The Competition That Wasn't

by Josh

I was in the neighborhood of one of my "competitors", a big-name self-storage facility about 10 minutes away built just a few years ago. I stopped in just to check it out, and I was shocked at the experience.

Three things they failed:

1. First Impression

2. The manager did not use a script, or ask for a rental.

3. The manager did not ask for my contact information (not even my name!) to follow up with me.

I give some detail of the visit in this video:

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/0bae26_43643050b30f41aa95c15d7215f4fefc/720p/mp4/file.mp4

Here is the takeaway. You don't know your competition until you actually visit your competition. I last visited this facility a few years ago shortly after it was built. This whole time I've been operating as though they are a top-notch facility- because 3 years ago, they were! It is no longer the case.

Don't assume what you see online is accurate. Visit the store, and talk to the manager. Gather as much information as you can. Use it to better train your manager, and make strategic sales and marketing decisions at your facility.

For more information about getting to know your competition, self-storage sales, operations, or marketing, OR if you want to find out about self-storage franchising, email me: Josh@StorageAuthority.com