Day 16: How to Cold Call a Boat & RV Facility Owner

And welcome to day 16 of the Boat and RV 100 series. I'm Joe Downs with Storage Moguls, and today I'm showing you how to cold call a boat and RV facility owner. The mindset, the script framework, and the follow-up cadence that turns a first conversation into a deal pipeline. Most of these owners have never been approached professionally before. The right call can open doors that brokers maybe never find. This isn't theory, folks. This is how we source acquisitions at Bellrose, and it's how we teach it at Storage Moguls. And if you want the full deal sourcing framework with AI-powered tools, head on over to storagemoguls.ai. It's our free community, free to join. You can level up at your own pace. We've got GPT tools, multimodal learning, and content across every storage vertical. There's so much there. That's exactly why we built Storage Mules too. We wanted a community that's made up of real people and actual operators just like you. Maybe you're a husband and wife team or 2 neighbors who partnered up or the solopreneur who decided to stop playing small. Nobody here is selling you fantasy from a stage they haven't stood on in years. We're out there doing it every day. We're a real network that actively evaluates real deals. We're looking at acquisitions that are attainable. $400 grand to a couple million. They're financeable. They're digestible. The kind of deals that someone with a W-2 and a serious mindset can actually close And we're about real results. Members in our community are becoming storage moguls by the day, not someday, now. So remember, you can start for free, advance at your own pace. As soon as you're done watching this video, after you, after you share it, of course, go to storage moguls.ai, storage moguls.ai. But back to you today, because most people who want to buy boat and RV storage facilities are waiting for a listing. Why would you do that? The ones who build real portfolios, Are making this kind of call. Cold calling works in boat and RV for a reason that has nothing to do with the technique. These owners are simply not used to being approached. In self-storage, brokers call constantly. We call constantly. VAs call constantly. Institutional buyers are circling. Owners have been conditioned to deflect. Cold call is background noise. In boat and RV, a lot of mom-and-pop operators have never really. Received serious inquiries, or if they do, it's very rare, few and far between, from professional buyers like us, like Storage Mobiles. They built their facility over years, decades ago. They're proud of it. When someone calls and demonstrates genuine knowledge of their facility and vertical and genuine respect for what they built, that stands out. Not, not exactly because of technique, but because of contrast. But technique is part of it. The opportunity isn't just that you can reach them, it's that a well-executed first call can position you as the only serious buyer this owner has ever spoken with. That relationship advantage is nearly impossible to replicate the next time somebody calls and sounds like a used car salesman or a broker gets involved. Now, before you dial, get the mindset right. This is not a sales call. You're calling to build a relationship. Your goal in this first call is not price, not an LOI, not even a clear signal that they're ready to sell. Your goal is a reason to call back. You want to get permission for a second conversation and that's it. What's their frame? Well, they built something and they care about it and they put years into that facility, blood, sweat, and tears. Last thing they want is to feel like they're being pressured or processed. And want to talk to somebody who understands what they built and respects it. Your edge— you're calling them, showing, demonstrating you understand boat and RV storage. You've done your homework on the market, on the vertical, and what makes these facilities work and their facility. That knowledge expressed with genuine curiosity rather than as a pitch is rare. Most people who call facility owners are either brokers with a generic pitch or Buyers who lead with a number or an invasive, are you ready to sell question, neither of those approaches builds trust. Never ask about price, selling intent, or timelines in the first call. It's a transaction conversation. You're not there yet. You haven't earned it. You're building the relationship that makes the transaction possible, but it's going to be on their terms and their timeline. There's 5 stages in every deal. Every successful first call with a Boat and RV facility owner follows this this kind of arc, this narrative, right? You got your open. Introduce yourself cleanly: name, company, if you have one, reason for calling. In my case, hi, I'm Joe Downs with the Bellrose Group. I've been studying the boat and RV storage market in this area, and I came across your facility. It's you know, and that approach is very clear. It's honest. It's not pushy. And then I can acknowledge something. I want to show them I've done my homework. So hey, I drove. I drove down Route 9, and I saw your facility. It looks really well maintained. I could tell it's been run with care. This has to be specific to their facility. A generic compliment lands as a script. A specific observation lands as credibility. Then you can invite them to participate by asking about their experience, not their intentions. I'd love to hear how you— something like, I'd love to hear how you got into this business and what you've learned about operating this market. How long have you operated here? Most people who've built something from scratch, they want to talk about it. Give them the floor and then listen to them. This is the most important stage and the most underused. Ask follow-up questions. Be curious. Ask them what was the hardest part. What surprised them about the business? How's the market changed since they've been an owner? You're gathering intelligence about their motivations, their timeline, their concerns, all of which shapes how you approach them. If they ever decide to sell, and then you want to close. When you close, ask for a small yes. Would it be okay if I check back with you in a few months? That's a yes most people will give, and that yes keeps the relationship alive without any commitment on their side. Boat and RV facility owners who built their facilities from the ground up have a concern that most buyers never address: What happens? To their baby after they sell it. These aren't passive investors who bought a cash-flowing asset. They built it. They know their tenants by name. They've been solving problems in that facility for 10, 15, 20, 25 years. The idea of selling it to someone who's going to let it decline or just jack up rents irresponsibly or treat their long-term tenants badly, that's an emotional barrier for them. And that might be the reason why they haven't sold it yet. When you introduce it not as a pitch but as context, it reframes the sale from, I'm giving this up, to, I'm transitioning this to someone who's going to run it well, just like I did. And that framing matters. So don't lead with it, though. Introduce it naturally after you've established rapport and they've opened up about their facility. Something like, one thing that matters to a lot of the sellers that we talk to is knowing the facility continues to be well run after the sale. And then let them talk and listen. That sentence addresses their real concern without them having to articulate it, and it'll differentiate you from every other buyer they might ever speak with. 4 common responses. Know what to say before you hear them. You're going to hear them. Number 1, it's not for sale. This is the most common response, and The one most callers treat as a hard stop. It's not. The goal of the first call is not to buy the facility, it's to have a conversation. So you want to redirect the conversational goal with something like, completely understood, and I'm not calling about an immediate sale. I'm just trying to learn about the market from people who know it best, like you. And I could tell what you're running here and how it looks and how it's operated. You've got to be the most knowledgeable in the market. Can I have 10 minutes to pick your brain? That'll go a long way. Here's another one. Why are you calling me? This is actually a door opening. They're asking for context, not brushing you off. Give them a genuine answer. It's because I've been researching the market and your facility came up as one of the most well-run for a long time and just wanted to introduce myself. Be specific and honest. You might also hear, well, what's it worth to you? Well, this is a test. They want to know if you're going to lowball them or if you're serious. The right answer is just be honest. Something like, I can't speak to the value without understanding the facility, and we're just not there yet. You want to redirect that conversation. Show patience. Impatient buyers are a red flag to sellers. You might hear, send me an offer in writing. That's actually another door opening. They're interested enough to want documentation, but they're also using it as a filter. But an offer submitted without understanding the facility is a wasted opportunity. So redirect that conversation as well. Something like, well, I'd love to, but I need to learn a little bit more about your facility so any offer I put together is actually worth your time to look at. They'll respect that. Most boat and RV deals have long lead times. The owner's probably not ready today, the day you're talking to them. They might be ready in a year or 3 years. The operators who build wealth in this vertical are the ones who stay in the relationship with owners long before the deal is available. After the call, send a personal note, not an email with your company logo. Take a minute, write a brief handwritten personal note that references something specific from the conversation. Takes you a couple minutes. It's something nobody does anymore. About 30 days, throw a light touch their way. Maybe it's a brief email or voicemail with something genuinely useful. A market stat, a news item about the boat and RV storage vertical, something that shows you're still paying attention to the market they operate in and thinking of them. With AI today, it's too easy. You know, it's not a sales follow-up though. It's a value-add touchpoint. And maybe at 90 days, call them again. Reference the prior conversation specifically. Ask a follow-up question based on what they told you. If they mentioned that their fall was their busiest season, usually ask how the fall went. Show that you listened and you remembered. Maybe around 6 months, take an assessment. Are you warming up the relationship? Are they moving toward a sale? Have their circumstances changed? Decide whether to continue the cadence or redirect your attention to other high— higher probability relationships. And then maybe annually for a clear— or for the, the ones you've identified that are clear not now situations, call them once a year. Everybody's circumstances changes. You never know, especially if we're talking about older sellers. There's health and family to deal with. It pops up out of nowhere sometimes, or the market. Their energy level for operating. Maybe they're just tired. Be the person who's already in a relationship when that time comes. 3 things you can do. If you do all 3 things consistently, you're going to find deals that no broker or any other competitor finds and no listing service will find as well. One, show respect. Acknowledge what they built. Show genuine curiosity about their experience. Never lead with price or urgency. These owners are local legends in their communities. Treat them like it. Have some patience. The goal of the first call is a second call. The goal of the second call is a third. The deal emerges when they're ready. And when they're ready, well, it may be triggered by health or by a family situation or by a market event, or again, simply by the accumulated weight of years of managing the facility. Maybe Maybe, just maybe, that warming relationship will give them the warm and fuzzies about thinking about selling. Your job is to be the person they think of when that moment arrives. So be consistent. The personal note after the call, the 90-day follow-up, the annual check-in for the hard nos. This isn't rocket science, folks. Rocket science. It's a system. Build it, maintain it. It'll compound over time. All right. Next up, day 17, we shift from finding deals to evaluating them. So we'll dive into reading a boat and RV rent roll and what self-storage investors miss. Specifically, how to read a boat and RV rent roll without making the mistakes that self-storage investors almost always make. Please like and subscribe so you never miss the mindset, mindset shift that turns a cold call into a deal nobody else knew was available. And finally, share this with your network on all your socials. You're putting in the work, don't keep it a secret. And remember, the best boat and RV deals you'll ever find were never listed anywhere. They were found by someone who made a respectful call, listened well, stayed in touch, and was there when the time came. Build that system. And don't forget, for the full cold call framework and deal sourcing toolkit, join the Storage Moguls community for free and then level up at your discretion. StorageMoguls.ai. StorageMoguls.ai. That's where you want to go. Register for free. You can start for free. I don't know how to say that any other way. Level up at your own pace. And if you register soon, you'll get a free GPT that we built ourselves and use. Tomorrow we shift from finding the deal to reading the numbers, starting with the rent roll and why seasonal occupancy patterns look alarming until you understand what you're actually looking at. See you tomorrow.