Most operators think upselling means convincing a tenant to rent a bigger unit. That's leaving money on the table.

At American Self Storage, we've built a tiered pricing model that consistently moves tenants into higher-value packages — because we give them reasons to want the upgrade. The secret? It's much more about the packaging than it is the present. 

I recently shared some of these strategies with fellow operators at the Cubby Customer Advisory Board meeting, and the response told me this is a conversation our industry needs to have more openly. So here's the playbook we’ve used.

Experience is Everything.

When a prospective tenant calls or walks in, they already know what size unit they need. Trying to upsell them on a larger space is a dead end most of the time. But offering a better experience at that same unit size? That's a conversation people actually want to have.

Using Cubby’s value-based pricing upsells, we break our units into three tiers (Standard, Preferred, and Ultra Premium) and the price difference between them is intentionally modest. Ex. A Standard 5x10 drive-up unit at our Clayton East facility runs $76 per month. Preferred is $82. Ultra Premium is $89. We're talking about the cost of a couple of coffees separating each tier.

Research shows that consumers have a relationship with price and consumers sometimes use price as a signal for quality. By presenting an experience alongside price, we give the consumer additional signals to help nudge them into an upgrade.

What Actually Makes Someone Upgrade

There are a few quick-hits that can ramp up your upgrade strategy.

1. Your copy that differentiates the feature-set should be unique to each broad category of unit. I.e. your Climate units should have at least some unique differentiators relative to Conventional and/or Parking unit groups.

2. Not every feature needs to be a unit-level amenity

At our facilities, here's what differentiates the tiers.

Standard gives you a solid, secure, reliable storage unit. That's the baseline, and it's a good product on its own.

Preferred adds proximity to the gate (or climate control building entrance) plus wider loading and unloading zones. Think about what that means for a tenant who's moving in on a Saturday afternoon — they're not hauling boxes from the back of the property. They're right up front with room to work. That convenience is tangible the moment they pull up with a truck.

Ultra Premium is where it gets interesting. You get everything from the lower tiers, plus a prime location at the front of the facility (typically the first or second aisle), maximum loading and unloading space, priority customer support, and complimentary 24-hour access.

Notice what's happening here. We're not upselling the unit — same size, same construction, same security. We're upselling on convenience, access, and service. A free cart when you move in. Priority support when you call with a question. The ability to access your unit at 2 AM if you need to. These things don't require building anything new. They require thinking differently about what you already have.

Why This Works Better Than Discounting

The instinct in a competitive market is to drop your price. Run a first-month-free promo. Race to the bottom. I get it – I've felt that pressure too.

But tiered pricing does the opposite. It lets you raise average revenue per unit by giving tenants a reason to pay more, rather than cutting rates to fill empty space. Your lowest tier can still be competitively priced for the market. Your upper tiers capture the willingness to pay that already exists among tenants who value convenience.

And here's the part that surprised me early on: the conversion rate to higher tiers is much stronger than you'd expect. When you frame the upgrade as "for just six dollars more a month, you're right at the front entrance with wider loading zones," most people don't even hesitate. It's a small decision that makes their life easier, and people will pay for that every time.

Framing an upgrade as “Would you like a unit closer to the gate/door?” will get customers thinking about their preference before they ever have to make a decision on price.

Training Your Team to Upsell Without Being Pushy

None of this works if your staff doesn't understand the value proposition. And the biggest mistake I see operators make is treating the upsell as a hard sell. It's not.

Our approach is consultative. We train managers and call center agents to walk tenants through the tiers naturally during the rental process. It sounds like: "Would you prefer a unit right by the climate control building entrance or one further away?" Once the customer thinks about it, realizes they have a preference, when it comes time to chat price, they already have their preference locked in. 

That's it. No pressure. No gimmicks. Just laying out the options and letting the value speak for itself. The key is that your team needs to know the facility inside and out — which units are in which tier, what the actual walking distance looks like, what the loading zones feel like on a busy weekend. Deep product knowledge makes the upsell feel like helpful advice rather than a sales pitch.

If you get pushback, believe in your value. Not all units are equal at my facilities. Not all customers prioritize access/convenience/service equally. For those who value convenience–we have a unit perfect for them. For those who place more emphasis on price (and their step count), we have a unit perfect for them. 

Building Tiers That Make Sense for Your Facility

Every facility is different, and your tier structure should reflect what actually creates value at your specific location. Start by walking your property and asking yourself: which units would I want if I were a tenant? The ones closest to the entrance, the ones on the ground floor, the ones next to the elevator, the ones with the best lighting — those become your premium tiers.

Then think about the services and perks you can layer on top. Extended access hours, complimentary moving supplies like carts or dollies, priority customer support, merchandise discounts — these are low-cost additions that meaningfully improve the tenant experience.

A few principles that have served us well:

Keep the price gaps between tiers small enough that upgrading feels like an easy decision. If the jump is too large, people default to the cheapest option. You want the tenant doing the mental math and concluding that the upgrade is basically free for what they're getting. The value prop mix of tangible (unit location) and intangible (free 24 hour access) should be so clear, the upgrade is a no-brainer.

Make tier benefits tangible and easy to explain in a sentence or two. If your team can't articulate the upgrade value in ten seconds, the tiers are too complicated.

Use your best units as the anchor for your top tier, and price everything relative to that. You're not discounting your lower-tier units — you're positioning your premium units at the value they deserve.

The Revenue Impact Adds Up Fast

Let's do simple math. If you have 200 units and you successfully move even 30% of your tenants from a Standard tier to Preferred (a six dollar per month increase) that's an additional $4,320 in annual revenue. Move some of those into Ultra Premium and the numbers climb further. All without adding a single unit, running a single ad, or building anything new.

Multiply that across multiple facilities and you start to see why tiered pricing isn't just a nice-to-have. It's a core revenue strategy.

The Bigger Takeaway

The self-storage industry has historically been a commodity business. A 10x10 is a 10x10. But that's changing. Tenants today have choices, and they're increasingly willing to pay a premium for convenience, service, and experience – just like in every other industry.

The operators who figure out how to deliver that premium experience through smart tiered pricing, thoughtful amenity bundling, and well-trained teams are the ones who will outperform the market. It doesn't require a massive capital investment. It requires a shift in how you think about what you're actually selling.

You're selling more than a storage unit—You're selling peace of mind, convenience, and a better experience. Price accordingly.

Adam Jarrell is the operator of American Self Storage, with facilities across North Carolina. He is a member of the Cubby Customer Advisory Board.