What's Trending in Self Storage

Collections may be the least favorite part of self storage management. But you gotta do it. It starts with a good policy and ends with getting paid, but the in-between part of interacting with customers and vetting excuses is where it gets fuzzy. Or does it? As with most things, consistency is key with collections. Rent is due when it's due. If you're late you get a late fee. If you don't pay, you get overlocked. That may seem heartless in some circumstances, but as the late great godfather taught us, it's not personal. It's just business.

Next week we'll be at the SSA Spring Conference in DC. Make sure to stop by our session and roundtable and say hello. Now go collect that money!

Hosts: Josh Huff & Melissa Huff

Produced by Lighthouse Storage Solutions

Digital marketing dollars don't go as far as they used to, but don't worry- Stacie Maxwell, the Grassroots Guru, joins us to explore the ways you can get involved in your community to keep your facility top-of-mind when people need storage. Do you host local events? Have a robust referral program? Use QR codes? Engage in social media? Partner with other businesses? We explore these options and more as we take a deep dive into grassroots marketing and find out how to measure its success.

This is a rebroadcast of the Gabfocus webinar originally aired on 2/29/2024. You can watch it over on StoragePug's site.

Hosts: Tommy Nguyen & Melissa Huff

Guest: Stacie Maxwell (Universal Storage Group)

Brought to you by the teams at StoragePug and Lighthouse Storage Solutions

Are you getting the most out of your self storage facility? Raising your rates is still the best way to increase your income, but these days price increases are a bit more tricky. Today we explore several affordable and effective ways to increase revenue from retail, to technology, to value pricing, and many more in between. Our industry is full of ways to maximize your revenue and you need to be taking advantage of every one of them.

Plus, we touch on a new Georgia rent control bill recently introduced that could have huge implications for self storage. And we highlight a brand new legal show coming soon: the SSLN Legal Chat. You can subscribe to that right here.

Hosts: Josh Huff & Melissa Huff

Produced by Lighthouse Storage Solutions

Trade show season is off to a great start! We were at the Florida Self Storage Association Conference & Expo last week and noticed a few things trending in self storage. Of course, AI was talked about, but we don't share the same opinion as some others who think it'll be a slow roll-out in our industry. Plus, we're noticing a growing trend of more niche service providers which is a great thing for you if you want to be more hands-on with your facility. We highlight vendors, services, trends, and what's on the horizon. Plus, our serious and silly recommendations.

Hosts: Josh Huff & Melissa Huff

Produced by Lighthouse Storage Solutions

The lease is probably the most important document for your self storage business. It's the agreement between owner and tenant, outlining all the fees, penalties, and agreed upon practices for having a good relationship with your customers. One of the most frustrating things we are seeing through the industry is owners not enforcing their lease. This not only hurts your bottom line, but could open the door to legal troubles.

Today we tackle the important parts of a lease, getting started if you don't have a good one, why it must be enforced, why it's really ok to enforce it, and what could happen if you let things slide.

Find out more about the Procedures Manual and Training Opportunities

Hosts: Josh Huff & Melissa Huff

Produced by Lighthouse Storage Solutions

Training is essential... Seems like a fairly obvious statement, but how many of us put it into practice? Do you have a training plan for yourself and/or your team? Training is so much more than handing a new manager a book of policies on day one, expecting them to read and implement it their own. It's about the people and equipping them with all they need to make themselves and your self storage facility a success.

We reveal our top tips for regular training, plus unveil a brand new product line from Lighthouse- our Procedures Manual and Training Sessions. We're a bit on-the-go for this episode, so hop in the car with us, run a few errands, and join our conversation about training.

Find out more about the Procedures Manual and Training Opportunities

Hosts: Josh Huff & Melissa Huff

Produced by Lighthouse Storage Solutions

It's time for an economic temperature check for the self storage industry, and who better to share his insights on this than John Chang from Marcus & Millichap. Where are we now? What should we expect with the recession, occupancy, street rates, or construction? How should operators be approaching pricing, expanding, or investing? What should self storage be concerned with in the next year?

All this and more is tackled by our experts. Plus, we take a ton of LIVE questions from one of the largest audiences Gabfocus has ever seen. Don't miss this special rebroadcast episode.

Hosts: Tommy Nguyen & Melissa Huff

Guest: John Chang (Marcus & Millichap)

Brought to you by the teams at StoragePug and Lighthouse Storage Solutions

We pay all sorts of attention to our curb appeal to make the most of that first impression. Same thing with our phone skills (more on that in last week's episode). Do we have the same focus for our websites? Are they intuitive and customer friendly? Is the experience of renting a unit as easy as if a manager was walking them through the process on the phone or in person? Well, it should be.

A customer friendly website is essential in our digital age. How many clicks should it take to make a rental? Are you buttons the right size and correct design? How much movement is too much for a website? We cover all this and more as we examine the customer experience through the lens of your website.

Hosts: Josh Huff & Melissa Huff

Produced by Lighthouse Storage Solutions

Thousands of dollars are spent each month in the hopes of making the phone ring, but if you aren't there to answer it or don't know how to sell, that money is wasted. Today is all about those phone skills- being prepared, asking the right questions, overcoming objections, and closing the sale. Make sure those marketing dollars are well spent. If you want to pay those self storage bills, you better bring those phone skills.

Hosts: Josh Huff & Melissa Huff

Produced by Lighthouse Storage Solutions

We're going back to basics to kick off 2024, and it doesn't get more basic than opening and closing your self storage facility. Do you have an opening check-list? If you needed to hand off opening or closing procedures to someone else for a day or a week, would everything be taken care of? Turning on lights and checking email might seem like common sense tasks, but common sense isn't what it used to be...

Today, we talk all about the basics of opening and closing, plus share some helpful organizational recommendations.

Hosts: Josh Huff & Melissa Huff

Produced by Lighthouse Storage Solutions