I’ve been in your shoes. Even now that I work for TSSA, I still own a storage facility and still spend a few hours just about every weekend working on some aspect of the business. I hope that some of my stories and adventures will be of some use to others.

Today I’m inspired by a question posed recently by a member: “How do I get people to come to the auction”? New storage owners are always looking for ideas on how to get started, aren’t we? It’s a little like throwing a party and hoping your guests will show up.

I’ve tried many things to market the business. Some of them worked and others didn’t. Here are some tips on how to build a mailing list to get more people to the auction:

1. Current tenants: Start a sign- up sheet. Let your current tenants know that you have periodic auctions. If they’re interested they’ll sign up. Get an email address to notify them of your next scheduled auction without spending any money.

2. Resale shops and flea market vendors: Get to know the local resale shop owners and flea market vendors. Put them on your mailing list. If you treat them right and work with them, they’ll show up AND they will bid.

3. Auction houses: Local auction houses often attend self storage auctions on the off-chance they will uncover a treasure.

4. Your reader board/sign: Post your auctions at least a week before to attract passersby.

5. Your tenant mailings: Print out the auction schedule at the bottom of your invoices or other tenant correspondence.

6. Attendees: Put your auction attendee registration form to work. If they attend one auction and sign-in, add them to your mailing list and notify them the next time you schedule an auction. Again, try to get email addresses to cut down on postage and phone calls.

7. Hire an auctioneer: Although professional auctioneers will charge a percentage of the sale, they often have a “fan-base” and will draw new people to your auctions that might not otherwise attend.

Some of these tips take time to build but once you do, it is well worth the effort. Good luck!

Silvia Pendleton and her husband, Joe, own a self-storage facility in Granbury. Silvia joined the TSSA staff in February 2008 as Director of Marketing and Membership. Her prior work experience focused on marketing and association management. She brings her “owner’s perspective” to TSSA and hopes to share her experiences to assist members in marketing their facilities.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 1st, 2009 at 4:00 pm and is filed under General Self Storage Musings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.