a couple of other sizes when the person come down just to make sure they have what they need.

Agreement on size is the third agreement and it goes on your middle finger. It goes on your middle finger because size does matter, but only in helping you build the alternate choice question. It also goes on your middle finger, because if you give size too much focus and let it be the main thing you focus on, it is like sticking your middle finger up all by itself and that could get you into all kinds of trouble. So don’t focus too much on size. Just use it to offer a good alternate choice close on the size agreement.

Agreement number four is your amenities or your features. The other reason people store places is because they like the security and the convenience features. So find the best features of your property that have to do with security and convenience and build some phrasing and some questions that will allow you to get agreement on amenities. Well, what’s great about our store is we’ve got an access-control gate so only tenants can come and go with their PIN code, and we’re well fenced and well lit. So you can tell we take security very serious here, and after all, isn’t that what you’re looking for in storage? Plus, our store is really convenient to use because one of the great things we have is a covered loading and unloading dock so you can pull in out of the sun and out of the rain and unload and load your belongings. What’s neater than that? And the caller says, That is really neat. Well, you’ve got an agreement on convenience and security features.

Your features and your amenities are what build value into your offering. Most people think one storage place is pretty much like the next and that all they are renting is dead air to fill up. But that is not all they are getting. They are getting the peace of mind of knowing their goods are safe and secure. They are paying for the conveniences you offer. They are paying for the security and the perceived security. They are paying for great customer service. They are paying for a lot of things that hey wouldn’t even know about if you did not tell them. When people agree that you have built a good offering with good features and amenities, it is easier for them to justify paying the rent.

Price is the fifth agreement. They’ve got to agree that that price is reasonable, that it’s an okay price, that they’re prepared to pay that price. They don’t have to agree that they like the price. Now, most times a caller has no idea what storage is all about, and they think that price is the most important consideration. Price is not the most important consideration. Everyone wants to know their money is well spent, but convenience and value are the things that people really are concerned about. So until you’ve had a chance to get some agreement on the convenience of the location and the amenities of security and convenience, that caller doesn’t know what your unit is worth. You’ve got to make sure they know that value. A 10×10 is worth $100 because you have this amenity and that amenity and the other amenity. . . So, price is the fifth agreement.

Price goes on your pinky finger, because even though you might think it is the most important consideration, it is much smaller of an issue than you think.

Now, how do you get through the first four agreements before giving the price? Let’s look at the concept of the price stall for a mi

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

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