assume the rental

You’ve heard the saying that goes, “You shouldn’t assume anything.” That may be true in life, but it is absolutely the opposite in world of selling. Selling is one of those pursuits that is often more attitude than aptitude. The attitude that works in sales is an assumptive attitude. Listen to yourself as you sell your service. Watch your body language. Be aware of your facial expressions. Are your verbal and non- verbal communications telling each prospect that you assume every prospect you talk to will rent from you? Do your verbal and non-verbal communications tell every one of your renters that you are you assuming they will stay forever?

People are very perceptive, although they don’t always know the implications of what they perceive. If they perceive confidence and assurance in your attitude, they are likely to follow your advice, do what you recommend and feel good about dealing with you. If they sense some un-sureness, some lack of conviction on your part or a lack of confidence in your voice or actions, they will avoid you and your recommendations.

It may be you just didn’t get a good night sleep last night because your baby woke you up several times in the night needing to be rocked and your dog woke you up early because it wanted to go out and play with the rising sun. The person walking into your store does not know that. He only sees you are not engaged, you are not enthusiastic about your offering and you are not trying to get his rental. So he says, “Thanks for showing me around’, and you never see him again.

In order to assume the sale, you have to change the words you use. Don’t think of people coming in or calling your store as shoppers. They are instead buyers. They are going to buy somewhere. Shouldn’t they buy from you? Don’t use the word “if”. Use “When”. If you tell a prospect, “If you rent from us, you will find we are a good place to store”, it doesn’t carry the same weight as telling him, “When you rent from us, you will find we are a good place to store.”

You may be afraid of appearing over-bearing or pushy by being too assumptive. The fact is that people are forgiving of those who are excited by their business. People are forgiving of those who are confident in their offering. On the opposite side of the spectrum, people are offended when they think a sales person doesn’t really want their business. People get scared off when they think sales people sell something they don’t believe in or wouldn’t buy themselves. Would you buy a Ford from a car sales person who drove a Nissan?

There are two places your assumptive attitude comes into play in a big way. One is when talking about price. The other is when you ask the person to commit to the rental. Most storage buyers will have some sticker shock when hearing your price. You may not be the lowest price facility in town. If you appear apologetic about your price, if you seem to agree that the price is awful high, you will not get the rental. You may not be apologetic and you may think the price is a good value, but if you act unsure and lack confidence in your price discussion, the buyer will assume you are apologetic and that you think the facility over-charges.

If you don’t ask for the rental with confidence, the buyer will think there is a reason you are not confident. The buyer will assume the reason is that your tenants don’t like storing with you and that your facility is not a very good choice. If you say, “So do you think you might want to do this, if it is okay with you?” as your way of asking for the rental, you will get shot down a lot. If, on the other hand, you say, “I know you will be happy here. We are a great value for the money. I can get you moved in today or tomorrow, whichever you prefer”, people will answer by saying “Today is good.” or “Tomorrow is good.”

Not everyone is comfortable being assumptive or assertive, because they aren’t sure how to put that attitude into words. Sometimes the words don’t come out right and you feel like you are fumbling. This makes you a little embarrassed and makes your prospect feel awkward. So you avoid the discomfort and prevent the awkward moment by no longer trying to be assertive or assumptive. Don’t do that. Learn some very specific phrases and practice them in your own words until they flow off your lips as gracefully as the western wind blowing through the tall prairie grass of Kansas on a warm autumn day.

It is no different than learning anything else. You don’t just all of a sudden pick up a broom and become the master at sweeping out a vacated unit. You have to learn to make the broom work. You have different techniques for brooming out the corners than for clearing the threshold. You work the bristles on the floor differently for dust than you do for litter. Assumptive selling is no different. Your words, phrases and gestures are your tools and techniques. Here are a few phrases you can master.

“Yes, storage does cost a few dollars. But our tenants think we are a great value for the money. For instance we have… (talk bout your security features and convenience amenities)”

“I’m sure you could find a similar unit a few dollars less elsewhere, but will you get the same value for your dollar? If the other places you’ve called didn’t mention an access control gate or a video surveillance system, they may not have it. Your money buys you a great value here.”

“I don’t have a lot of these units left. I’ll go ahead and put one on hold for you, what is your last name?”

There are a hundred ways you can express your assumptive attitude in words and phrases. Our PhoneSmart telesales reps have a six page booklet of phrases that work. You may not need that many, but get yourself an imaginary tool chest full. Then the next time you have to work a little bit to help a buyer to buy from you, you will have the tools available to be assumptive enough to convince that person to rent with you. Would the buyer really get a better value somewhere else? Would the buyer really get a better person to deal with than you at the next site down the street? If you believe in your property then you can assume everyone who inquires with you should be renting with you. You can believe every one of your renters is better off keeping their units and staying with you. Wouldn’t that be a great attitude to have?

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