True Qualified Demand | Gabfocus | Self Storage Virtual Workshop

Gabfocus Episode 7: True Qualified Demand

What is your True Demand at your facilities? This session dives into all facets of your self-storage facility’s demand, an essential component for any facility owner and manager to increasing profits and valuation of your current facility in any economic environment.

Moderators: Melissa Huff and Tommy Nguyen
Featured Speakers: Phil Murphy, Eric Thordsen, Paul Darden

Category: Operations
Focus: Owners and Managers
Aired: May 28, 2020
Duration: 1:03:23

Gabfocus Sessions

Gabfocus Sessions are weekly, virtual workshops for self storage owners, managers, and operators. Brought to you by the team behind Gabfest: StoragePug and MR Management.

Each session features hand-picked industry pros who will dive deep into relevant topics surrounding our industry, share best practices, and explore trends in the market. It's our hope that these sessions help you navigate your self storage business better during these uncertain times.

Want more tools for your managers? Join us on Gabfocus weekly on Thursdays.

Top Questions Answered in this session

How do most people calculate demand for their units?
What is true qualified demand and why is it essential to your revenue management?
How do you determine your facility’s true qualified demand? (factors, tools, automation available)
Where do you locate your hidden supply to meet your true demand?
With true demand, can you predict what you may need in the future?

These are just a few of the questions answered during this session! Get your pen and paper ready!

Phil Murphy

CallPotential

Website: https://www.callpotential.com/
Email: phil@callpotential.com

fancy-pug-filter

Paul Darden

District Manager

Website: https://www.qstrom.com
Email: pdarden@me.com

fancy-pug-filter

Eric Thordsen

District Manager

Website: https://www.qstrom.com
Email: eric.thordsen@qstrom.com

Resources from this session

Awesome Quotes

“Demand is what people need. Not necessarily what they call for because they may not really know what they need.” - Paul Darden

“By looking backward, you’re able to plan forwards.” - Melissa Huff

“The standard approach to pricing is to keep it static and offer the same blanket specials to everyone. But, now a lot of operators are starting to get more sophisticated, realizing they don’t necessarily have to the specials for all units and all types of tenants. Technology is allowing more flexibility.” - Phil Murphy

“There’s no one silver bullet that solves all your problems. It’s all those little $2, $3, and $4 increments that you keep adding up. You may only add $40 increase per month, but as you start to multiply that over twelve months and then over the years. You realize how much it’s worth.” - Paul Darden

“Open up your calendar and look at your trends. Don’t be surprised to find your occupancy has seasonality. Know what’s happening in your area and you’ll be able to adjust accordingly.” - Eric Thorsden

Terms to Know

Predicative Analysis

Resources Mentioned

District Manager

Question of the Week

We asked our panelists: "For an owner or operator new to evaluating demand, what’s the best place to start?"

If you're new to evaluating demand, the best place to start is by evaluating your pricing versus your competitors. Try and understand what your competitors looks like, what are they renting, what are they pricing at, what kind of specials are they running. You don't have to be the "low-price guy". It's easy to be the "cheap guy", it's harder to add value and charge a higher price. At the end of the day, customers will store with you, not because you have the lowest price, but because they trust you. - Phil Murphy

“Have your managers keep notes. Whether it’s a manual system or not, keeping notes and data from the past, lets you go back and review so you educated for the future.” - Paul Darden

“To me, it’s about operations. You have to evaluate your facility. Review your options. Find ways to move the needle so you can make more profit.” - Eric Thordsen

“Know your property as well as you can, so you can know how to sell it to a potential tenant. Your facility has features like gates and cameras and more. You have to know every piece of your property and what may speak to a potential tenant.” - Melissa Huff

Gabfocus Takeaway

Predictive Analysis. How do you know what to expect? By knowing what has already happened. By being diligent about capturing data and evaluating your facility's trends, you'll be able to anticipate and position yourself for future success. Pay attention to the peaks and valleys your facility undergoes. See if you can determine why and what you can do to position yourself the best.