A Self Storage Sales Objective = Difference 1
When you are taking orders, you don’t really have an objective. You are happy to give people whatever they want as long as it is on the menu. You are not steering. You are not an active part of the decision making process.
You are a record keeper. A receipt dispenser. You are happy to let the prospect do all of the work to figure things out. Telling a prospect to call back later when they are ready is standard.
When you are selling, there is something you want your prospective customer to do.
You know enough about your prospective customer, and you know enough about how your business makes money that you can build a bridge between what the prospective customer wants and needs and what you can provide profitably. When plain vanilla doesn’t work, you get creative and try to put together something that is a win for you and for your prospective customer even if it isn’t standard or common or “on the menu”.
You are active in the process. Once the bridge has been built, you illuminate the path that leads to your objective of a rental or purchase.
An Invitation = Difference 2
An order taker doesn’t make an invitation to rent. He or she simply reacts to to the prospective customer’s requests. If you are an order taker, you are relegated to the back seat. If the prospective customer wants to rent a space, that’s great. If they never ask, you never push the issue. There is no urgency as an order taker because if all you do is take orders, then it doesn’t matter if anyone does anything
When you sell, on the other hand, you invite your prospect to move closer to your sales objective (renting a space at your location, or buying merchandise, or whatever). I say move closer because even if your invitation to rent the storage space fails, you are still inviting people to come to your property because coming to your property moves them closer to renting.
Even if your invitations to rent or visit the store fall flat, then you invite them to give you permission to follow up with them so that you can stay involved in their buying process, remain in their service, and potentially win their business down the road.
When you are selling you are inviting prospective customer to take action, then you are inviting some more.
We all want to make a difference. We all want to act, and not just be acted upon. Two simple things make a world of difference. Get clear on your objective and make invitations.