by Holly Robinson
February 5, 2010 1:25 PM
The Arizona Self Storage Association announced this morning that it will hold its 12th Annual Conference and Trade Show in Tempe, Arizona, from May 17 to 19, at the Marriott Buttes Hotel. The conference's theme, "Survivor: Self Storage", was inspired by the television program, "Survivor." The AZ SSA website notes that "Often times, in light of today's economy, operating in the self-storage industry can feel like you are...struggling every day to stay on the island and not get voted off." The conference will focus on giving self-storage owners and managers a set of tools and strategies they can use to navigate their businesses during an economic recession.
The conference will include separate programs for owners and operator/managers, more than a dozen interactive roundtable discussions, tours of two local Tempe self-storage facilities, and a golf tournament. One of the centerpieces of the conference will be its Sales and Marketing Boot Camp II, in which Tom Litton, the president of Litton Property Management, will talk about how to use sales techniques and company websites to produce more sales and will provide participants with 50 affordable, effective marketing strategies and creative collections techniques. Litton, who is a frequent speaker at industry seminars, has worked in the self-storage industry since its infancy. He has managed more than 150 self-storage facilities in 11 states and has written several books on self-storage.
While managers attend the Sales and Marketing Boot Camp, owners and operators will attend three sessions devoted to financials: "Results of the 2009 Market Survey," "Wage and Hour Issues for Self Storage," and "Self-Storage Financing Update."
The Arizona Self Storage Association Trade Show will also be held during the conference. Most vendors are already registered for the trade show, but there are still some sponsorships available.
The Arizona Self Storage Association was founded in 1996 and has more than 500 members, including self-storage facilities and vendors. The AZ SSA's goal is to promote professional standards in the self-storage industry in Arizona, present a unified voice on matters affecting the industry, and strengthen the Arizona self-storage industry overall.