Conversations about self-storage value are often focused on the numbers: cap rates, interest rates, revenue, expenses. But there’s a human aspect to the equation as well: the facility operator. While you don’t have power over the real estate and finance markets, there are items within your control that greatly impact a facility’s bottom line. Owners and managers have a responsibility to manage rental rates, minimize expenses, maintain and improve the condition of the property, and more. Our presenters will help you determine if you’re leaving money on the table with rental rates, your expenses are where they should be, or your site is dated. They’ll share strategies for recognizing and saving an under performing property. Finally, they’ll talk about the role of the manager and determining if the owner has the right person behind the counter. Learn how you can positively effect your facility’s value through operational effectiveness.

As an ancillary product, tenant insurance has the ability to dramatically increase self-storage revenue at no additional cost to the facility operator. This presentation will provide insight to the types of protection plans you can offer to customers, including their benefits and how they impact your facility's bottom line. Our presenter will give you tips for choosing the right program, offering insurance to renters, and overcoming customer objections. He'll also address issues to consider if you don't already have a program in place and questions to ask your insurance vendor. Finally, you'll see examples of real-life disasters in Louisiana, which demonstrate why tenant insurance is so important.

With many self-storage facilities experiencing higher delinquencies than in the past, a lot of operators are finding they don't have an effective system in place to address the increasing accounts receivable. Successful collections require a controlled system for managing outstanding debt. In this session, you'll learn techniques for efficiently and successfully collecting rent from past-due tenants, in turn adding to facility revenue. If you own or manage a storage facility, get the tools you need to collect rent and boost the bottom line.

In today's competitive environment, the pricing of your self-storage units is a key component of your facility's profitability and ultimate success. Our presenters will explain why you should never be 100 percent occupied and show how it is detriment to your facility to be so. They'll discuss the factors involved in setting your prices, why regular increases are required, when you should implement increases and for how much, and how to properly and smoothly execute these changes.

Is your self-storage operation legally ready for 2011? Are you sure? The legal landscape is changing rapidly in our industry, and there are old and new threats for which you must be prepared. Our presenter will review some of the top legal risks facing facility operators in the months ahead, including tenant bankruptcy, wrongful-sale lawsuits, insurance claims, lawsuits over failure to sell pursuant to lien-sale statute, issues of authorized access, and more. You'll learn steps you can take to protect yourself from liability for these perils. Avoid exposure in 2011 by getting the knowledge you need now.

For the most part, the maintenance of a self-storage facility is relatively easy and doesn't require a great deal of time―as long as the management team understands the importance of performing it on a routine. This session will provide daily, weekly, monthly and annual checklists to help facilitate this important aspect of site operation. You'll get guidelines for creating a maintenance plan and tips for saving money on scheduled items. Our speaker will help you know when to expense and when to capitalize, as well as when to use outside contractors. Prevent now, or pay later! Learn how to keep your facility in tip-top condition.

Unpaid rent represents a significant loss to self-storage operations. Managers do all they can to collect rent and execute lien sales, but there is another alternative: working with a collections agency to minimize shortfalls. During this seminar, you’ll gain a basic understanding of how the collection industry works as well as the various agency business models and their pros and cons. You’ll also get resource material you can use to better manage your collections in house as well as through an agency, and details on how to verify and choose an agency. Finally, you’ll learn about tenant screening, collections compliance, liability risk reduction, credit reporting, consumer rights, how to track collections results and more.

Money is an employee motivator, but it’s not always as important as we think and, surprisingly, not the most effective incentive. This session will explore the use of staff recognition, communication, contests and bonus programs to motivate people and create a loyal, dedicated team who loves their work. You’ll learn how to attract, develop and retain great employees, develop bonus programs, create successful low- and no-cost incentives, empower staff, improve communication, and uncover new motivational resources. Whether you have one self-storage facility or 100, as the boss or the worker bee, this session will help you be more effective in your self-storage operation.

Are you struggling to get your facility managers to behave like salespeople rather than mere order-takers or caretakers? Do you wish you knew  how to better help them succeed? For you self-storage owners, our presenter will provide concrete, actionable ideas for creating a sales culture and bringing out the best in existing employees. You'll learn how to increase your staff's confidence, support them in converting more shoppers to renters, and create success that is not dependent on bonuses or incentives. Our presenter will share the secrets to structuring a work environment for maximum effectiveness and harnessing the power of peer pressure. If you want to see better sales results and manage the people who are actually doing the selling, this is the session for you!

This dynamic seminar highlights risk-management techniques that could save you money and help you reduce your chance of loss. Our presenter will address critical insurance issues specific to self-storage facilities, including details about the specialized coverages necessary to protect your business. She'll share information regarding typical insurance claims, including catastrophic losses that could have been crippling without the right insurance. Come with questions for the Q&A portion of this presentation, a unique opportunity to ask questions and hear insights about the challenges faced by other facility operators.