Find Local Storage (FLS), a consortium of more than 20 self-storage owners who recently launched an online facility directory and lead-generation platform at findlocalstorage.com, hired Brian Cohen as its national director of sales. Based in Farmington Hills, Mich., Cohen will oversee all sales efforts and work with the company’s support team.

Launched in fall 2013, FLS was started as a way for facility owners to generate leads and obtain rentals directly without paying royalties to third-party aggregators, officials said in a press release. The site is designed to improve marketing efforts for operators, and the consortium is hopeful that it will help reduce costs for participants over time as the platform evolves.

The website is currently owned and controlled by 25 self-storage owners, but new participants are added daily, company representatives said. The new consortium represents more than 2,000 facilities and is managed by online-marketing agency Go Local Interactive LLC (GLI).

“This hire became critical based on the high level of participation we have enjoyed in the early stages of Find Local Storage,” said David Cramer, chief operations officer for SecurCare Self Storage, a privately owned company that operates more than 140 storage facilities in 11 states. “Brian brings years of experience and a well-developed skill set to our organization. This position will not only be instrumental in the growth of FLS, but also in the management of current and future participants.”

Based in Overland Park, Kan., GLI offers online-marketing services including business listings, search engine marketing and optimization, pay-per-call, social media, mobile, website development, and brand/review monitoring.

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