Agencies Hate This One Simple Question…
- Mitch Briggs
- Oct 16
- 3 min read
“What exactly did you do for me this month?”
Self-storage operators are busy, smart, and practical. They rely on a variety of tools, partners, and experts to help them run their business. Storage is bananas, so you need all the help you can get!
When you’re paying thousands every month to an agency, you’re basically paying for expertise and people’s time. So there’s one simple question you should be able to ask without hesitation:
“What exactly did you do for me this month?”
If all you get back is a PDF full of buzzwords, reports, screenshots, and vanity metrics, this could be a red flag. You're paying for time and effort, not just someone to read out a report.
Why is this so common? And why do so many agencies struggle (or flat-out avoid) answering this question?
The Transparency Problem Nobody Talks About
I may seem obvious, but if you're thinking of partnering with an agency, make sure you know what you're paying for!
Most agencies operate like this:
A lot of effort to impress during the sales process and to get you excited for success and lock you into a long term contract.
Over time, they do less and less (and in some cases, there really isn’t much to do!), but still charge the same each month. They will happily send reports on how things are going, but won't say what they did specifically to improve or influence the results.
If you complain or ask for more attention, you may get it, then it’s back to business as usual.
When you ask for clarity, you get:
“We optimized your campaigns.”
“We tweaked your site for SEO”
“We’re testing new keywords.”
But nothing specific. Would you tolerate these same types of answers from a security company or construction crew?
Charging Commissions is Outdated
When it comes to managing digital marketing campaigns like Google Ads, most agencies charge for their services based on a percentage of your ad spend.
Which means…the more you spend, the more they make. Even if your results didn’t improve.
What they wont tell you is that it’s basically the same amount of work to manage a $1,000 a month campaign as it is a $5,000 a month campaign - so why would you pay 5x the management fee?
That model rewards increasing spend. And punishes operators.
Why Agencies Can’t Answer the Question
Let’s go back to our favorite question:
“What exactly did you do for me this month?”
Here’s why most can’t answer it:
They rely on just sending vanity metrics (clicks, impressions, CTR).
They outsource to junior account reps who just use templates.
They “optimize” in bulk across dozens of clients and aren’t exactly sure what they did for you specifically.
And honestly…they didn’t actually do anything but keep it running.
But storage operators are smarter than that. You were hoping for a partner, not a mystery.
How Tech Flips the Script
Adverank is software built by operators for operators.
This means we’re able to:
✅ Price Fixed monthly fees — never commissions on ad spend.
✅ Full transparency — every recommendation and data is visible 24/7, not just in a monthly report.
✅ AI + humans — tech that never sleeps, humans to help navigate it.
✅ You own your data — no gatekeeping.
You won’t need to ask us what we did or how things are going…
Just log in.
Adverank will show you. In detail. With results.
The Future Belongs to Tech-Enabled Operators
The days of “just trust us” agencies are over.
Self-storage has become competitive, data-driven, and margin-sensitive.
The operators who win will be the ones who:
✅ Use software and tools that offer transparency
✅ Refuse percentage-based pricing
✅ Track return on investment, not vanity metrics
✅ Act quickly to make adjustments, not waiting for a monthly review
Ready to See What Real Transparency Looks Like?
Adverank is the only platform in self-storage that gives you:
✅ AI-powered ad strategies
✅ Expert support
✅ Full data ownership
✅ Predictive occupancy forecasts
✅ Fixed pricing — no commissions, ever
We don’t hide behind jargon.
We give you the tools to show you results.
