Section 13 • Management Do not hold the grand opening until you have been open
for at least 30 to 45 days to ensure everything is ready to show off and all construction is completed and cleaned up. Open- ing before you are ready can be a big mistake as you need to begin as you intend to go forward; even if there are only a few things remaining, others will judge you and your store by what they see right now not what you intend to do later on. Don’t move customers in or host events until you have everything completed. Many have tried and have taken shortcuts in order to get to the leasing of the units; it is always a bad situation and you are only going to get one opportunity to be brand new and make a good impression.
The property has to be meticulously cleaned first, stocked, and set up for business. A plan will need to include the locations of food, beverages, registration, give away bags for each attendee, and how the event will flow.
Your guests list should also include all your vendor con-
tacts as these also make great storage customers. From your total guest list, you will have about 10 percent attendance for your event if you have emailed the invite several times, mailed it at least once, and called and visited as many as possible as well. We use Constant Contact for our email programs, event RSVPs, and tracking the guest lists.
The property has to be meticulously cleaned first, stocked, and set up for business. A plan will need to include the loca- tions of food, beverages, registration, give away bags for each attendee, and how the event will flow.
Here is an example of the party flow and details:
• Register each guest at check in for a door prize (you need to put together a few door prizes and display them to encourage registration); on each you will get the email address and phone number.
• Once registered, give each guest a “treasure map” of where they can find food and drinks as well as any special itinerary such as “Prize drawings at 7 p.m. in the lobby”. You can use the map in your software you’ve already set up to show what can be found in which unit, i.e., shrimp remoulade in unit 1203, prosciutto and melon in 1107, etc. This will get your guests touching, hearing, and seeing all of your amenities and getting the full experience of your offerings.
148 Self-Storage Almanac 2018
• Each guest should be given a goodie bag with some of your promotional items, not just printed material, but should include your referral cards, business cards, and perhaps your company pen.
• Establish a special offer you are not making anywhere else to showcase that night and encourage rentals dur- ing the event. Someone needs to remain at the front desk during the event.
• Decide which staff person will be in which location during the event; you will need a greeter to get them signed up and direct traffic, someone behind the desk, someone floating to all set up locations during the event, and someone to make sure each person leaves with a goodie bag.
• Display a sign or placard at each show unit describing the size, price, and approximately what it will hold. Example: 10-by-10, $209, holds an average one-bedroom apartment.
• Tell everyone where and when prizes will be drawn; remind them they must be present to win.
• After you choose the winners, make sure to get photo- graphs to use on your website, in press releases, and in your marketing emails.
• We typically choose a theme for this party such as movie stars or a trip around the world using “passports” that get stamped as they visit each unit with a different nationality of food, for example.
• Make it fun and have music or musicians, someone to take pictures, and the owner to make a welcome announcement.
Follow up after the event via email to your contact lists
showing the prize winners and describing the event for those who couldn’t make it.
From all of this you can see that planning makes perfect, so
take time to plan out all your store details and budgets then share them with the team responsible for achieving these goals. Together you can have a well thought out product, mes- sage, and opening event.
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