Small business owners are searching hard for ways to cut expenses and successful lease renegotiations are a great way to accomplish that.

The following service level packages have been well-received by clients for both their variety as well as low-cost. The following is from an upcoming press release:

In this lingering down economy, Silent Partner Negotiators continues working with small business clients to help renegotiate existing and renewing commercial leases.

“We offer a wide range of services depending on our clients’ needs,” says

pro·ac·tive  [proh-ak-tiv] - adjective

Business definition:  Preventative action and result-oriented behavior.    Not waiting for things to happen and then trying to adjust reactively to them.   Proactive behavior identifies and utilizes opportunities and/or takes anticipatory action against potential issues and problems.

There are two sides to proactivity.

Most people have.   The gut instinct is that everything there is “boiler-plate” standard stuff that everyone just agrees to as the norm.

You just want the car because you’ve already been at the dealership haggling for 4 hours or more trying to cut through the salesmanship to get to a final deal.   ...

How can your successful business take advantage of current lower lease rates in many parts of the country if you’re presently locked into a lease?

In its simplest form, Blend and Extend in commercial real estate is the concept of renegotiating with your landlord to trade lower rates now for a longer term.   It can also be used to renegotiate other terms such as improvements, NNN and CAM fees or lease clauses that you wished you had been more diligent about when ...

Having a hard time navigating the lease terminology?

Triple Net, CAM, Modified Gross, Industrial Gross, Full-Service, Single or Double Net, Percentage Lease.

What do they all mean?  Unfortunately, they can mean different things to different landlords.   Though somewhat standardized, it doesn’t matter what a lease is called, but rather the terms it contains.

So sorry, but you should actually READ it.   Even then, understanding it can be difficult.   Don’t think ...

If you could renegotiate your lease, why wouldn’t you try?

This point comes up frequently when discussing renegotiation of an existing lease with prospective clients.

The inclination is for people to be leery or skeptical.   How could this work?  The concept seems too simple.  

The reason for that, I believe, is that even though the idea of lease renegotiation is not new, it has typically been something ancillary to another ...

Is your commercial (retail, industrial or office) lease coming up for renewal or expiring in 18 months or less?  If yes, it is time to act.

Use your good tenancy record as leverage to drive down one of your company’s largest fixed expenses NOW as a part of the negotiation for the upcoming renewal.

[NOTE:  If you have “options” in your lease contract that spell out what the lease payment is going to be, this ...

• Leases are drawn up by and for the benefit of the lessor.
• Lease clauses can be negotiable, particularly by a strong prospect lessee in this down market.
• Pre-signing lease negotiation can save money not only in the beginning, but more importantly as the years go by.
• Annual lease percentage increases that seem small ...

Whether you use our free Professional Guide to Lease Renegotiation, or our Full-Service Contingency, the time to work on your lease renegotiation is now.

Unfortunately, the economy is still sputtering.  Even with signs of improvement in the employment figures, it will not come roaring back.  It is going to take several years – if ever – to regain the levels reached in 2005/2006.

But you can do something proactive to improve your bottom line now.  No matter when you negotiated and signed your lease or latest renewal, if your business is suffering then you need to work to make adjustments now.

As one commercial property owner recently put it: 

“Though we wouldn't broadcast it, most owners I know would rather renegotiate an existing mid-term lease than risk losing a good tenant, especially now." 

What they want to avoid is vacancy.  Not only does that cost money in down time, the more vacancy, the farther down the rates will come anyhow.  It just makes sense that they do what is necessary to hold on to good tenants like you.

There are exceptions to this where the location is highly desirable and the traffic flow is always good.  But for every one of those properties, there are many more where traffic and business are still way off, where vacancies are high and where rates are dropping.

Most of the news focus is on small business retail, but the same is true for small business services working out of leased office space.  And for many offices, location is not as important as it is for retail.  So your negotiation advantage can be even greater.

Mid-term negotiations do not work all of the time.  Not just for the above-noted reasons of location and traffic, but because all owners are individuals and therefore don’t react with 100% predictability.

But statistically, the majority of renegotiations will result in savings and/or better terms.  And if the renegotiation is properly done, the worst result is simply a “no”.

So what do you have to gain in trying?

Possibly saving thousands of dollars over the remainder of your lease term, that’s all.

PLEASE - DON'T JUST ASK YOUR LANDLORD "IF" THEY CAN REDUCE YOUR PAYMENT.

Create a compelling, fact-based proposal letter and increase your opportunity for big savings.
Take the time to do it right on the first try - you'll be glad you did.

Renegotiation of a current or renewing lease can take time.   From several weeks on the short side to several months with back and forth negotiations.

For that reason, it is best to start the process sooner rather than later.

Silent Partner Negotiators now offers our free Professional Guide to Lease Renegotiation.

This guide goes through the basics of how we research and produce the opening letter for ...

PROBLEM:  The economy has rendered many current leases over-market and unsustainable.

DILEMMA:  You are doing everything you can to run your business correctly and efficiently.

SOLUTION:  Silent Partner Negotiators renegotiates you lease to reflect this reality and to help your business survive and succeed.

As an entrepreneur, part of the allure of owning your own business is the excitement of knowing that being successful or not depends fundamentally in the wisdom of the decisions you make.

When things start to go off-track, you make ...

What’s in a name?

In the case of Silent Partner Negotiators, it means more of your money saved.

Through testing, we have found much greater success for our clients when the other side of a negotiation is not aware that we’re involved.

That’s why we work as your Silent Partner.

Take our specialty – lease renegotiation – as an example.

You need to reduce your lease ...

What if someone you trusted offered you a deal.

If they convinced a company that you’re already doing business with to give you $1,000.00 and the only condition would be that when the money was in your hand, you would give them $200.00 for successfully achieving that – what should your first question be?

Hopefully you said:  “HOW OFTEN CAN I GET THAT DEAL!?!”

The answer: Monthly.

Renegotiate your current lease correctly, and you could save your business 15% - 47%, or more.

 We can do it for you with NO upfront costs.

Our contingency is just a small % of what you save, only when you save it.

Great; you’re ...

Learn, work and strive to be –

pro·ac·tive  [proh-ak-tiv] - adjective

Business definition:  Preventative action and result-oriented behavior.    Not waiting for things to happen and then trying to adjust reactively to them.   Proactive behavior identifies and utilizes opportunities and/or takes anticipatory action against potential issues and problems. ...

Silent Partner Negotiators is dedicated to helping the small business owner (Lessee) negotiate and renegotiate their fixed expenses (primarily leases) in order to reduce costs and improve their bottom line.

In many instances, this negotiation can be the difference between a small business surviving or not, particularly in this lingering down economy.

On the surface, it would appear that Silent Partner Negotiators is adversarial to the Lessor.   After all, we are working with the Lessee to ...

Lease language, particularly for those encountering it for the first time, can be confusing to understand.

Are you a small business person looking to open a brick and mortar location (business-speak for a physical store)?  A warehouse or industrial building to store or manufacture goods?  An office for your service business?

If so, you are likely to be signing a lease to rent that space for a given period of ...

Ever write a business letter or email, send it and then immediately begin to wonder if it will be read as what you really intended to say?

• Did it communicate your point in a succinct and compelling fashion? 
• Will the words, without vocal inflection, convey the tone and meaning that was in your mind as you wrote it for the recipient(s)?
• Was it a reaction piece to something you received that might have been better said?
• If you ...

1 - Never start where you hope to end unless you’re 100% certain you hold all the cards.

2 - Never make the mistake of thinking you hold all the cards.

3 - Do not ask open-ended questions like:  “Could you reduce my rent?”

4 - Your first shot is your best.   Take the time to study your “opponent” and learn what you can about their possible motivations and pressure points.

5 - If you ...

Did something just hit your desk that has put you into panic mode?  Chances are that it may feel bigger at the moment than is really is.

Click on the S.O.S. button, fill out the contact form labeled "Schedule a Call" down the page on the right side and check the“S.O.S.” box.

Within 60 minutes*, we will contact you to either set up a convenient time ...

1)  Do you have a project that needs someone to follow through and make certain all the people involved are getting things done in a timely manner?

2)  Are you spending too much time as a business owner tending to this yourself? 

3)  Do these projects come up intermittently where hiring a full-time person for it is impractical or unaffordable?

Silent Partner Negotiators can handle the personal interaction and interfacing with outside representatives to keep ...

The obvious way to do this is to sell more product or service.

But another, very effective way is to cut your expenses.

The best of course would be to do both.

But let’s concentrate on the expense cutting.   If you are paying “X” for something every month and are able to change that to “(2/3) X”, those savings go right to your bottom line.

To put that in perspective, say you’re selling a ...

Mediate, don’t litigate.   That’s not a new concept.   Many articles and books have been written on the subject.

The bottom line is that avoiding litigation can mean avoiding a lot of time, money and angst when trying to get a problem resolved.   It also can avoid a judgment against the defendant that could affect credit ratings.

The main difference in litigation and mediation is in who determines the outcome.  

In civil litigation, you and your lawyer(s) ...

Housing prices have been falling for the past five years.   Commercial sales normally lag behind that trend and fall a year or more after residential.    

What about small business lease rates?    

From the height of the market in early 2006, when my modest CA home saw a same-street comp at $720,000.00, the current value of that home is ...

Pragmatism - (prăg'mə-tĭz'əm) n.

“A practical, matter-of-fact way of approaching or assessing situations or of solving problems.”*

Optimism –