Question #
How should a buyer approach a call with a self-storage facility owner to gather necessary information for making an offer?
Answer #
So when you make the call, you know (1) how big, or about how big, the facility is, (2) what the average rates in the area are, and (3) whether the area appears to be oversupplied, undersupplied, or at equilibrium.
None of the assumptions you have going into the call are exact or even correct, but after about five minutes of work, you will have made some “reasonable” assumptions.
In other words, enough to make a call.
Call the facility or the owner (if you can find that number separately).
Or better yet, go by if you can.
Talk to owners, not managers, if possible.
I would say something like “I am looking for storage in your area and your project looks like it is just what we are wanting.
HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT SELLING, OR IF YOU GOT A GOOD PRICE TODAY WOULD YOU CONSIDER SELLING?”
If they say yes… great, move on to the next step.
If they say no, as most will, ask if they are interested in getting an offer today on this call.
If they say “OK” or “Yes” or even, “I am not sure…” tell them you just need one piece of information and you can give them an offer today on this call, and if it is something they would consider, you will get it to them in the form of a Letter of Intent or a contract today.
Ask them if they want to know what the one piece of information is.
If they say “yes,” then just ask, “What was your gross income last year or, if you don’t know that off the top of your head, what was it last month?”
Then just shut up… no matter how long the silence is.
There is a thing called a “sacred silence,” and I think this is one of those times.
Let them move through any mental spaces they need to in order to reveal that number to you.
Source: The First-Call Offer: A Different Approach to Finding Off-Market Self-Storage Deals
