For many self-storage operators, getting the phone to ring is not the problem: closing the sale is another story. Building a confident, capable sales team enables you to increase rentals and cut down on lost opportunities; discover how implementing the right training, tools, and technology can make a significant difference in your bottom line.
Before you can improve your process, you must first understand where things are going wrong. Digging into your sales techniques can reveal areas for growth and improvement.
There are 8 questions that could be costing you 30%+ of leads:
When a potential customer calls your store, this is not their first interaction with you. Callers have already started their research and have found you through a variety of sources, including your website, Google ads, social media, reviews, word-of-mouth, and more. Knowing where they originally found you helps you better understand your pipeline and how to ensure a seamless sales funnel. Implementing built-in analytics tools gives you the data and insight to see where people are coming from.
Giving your sales team everything they need to close a sale creates consistency and better communication across the board.
When your managers answer the phone, do they have:
When deciding how to best provide these resources for your team, consider an all-in-one software for easy accessibility, reporting, and management.
Many operators will survey their customers, but what about the ones who got away? Sending a short, one question survey asking, “Where did you rent instead?” gives you valuable insight into where you are losing sales. If customers name direct competitors, you can research their pricing, amenities, and more to see how they are beating you and where you can differentiate yourself.
Your physical presence is just as important as your online presence. When someone walks in the door, that face-to-face interaction sets the stage for their entire rental experience. Getting out from behind the counter to show off your space provides a personable, professional sales experience.
Look at your space from your customers’ eyes to consider:
Before the internet, angry customers were momentary inconveniences, but now, bad interactions live in infamy through online reviews. Customers need to trust they can safely leave their possessions with you, and reading good reviews is an important step in gaining that trust. While facility perks such as air conditioning and security cameras are nice to have, reviews will make or break the sales experience. Every interaction builds trust, so training your managers to deliver quality service every time is the best way to create good reviews.
One of the best ways to keep your sales team ahead of the game is to provide ongoing training opportunities. This opens the door to discovering new techniques, learning from wins and losses, and anticipating customer needs in a continuously changing world. When evaluating, set clear expectations ahead of time. Let your team know what you will be looking for, both in person and on training calls. Knowing what’s being graded helps build employee confidence because they know where to focus attention.
For every customer interaction, make sure your team knows their ultimate goal. Is it to:
Training grades should be based on what the sales team can control. While employees can’t control the price, location, or incentives offered by your facility, they can control how they present the information and assist customers. Grade your team on whether they are presenting to the best of their abilities.
Recorded training calls are a great tool for growth, and there are three different approaches: calls with managers, peers, and oneself.
Training on live calls with a manager listening in is an effective way to assess performance. Real world calls provide real world results: It’s one thing to perform against a script, but how do managers handle curve balls? Reflecting on real-world recorded calls teaches people to be flexible because calls won’t always be easy.
Having team members listen to their peers handle calls offers an additional layer of insight. Discovering how others work through their calls helps people learn from those who are getting it right, showcasing the best of the best and potentially introducing new techniques they may not have considered. Also, because this guidance is coming from a peer and not management, it’s easier to make a case for why these strategies work.
Employees tend to be most critical of themselves, but listening to their own calls may help open their eyes to how they sound from the customers’ perspective. If sales members get feedback from others, they may question: I don’t sound like that, do I? Did I really say that? But hearing themselves on the phone clarifies any discrepancies between how they think they’re performing and what’s really going on.
It’s important to emphasize during these training sessions that it’s not just what you say but what you enter into your system. Operators can achieve the perfect call but if they don’t enter it in the correct customer information, it doesn’t matter. You can’t follow up on what you fail to capture.
Following up is crucial, as operators can’t assume the customer will call back. In fact, only 7% of leads will ever do their own follow up, meaning there’s a 93% chance for improvement if you aren’t currently following up on leads. You might be the only person who bothered to call them back. Stay top of mind with a text, email, or call to supply customers with the information they need to book a unit.
To put your team in the best possible position to make the sale, ensure they have the right tools at their disposal. Can they:
Within the self-storage industry, there are available technologies that empower operators to improve their sales performance. Implementing these systems saves you time and helps lock down more leads through improved communication across the board.
If you have any questions about how CallPotential can help streamline your operations, schedule a demo here. We look forward to hearing from you soon. Thanks for reading!