How to Maximize Self-Storage Call Conversions

The self-storage industry is booming. With market projections skyrocketing from $59.03 billion in 2023 to an anticipated $86.05 billion by 2028, growth is showing no signs of slowing down based on research provided by Asset Growth Agency. Key drivers include increasing urbanization, shrinking living spaces, and lifestyle trends like remote work, downsizing, and relocations. Coupled with advancements in technology, these factors are reshaping customer expectations and operational approaches within the industry, making self-storage call conversions play a key role in optimizing customer interactions and ensuring higher rental conversion rates.

Yet, with this growth comes heightened competition. To thrive in this fast-paced industry, self-storage owners and operators must focus on one key factor critical to revenue conversion: customer phone calls. Research indicates that 34% of tenant rentals start with a phone call, but missed calls directly translate to missed opportunities. If handled strategically, those calls could significantly impact your bottom line. Here’s how you can maximize call conversions for your self-storage facility.

Understanding the Shifting Self-Storage Landscape

The Evolving Market

The self-storage market’s rapid expansion is being fueled by emerging customer profiles such as:

• Millennials and Gen Z renters seeking convenience and tech-driven interactions.
• Remote workers and freelancers needing flexible solutions for home-office setups.
• Small businesses requiring additional storage for inventory, tools, or paperwork.

Additionally, customers now demand:

• Accessible facilities with extended service hours.
• Seamless, technology-forward experiences, including online bookings and virtual support.
• Personalized interactions to address specific storage needs.

For self-storage operators, these shifts create both challenges and opportunities. A growing pool of potential tenants increases the stakes for providing exceptional customer service across multiple touchpoints.

Why Phone Calls Are Critical

While online tools are essential, the phone call remains a powerful connection point. Studies show that 40% of storage-related calls go unanswered. This is a staggering oversight, as missed calls result in an estimated 13.6% of potential rentals lost. For example:

• Suppose a storage facility rents units for an average of $120 per month ($1,440 annually) and operates 300 units.
• With a 40% call miss rate, this translates to nearly $58,752 of lost revenue annually.

Answering calls promptly and professionally can not only save revenue but also enhance a facility’s reputation by meeting tenants’ expectations from the start.

What Happens When Every Call Is Answered?

Here’s the game-changer. When every call is promptly answered:

• 60% of inquiries convert into rentals or transactions directly on the first call.
• That means a revenue recapture of approximately $35,251.20/year for the same 300-unit facility analyzed above.

Partnering with a reliable, self-storage-specific call management service can make this level of responsiveness achievable.

Maximizing Call Conversions in Your Self-Storage Facility

To ensure you’re capturing every opportunity, follow these actionable steps:

1. Ensure Availability Beyond Office Hours

Most calls come during hours when local staff are busiest or after-hours, especially from remote workers or movers operating on their own schedules. Consider solutions like remote management services offered by XPS Solutions that extend your business’ availability.

Not only does this cater to tenants across different time zones, but it also increases prospective renters’ trust in your business for providing seamless accessibility. With our U.S.-based, experience Remote Managers can handle lease signature audits, outbound lead follow-ups, gate code access, and the move-out process to ensure tenants are taken care of each step of the way.

2. Invest in Knowledgeable, Professional Call Handling

It’s important to have call center agents who act as an extension of your facility’s expertise. Key characteristics of effective call representatives include:

• Product Knowledge: Familiarity with all the units, pricing structures, and promotions available at your facility, and experience selling rentals.
• Customer Focus: An empathetic and patient tone to build trust with potential tenants.
• Resolution Ability: Quick and efficient handling of issues such as payment processing, delinquency follow-ups, and move-in reservations.

A U.S.-based call service with agents trained specifically in self-storage, like XPS Solutions, ensures every caller is treated with professionalism and efficiency, from inquiry to conversion.

3. Leverage Technology to Support Call Optimization

Invest in tools or platforms designed to enhance call tracking, analysis, and engagement. For example:

• Call analytics software can measure conversion rates and identify common pain points, enabling data-driven improvements.
• AI-powered customer relationship management (CRM) tools can help automate follow-up processes and organize leads, ensuring no opportunity slips through the cracks.
• XPS Solutions provides 90% of the software integration available in the self-storage industry.

4. Personalize Customer Interactions

Tailor your responses to reflect the unique needs of your callers paint points. For example:

• A college student moving home for the summer might be looking for short-term, affordable unit options near campus, with easy month-to-month agreements.
• A military family preparing for deployment may need flexible rental terms, automatic payment options, and reassurance about on-site security and insurance coverage.
• A retiree looking to declutter their home may appreciate recommendations for climate-controlled units for heirlooms, assistance with move-in logistics, or special senior discounts.
• A couple relocating for a job might need advice on storage unit availability in both their current and future city, plus remote payment and account management options..

By providing tailored solutions, your facility’s team not only demonstrates expertise but also builds trust, which is essential for converting rentals. XPS understands these challenges through our training for Call Center Agents and Remote Managers, who enter their roles with a comprehensive understanding. This training helps them establish empathy, allowing potential tenants to see the value in renting from your facility.

5. Implement Strategic Follow-Ups

While 60% of renters may commit on the first call, others may need time to evaluate options. Following up in a timely manner with helpful information and limited-time offers can sway undecided prospects toward booking with your facility. XPS Remote Managers provides three outbound lead follow-ups to ensure these calls for potential tenants don’t miss rental opportunities.

How XPS Solutions Drives Self-Storage Call Conversions for Operators

Partnering with a call-handling expert like XPS Solutions sets your facility apart in several ways:

• Call Center Services: XPS Agents are trained specifically in self-storage operations and customer care. No opportunity is left unanswered providing answering calls 104 hours a week.
• Remote Management Support: Provides extended hours with an additional 54 hours a week and ensures your tenants can access support, even when your staff is not present.
• Seamless Integration into your operations, handling everything from new reservations, changing billing information, to delinquency follow-ups.
• Proven Results:
• • • Higher rental conversion rates- helped Reliant Real Estate Management secure 317 new rentals and $445,000 in revenue in just 60 days through XPS Solutions’ call center services
    • Increased operational hours without inflating payroll costs, saving 50% on employee costs.
    • Reduced accounts receivable by 88% and increased monthly revenue by $16,000 through XPS Solutions’ Remote Management services, enhancing tenant satisfaction and operational efficiency from knowledgeable services.

Self-storage operators that engage the services of XPS Solutions experience enhanced operational efficiency, improved performance metrics, and a significant competitive advantage within an expanding industry.

Achieving Growth and Success in a Competitive Market

By maximizing call conversions, self-storage operators can unlock a wealth of untapped opportunity while meeting the evolving needs of today’s renters. Answering every inquiry, supporting broader customer accessibility, and offering stellar service doesn’t just improve your bottom line; it builds lasting trust and loyalty among your tenants.

Don’t lose out on potential revenue. Partner with XPS Solutions to ensure no call goes unanswered, no rental is missed, and your facility stays ahead of the competition. Start turning missed calls into successful conversions today. Contact XPS Solutions to learn more about our Call Center and Remote Management services.