Self Storage driving for dollars

[Mark DiPietro]

I’m curious if anyone out there is driving for dollars with respect to self storage?

Specifically, if you find a property that has the potential to be purchased, how are you approaching the owner if it’s off-market?

I have some agents looking for deals but am interested in finding some smaller, mom and pops that might be ready to cash out.

[Scott Meyers]

Hey Mark!

(And thank you @Taylor L. for the shout-out.)

I like to say that there are 11 Ways to Fill your Lead Funnel, but in the end they boil down to two: On-Market & Off-Market.  They each have their Pros & Cons.

With Off-Market you want to talk to as many Owners as you can and find those who are serious about Selling (Death, Divorce, or Done).  You can do this through Mailers, Phone Calls, & Site Visits.  (I'd do all three, in that order.)

With all Marketing, there's a tradeoff between time and money. You can do things that cost more money and take less time (e.g. renting a Billboard is a very good example of a lot money and minimal time.  * * * Please Note that I am NOT saying you should advertise on a billboard, this is just an illustration to show the trade off between time and money. * * *)

And "driving for dollars" would be an example of minimal money (just gas $) but lots of time.  

Try to split the difference.  Certainly a site visit is going to be quite effective, as in the end this IS a "people-business" so you'll basically need to get eyeball to eyeball with the Owner.  If it's in town, that's great, but if you're making a day-trip out of it and travelling a ways to get to the particular market, will the Owner even be there?  Do they want to sell?  And so forth...

If you can cull this list beforehand, Site Visits will be quite effective. Then it just comes down to stopping by with permission or unannounced - what's your comfort zone?  Again, each has its Pros & Cons.  

Everyone has their comfort level, but in the end - "Fortune favors the bold!".

I hope this helps.

Good luck!

Scott