The Old-Timers Were Right
Ask old-timers in self-storage what the four most important words are, and many will tell you, “It’s the manager, stupid.” It sounds harsh, but the point is simple. How you pick, train and supervise your manager decides whether you hit your budget and make money with your facility.
Technology Hasn’t Changed That
Self-storage has changed a lot. Customers rent units online, sign leases on their phones, pay automatically and open the gate with an app. Kiosks, smart locks and remote management let some owners run a facility with few or no staff on site. These tools are great, and you should use them. But they don’t replace good judgment. A kiosk can’t talk an angry customer down, notice a unit being used for something illegal, or spot a roof leak before it ruins someone’s stored furniture.
What A Good Manager Actually Does
The manager is the face of your facility. Here’s what a good one brings to the table:
- They fill units. Someone who answers the phone and follows up on online leads will out-rent a competitor who lets calls go to voicemail.
- They collect the rent. Delinquency is one of the biggest profit killers in self-storage, and a manager who stays on top of late payments and follows the lien process correctly keeps money in your pocket.
- They protect the property. Daily walk-throughs catch problems with gates, lighting, doors and drainage while they’re still cheap to fix.
- They raise rents without losing customers, because they know the market and the tenants.
How To Get It Right
Spend as much time on the manager as you do on buying the property. Hire for honesty and work ethic first, then train for the rest. Put the procedures in writing so nothing depends on memory. Then supervise: review the reports every week, visit the facility in person, and call it as a mystery shopper now and then to hear how the phone is answered. Good managers like being held to a standard. Bad ones don’t, and that’s how you find out who you have.
Pay Them Like They Matter
Too many owners try to save money on the manager, and it’s almost always a mistake. The difference in pay between a mediocre manager and a great one is small compared to the difference in occupancy, collections and rent growth they produce. Consider tying part of the pay to results, such as occupancy and delinquency targets, so your manager wins when the facility wins. A manager who feels like a partner will treat the property like an owner would.
Conclusion
You can buy the best-located facility in town and still lose money with the wrong person running it. Technology helps, but in self-storage it’s still the manager.
