AAAA has been a full time operator and developer of self storage facilities since 1973. We have been involved in the development/construction of over 35 facilities and have extensive experience in virtually every aspect of self storage development, management and ownership. Our depth of experience with the development side of the business gives us an insight that is lacking with most other management companies and enables us to plan for your project’s success from the ground up. We currently manage over 60 facilities from West Virginia to Florida, representing over 3.5 million leasable square feet. We can partner with a self storage facility Owner at any stage of the development/ownership timeline.

All personnel working at our facilities are employees of the AAAA Self Storage Management Group. This minimizes employment related liability issues for our Owners. Our large pool of full and part time employees allows us flexibility with scheduling issues such as relief manager coverage, vacations, and sick days. Our Owners never have to worry about their facility being properly staffed.

At AAAA facilities our customers can always reach a “live” person when they need assistance. A toll free number is included on each facility’s voicemail and posted on the exterior of each facility. Our District Managers monitor this number 24/7, so assistance is only a phone call away. We are always on duty so our Owners never have to deal with a phone call on the weekend or in the middle of the night. Our pool of qualified relief managers, Facility Managers and District Managers ensures that your facility will never have to close due to sudden illness, resignation or other contingency.

New Manager Training takes three to four weeks and consists of classroom training in Company Policies and Procedures and working directly with on-site trainers. Once each new Facility Manager is ready to go to his/her permanent facility he/she is assigned a permanent mentor who will be available for advice and assistance. Each Facility Manager’s performance is closely monitored by the assigned District Manager. Additionally, each AAAA Facility Manager’s performance is measured each month via a Manager Evaluation, written Skills Test, Merchandise Sales per Lease and Insurance Sales per Lease. Monthly scores in each area are blended and each Facility Manager’s composite score is compared to the other managers’ scores and ranked accordingly.

One of the critical elements common to all AAAA marketing strategies is ensuring the Facility Managers are well trained in the art of selling. This includes making introductory in-person calls to business owners, having well honed phone sales skills, knowing how to identify centers of influence for referrals and projecting a professional image of themselves and their facility. Each Facility Manager must make in-person visits to businesses each week and document same for review with their District Manager. Additionally, we measure the phone sales skills of each manager regularly through the use of a third party mystery shopping service. The results of this evaluation and an audiotape of the shop are supplied to the District Manager for review and coaching.

We also gather a wealth of data on our customers as well as our walk-in and drive by prospects. This data aids us in determining personal characteristics (zip code, homeowner/renter, duration of tenancy, etc.) and market penetration and can reveal neighborhoods and tracts worthy of mailing and canvassing. We also take a dominant and visible position in the Yellow Pages directory.

We execute one of the most aggressive collections philosophies in the industry. We have a very detailed delinquency telephone call protocol that is supported by an aggressive late fee structure. We overlock each space the day the rent is late (where Statute allows) and we certify for auction any unit that becomes 35 days past due. Our auctions are typically conducted in house by our District Managers or Certified Regional Facility Manager Auctioneers to save you money. All of our auctioneers are trained and motivated to protect the interests of our Owners and to ensure the highest rent and fee recovery. Monies owed after auction are also pursued instead of just written off.

The Database Administrator is responsible for compiling monthly manager and facility performance data and generating consolidated reports comparing the performance of all the facilities. The Database Administrator is also responsible for maintaining and updating the Company database of competitor information. This ensures that we maintain a leadership position with regard to services and rental rates in each of our markets.

We tailor the array of reports we prepare and send on a monthly basis to the needs of each Owner. In the standard report packet we send to each Owner by the 15th of each month, you can expect to see at a minimum, an income/expense statement showing all expenses incurred during the previous month. With four bookkeepers and a CPA on our staff, additional reports or details are a phone call away. We take great pride in the fact that we have the depth of personnel to review expenditures so we know where every penny is being spent and what benefit to the Owner is being received.

We would welcome the opportunity to further describe our approach to managing a self storage facility to any interested owner or owner’s agent.