By Barry Gorenstein, Director of Experience
In my career I have had the pleasure of working with a lot of good Managers, some above average Managers, and occasionally, a GREAT Manager who consistently performs above and beyond.
Storage Authority Franchise places the highest level of importance in hiring and developing GREAT Managers.
There are some characteristics which are needed to be a Good Manager:
· Hard working
· Listen’s
· Pays attention to detail
· Focused on raising occupancy/sales
· Ability to turn a prospect on the phone into a reservation
· Ability to follow a script
· Clearly communicates with their owner/supervisor
· Understands Management Software system
· Takes pride in a clean property
· Drives Revenue
Here are some characteristics of a GREAT Manager:
· Places the needs of the company ahead of their own.
· Selfless: Amazing team player who is positive thru adversity
· Drives his/her business as if it was their own
· Treats tenants like they are visiting their home
· Markets their property to be a part of the local community
· Ability to turn a prospect on the phone into an immediate rental.
· Ability to follow a script without sounding scripted. Sounds confident and in control of the conversation while listening to the prospects needs.
· Focused on the bottom line, not tunnel visioned into one or two areas.
· Great Multitask-er
· Controls expenses
· Listens to learn
· Compassionate when needed/tough when needed
· Trainer: wanting to help make others into stronger performers
· Able to sell/rent without giving discounts
Storage Authority Franchise places a great deal of value in having GREAT Managers. We want to hire Property Managers who want to learn about our systems but more importantly we want them to me comfortable in marketing in their local communities, 100% believe in providing the highest level of customer service and be focused on driving the profitability business as if it were their own.
We not only want to find a quality Property Manager, but we also know that investing time in developing their skills constantly will keep them challenged and focused on the right aspects of growing the business.
Ongoing training areas with Storage Authority are:
· We provide monthly Zoom training for our managers on different topics which are relevant to growing the business.
· We send out weekly “Tuesday Tips” focused on Operations and on development for our owners.
· We provide a written monthly Manager Training Topics with input from our entire leadership team.
· We conduct secret shops to ensure we are providing the highest level of customer service.
· We consistently train on our 14 Profit Centers to drive the business and sharpen our manager skills.
· We have an online library with all previous training as additional resources.
I had the pleasure of working for a GREAT Manager in Mona who managed a property which was far away from any others in the company at the time. Mona managed a property that had many problems and with that there were many tenants who were unhappy. There were issues which were not covered by insurance and many issues which far pre-dated Mona’s time there. With that said Mona was always as compassionate as she could be, and her tenants really appreciated that she was doing what she could with each situation. Mona always communicated with me about exactly what was going on and she took full responsibility, and we handled each issue with as much care as we could. We worked together on the best possible solutions and made ourselves available if a tenant needed to vent. As her supervisor I always was available 24/7 especially for a manager who cared and gave everything she could as Mona did.
Thank You Mona!!!!
Despite the challenges that were present at her property Mona was able to drastically increase her occupancy to levels not previously seen there due to amazing customer service and empathy all the time. Mona kept her delinquency very low despite the challenges which have been presented of late and in a city also had challenges with the economy. When presented with delinquent tenants Mona was always up front with what our expectations were and followed up to ensure that her tenants followed up on their commitments to pay. When tenants were scheduled for rent increases Mona was always aware of who could afford the increases and which tenants were absorbing an increase was more challenging. Mona made suggestions to possibly give a smaller increase to tenants with real challenges while presenting information on the tenants such as businesses who could pay more to offset this, thus increasing the profitability of the property.
Mona’s tenants appreciated her efforts and Mona was also able to hire and train an assistant manager who represented the company and her in the same excellent ways. Having an Assistant Manager who had similar high standards gave Mona the opportunity to help others more.
Mona’s tenants were quick to post 5-star reviews on Google and Yelp. A recent review simply said:
“***** Mona and Lee are amazing and have always been accommodating and helpful especially with many questions, request etc. that I have had over the years being there. Will definitely recommend to others!”
Another recent 5-star review said:
***** “Mona and Lee are AMAZING. The most helpful Manager and Assistant I have ever met at any storage rental.”
Mona always was there to help others even if it was over the phone, via FaceTime etc. with a manager or assistant manager who were far away but she treated them as it they were in her office, or she was in theirs. I pushed Mona hard with the goal of making her a trainer for the company so she could be challenged and try to take a lot of her amazing qualities and have them rub off either on new managers to the company or existing managers who were having a difficult time.
Mona embraced training did an amazing job while dealing with some very, very difficult situations which made our two-way communication more important than ever. Mona always put the company ahead of herself even when she was presented with personal challenges.
I have since moved on in my career, but I keep in touch with Mona, and she seems to always be helping others as there are many new Managers and properties with her current company. I spoke to her recently and she was driving 3 hours to help a new manager with a new task and drove 3 hours home the same day!!
I asked Mona recently what drives her, and her response was:
“I live my life with the belief that you get what you give. I have always given my best at work and in return I have been blessed. I found a quote that sums up how I feel and live. “Be a reflection of what you’d like to receive. If you want love, give love. If you want truth, be truthful. If you want respect, give respect. What you give out will return to you.”
We should all be so grateful to have a manager like Mona and we need to show our appreciation in whatever ways we can weather it be in a raise, being given more responsibility, or just by saying Thank YOU!!!!
Thank you, Mona, for what you do and being the leader that you are and to all the Mona’s out there!!!
Barry@storageauthority.com 941-312-1964 Reach out to me with any questions about a franchise opportunity with Storage Authority. www.storageauthorityfranchise.com