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franchise clinic
Our panel of experts offers advice on a
range of issues for franchisors
charlie lawson
Charlie Lawson is the
national director of BNI.
Charlie’s expertise is
in generating referral
business through
networking, and his
robert Dick passion is to see
Robert is managing director businesses grow. BNI is a
of Cirrus Tenant Lease franchise business, with
Services, commercial property nearly 15,000 members
consultants, and is responsible across the UK and Ireland.
for the expansion of the Cirrus
brand outside North America.
How can I help my franchisees through difficult
economic times?
The current economic climate affects every franchise business,
and franchisees need all the support they can get to make sure
the phone keeps ringing with customers. The best way to do
My franchisees cannot re-negotiate the quoted rental this is encourage them to get out networking.
rates, even with the economic downturn. What advise
can you give to help them? This can be a challenge however, as many franchisees don’t
Firstly, the commercial property agents who have not been network enough because they either feel it takes them out of
made redundant are going to be the best negotiators. their comfort zone or they have misconceptions about it. You
Secondly, landlords in many markets have lowered their can ease their worries by explaining that there are different
quoted rental rates compared to a year ago. Unfortunately types of networking available depending on what suits them.
few business tenants develop a negotiation strategy, so
ensure you focus on this with your franchisees. Whether you For example, there is ‘casual contact networking’ –
are negotiating a commercial property lease or any other organisations such as the British Chambers of Commerce
contract, there are a some key principles to follow. operate along these lines. Essentially, you go to a networking
event, and all number and types of businesses will be there.
Few prospective tenants look at the negotiation from the Another type of networking is ‘strong contact networking’,
landlords perspective. Who is the landlord, what are the like BNI, which is much more structured. For example,
vacancy rates in their other properties, will they be liable there will only be one person per profession, attendance is
for empty property rates, what are their chances of renting expected, and you would be expected to contribute in terms
the premises if you don’t take it and, more importantly, why of opportunities to do business.
would you be a good tenant for the landlord to have?
Whatever type of networking is right for your franchisees – insist
Headline rent is important to the tenant, and it’s usually the they go out and do it. My suggestion would be to encourage
most important aspect to the landlord. So consider other them to visit their local BNI group – it will give them a chance to
points that are going to be of real value to the tenant that promote their business and see if it would work for them and
the landlord is now prepared to let you have? their business.
Now is the time to be creative in how you structure your Networking is all about building relationships – it is often the
offer. Make an offer on the rental being asked and for an case that the person you are networking with won’t be the
extended rent-free period, but also think about alternative person you end up doing business with, instead it is someone
rent reviews (not just upward rent reviews typical in that they know who will become your next best client.
commercial leases), monthly rather than quarterly in advance
payments, capping service charges and landlord’s costs, and Remember: never stop networking – or you’ll soon be
lease breaks. not working!
32 | www.franchisornews.co.uk
FN_PG32-33_FRANCHISE CLINIC_wint09 al1.indd 2 21/09/2009 19:13
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