What is a self-storage manager? Well, more than just someone who exchanges a lease for a check. In fact, your manager is your ambassador, mayor, chief marketing officer all rolled into one. So how can you help to make your storage manager more effective in your duties?
Uniforms
Make your manager look official. Having your manager wear an established uniform is a well-respected method that is used by every type of business from Marriott to Wendy’s. So what would a uniform look like? Typically it’s nothing more than a polo shirt with the name of the storage facility embroidered on it, in the color palate of the facility’s logo and signage. You can get these for as little as $20, and if you give each employee a couple, they should be set. Another option would be a custom polo but without their name on it, and they wear a name badge on it. You might also have them wear any brand of khaki pants or skirt with it.
Attractive office
Henry Ford had a theory whenever the motor company production was done: paint the assembly plant. Ford felt that performance increases when the employee is in an attractive, organized surroundings. Many storage offices are not well-kept or compelling. You can often make this focal point of your property a knock-out with nothing more than paint, new flooring and inexpensive office furniture from Amazon or Office Depot. A good office would also have storage-inspired artwork, and a bulletin board with compelling reasons for renting and price specials (if any).
Friendly greeting
How does your staff approach in-coming calls? Or the potential customer who walks in? Hopefully with a smile and a proud “welcome to {facility name), how can I help you?”. Studies have shown that the first impression is a critical part of the customer experience, and the way your employees greet the customers can have a huge impact.
Professional elevator speech
It’s not enough that your storage manager have simply a friendly hello – they also need a fully prepared elevator speech and annunciates the top reasons that the customer should sign up. These brief sales pitches are based on the top three or so most compelling reasons to use your facility. These should be practiced until they are second nature.
Trust but verify
So how can you make sure that your team are following all of the above best-practice rules? The good news is that modern technology makes that possible. You can see your office and uniforms with Facetime or texted photos. You can also install a video camera in the office to see how they interact with customers. Your phone line should be ported through Who’s Calling or a similar service that records every call and allows you to listen in as well as use the captured phone numbers for exit interviews. You can relentlessly mystery shop by simply *67 your phone and pretending to be a potential customer.
Conclusion
A self-storage facility manager is the vital first point of contact for customers, and represents your business to the community. They should, at all times, reflect the best of your property and its unique benefits. This list will get you off on the right foot. And proper verification will keep that the case.