The Inside Scoop

Teri Lanza
Editorial Director
tlanza@vpico.com

04/22/2011

New Treats From ISS: Best of Business Poll, Membership, Lien-Law Registry

This weekend millions of children are salivating at the thought of forthcoming Easter baskets stuffed with colorful fluff, chocolate bunnies, marshmallow chicks and jellybeans. Why not? We all enjoy an indulgence once in a while. For self-storage professionals, ISS released three new treats this week. Read more about these industry delights and help us celebrate. We won’t even make you hunt for them! ...

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04/18/2011

Self-Storage Talk Discussion: Resident Managers, Apartments Make Job Separations Messy

Resident self-storage managers are more connected to their jobs than most people, and the reason is obvious: They live where they work. Many times, it's not just one person living alone in the apartment. The facility apartment is often home to a family or, at least, a couple. Therefore, if a self-storage manager decides to move on, it's not as simple as giving two weeks' notice and then not coming to work anymore. Likewise, in the unfortunate event that a manager is let go, the owners/landlords must give their former managers reasonable time to move (at least 30 days is a common suggestion).

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04/11/2011

Self-Storage Talk Poll Asks, 'Would You Stay Open Late?'

It's 5:50 p.m., and the self-storage facility closes up for the day at 6. The manager is in the middle of plodding through the daily day's end tasks: bookkeeping, software syncing, walking the grounds, filing, etc. Then, the phone rings.

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04/08/2011

New Contender: Storage By Mail

There was a time when self-storage operators debated the potential threat posed to their businesses by the mobile-storage product. These days, it seems mobile storage and self-storage live, if not happily, then with civility, side by side in the same markets. But now enters a new contender to the ring, one that also promises customer convenience and efficiency: storage done through the mail.

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04/04/2011

Self-Storage Talk Adds New Section: Resource Center

At the Inside Self-Storage World Expo in Las Vegas a few weeks ago, a couple of Self-Storage Talk members approached me with an idea and request: "Each facility has several types of documents and resources, such as procedural guides or sales scripts, they would probably be happy to share with others if only they had a place to do it. And likewise, it would be nice if there were a big consortium where we could download shared items." With this member feedback, a new area of the site was born.

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03/28/2011

Self-Storage Talk Thread: Is It Worthwhile to Maintain a Self-Storage Blog?

Because most potential self-storage tenants look to the Internet first, having a strong Web presence has never been more important. A discussion on this topic is occurring on Self-Storage Talk, the industry's largest online community. Is it worthwhile to maintain a blog on your facility or industry-related website? ...

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03/25/2011

The Art of Saying 'No' to Self-Storage Customers

For self-storage operators, there are two circumstances under which you might have to say “no” to a customer: 1) You do not have what the customer wants, for example, a unit of a particular size; or 2) There’s something about the customer that discourages you from renting to him or her. In either case, it can be hard to turn away a sale. Here are strategies and best practices.

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