By Tron Jordheim

Theres an old saying that goes something like this: Nothing happens until somebody sells something. This applies to the self-storage industry as much as it does to any other business. You have to sell to get business. Do you sell when you meet people you know, go to networking events or see customers on the property? Do you sell when people are in your office?

If you just assume that because people know youre in the self-storage business, theyll eventually rent from you, youre missing the point. If you think your tenants will just move out whenever they get around to it, youre missing the point. If you think your tenants will buy boxes and packing supplies from you if they need some, you are still missing the point.

People buy whats promoted to them. If youre not promoting and selling, then someone else is selling stuff to the people who could be buying from you. Everyone in business is competing with you for the time and money of people who might use storage or buy supplies from you. You have two choices: Get whatever sales you can by chance or fate, or you can sell.  

Selling is not easy. It takes effort, skill and endurance. Selling requires trial and error. Its an emotional roller coaster, and you cant just sit back and let it happen. But the rewards are big. If you get one additional rental a week per employee because you had a selling attitude, wouldnt your company do a whole lot better?

So what are you waiting for? Learn to sell. Practice selling. Fail at selling. Get back in the game and learn more about selling. Keep selling. Do you think were going to create a vibrant economy by sitting around waiting for something to happen? Is your business going to do better for no reason at all? Nothing good is going to happen until you sell something.

Tron Jordheim is the director of PhoneSmart, an off-site sales force serving self-storage owners for more than 10 years. For more information, visit www.phone-smart.info.