Oct 7, 2018

September 2018 Newsletter–Grand Opening Soon!

Storage Authority® News

Our three newest Storage Authority® Franchise owners are scouting land in northern Philadelphia and southern NJ. Their experience as owners of several food franchises is helping them get off to a fast start.

In Florida construction is moving along well for our First Florida Storage Authority® Franchise slated to open late this year. The second Florida Franchise location is underway with the Land Option to buy completed, and the site design in progress.

We will be flying out next month for the grand opening of our first completed facility in Texas. If you would like to meet with us in Houston when we are there give us a call.

Thanks for all the great feedback on the recent article ” Why Franchising for Self Storage” by Marc Goodin our President, published in the Mini Messenger Self Storage magazine. It is too long to reprint the entire article here but here the few paragraphs you will enjoy.

Self Storage Franchising Works!

By Marc Goodin

We know franchising works for many businesses like hotels, restaurants, coffee shops, and others because we spend our money with them on a regular basis. A new franchise opens every 8 minutes of every business day. Franchises generate 2.3 trillion dollars a year in the US. But you may be asking yourself will it work for self-storage? Well, you’re not alone, many industries throughout time have questioned the concept of Franchising, most notably Hotel and Restaurant owners, who had the same question – will it work for my industry. But as you drive down any main street, you can see they became believers.

The emergence of Large Self-Storage Corporate Operators, including REITS, present risks to the independent owner as large experience operators are expanding rapidly in every region in the US, taking market share from their less sophisticated independent operators. A Franchise will bring Large operator systems and technologies without taking control from the owner. Brand identity in all sectors of retail (Hotel, Restaurant, Self Storage Etc.) is becoming the dominant driving force in marketing your product to the public, with the customer demanding consistency, purchasing power, reward systems, reservation systems and more that are all identified with the brand identity that a franchise can provide.

Independent owner/ operators in many cases are not the day to day managers and therefore depend on the store’s manager to market, maintain and expand their business. Unfortunately, owners are discovering that the managers are ill-equipped with little to no operational, marketing, sales or customer service experience. And they also cannot keep up with the ever-changing technology. A Franchise would provide that owner and manager with the systems and technology to not only capture higher market share at premium rates but also be part of a scalable platform to compete and surpass the competition.

Franchising began over 40 years ago with companies like Holliday Inn and McDonald’s. They realized that franchising allowed owners time to build their business much faster because they do not have to reinvent the wheel. Quickly it was clear that by joining a team, the economy of scale, support systems, branding, training, and increased profits (that are impossible to obtain for most individuals) could be obtained by owning a franchise. This was the birth of modern Franchising! There are nearly 1 million franchises in the US. This number grows every year as more individuals seek business ownership offering benefits often not available by starting their own venture.

As part of our Dynamic Ease Self Storage Development Series, we help our franchisees around the development landmines, including finding land, designing, financing and building a premier self-storage facility and to understand the options and prepare accordingly. _______________________________________________________________ If you want to learn more about Storage Authority Franchise there is a wealth of information on our website www.StorageAuhorityFranchise.com Don’t forget to check out “Why Storage Authority” and our blog/newsroom. Then the next step is to apply on our website or email or call Garrett Byrd (Garrett@StorageAuthority.com or Direct 941-928-1354)

Vendor Highlight

We just completed Auctions at two of our locations. Thanks to our very appreciated vendors’ Storage Treasures and Late 2 Lien, we had a bunch of renters get caught up on their rents, put a few thousands of dollars in the bank and got units back to rent. A three-way win!

With these guys it much simpler and fast to have auctions every month, which is a must if you want to make oversized profits. Auctions are hard work and the highest risk part of a self-storage business but these guys make it easy step by step.

RIGHT OFF THE BAT YOU: SMILE, HAVE OUR HOURS, ADDRESS & PHONE # AND RENT NOW, CALL TO ACTION!

We are happy to announce G5 is putting the final touches on our new websites launching next month. As you may have heard us say business ( Sales and Marketing) is 50% the environment and 50% Sales & Marketing. Together they produce the just right feeling and more rentals at premium prices. The same goes for websites. Websites must look and feel great and let the client find the info quickly. PLUS they need to have the back-end technology to meet the ever-changing Google SEO requirements, ability to rent online directly from your management program, SEO so you end up on front and center on page 1 for potential client searches. If your website is not getting you, customers, every day as well as online renters you need to call G5’S Christina Powell 541.306.3383

YOUR WEBSITE NEEDS TO SAY EVERYTHING IN PICTURES & WORDS!

Industry News & Tips You Can Use Today

Ten ways you can tell your website is outdated, losing you money and time. And to get a new one designed!

1. You don’t get full website analytics that tells you what your customers are doing on your website so you know what is important to your clients and adjust accordingly.

2. Your renters cannot pay online.

3. Your prospects can not rent online.

4. Your customers can not sign up for autopay on your website.

5. Your online reservation is just a “contact form” and does not automatically reserve the unit in your management program.

6. It just looks outdated and does not have that modern look with calls to action.

7. Most people will have an opinion of your facility with a 5-second glance of your website and the rest in 20 seconds even before they start reading. Does your site have that modern bold design with pictures and background features that give that first class professional look?

8. It is not easy for you to make your own minor changes. (You will be amazed how much of the content is there for SEO purposes so don’t make too many changes without input from designers).

9. If your website is not getting monthly maintenance, SEO and social reputation updates it is time for a new website.

10. It goes without saying if your site is not 100% responsive to all size screens from a cell phone, Ipad, laptop to a full-size computer screen it is time for a new website.

You always need to be thinking about what is important to your prospects and make it easy for them. The time for opening your doors and getting to 90% occupancy without over the top sales and marketing are long gone.

Storage Authority experts are ready to help you every single step of the way, from finding land to operations, to driving your revenue year on year. If you have a question give us a call. Team up with the experts to save time and maximize your profits. Call Garrett at 941-928-1345 for more information.