The commercial real estate deck is stacked in favor of landlords. But multi-unit tenants can get an edge with lease and location management software that provides notifications and easy access to information about lease portfolios.
If you’re looking to eliminate the headaches that go along with managing multiple locations, then it’s time for a purpose-built system designed with your needs in mind. Because the right software will help minimize risk and give you a competitive advantage.
Until recently, corporate tenants, franchisees, and other multi-unit operators selected new sites based on their knowledge of:
• Current and previous sites they occupied
• Sales
• Traffic counts
• Instinct
Now operators supplement and displace old methods with analytics. The analytics allow them to process more data points and eliminate the personal bias that creeps in when stakeholders introduce their preferences and interpretations into the decision-making process.
In his book Measure What Matters, legendary venture capitalist John Doerr says that to meet your objectives and key results (OKRs), you should focus on measuring the same issues throughout the organization.
For a multi-unit operator, one of those issues might be negotiating new lease terms that align with current market conditions.
If you realize at or before renewal that you’re paying above-market rent or an escalator clause in your lease took you past the current asking price, then you need to be armed with data that will help make your case.
Lease and location management software provides the insight you need and the situational awareness to know which renewals are on the horizon. That’s imperative because you don’t want to rush into negotiations without taking time to prepare.
Following John Doerr’s advice to measure what matters, we already established that you need lease and location management software to help you get out in front of renewal options. But what other time-based activities are lurking out there waiting to wreak havoc on your business if you miss them?
Here are a few key business events and notifications you can track with a lease and location management system:
• Notice of Insurance expirations. How often have you forgotten to renew or overlooked our renewal dates?
• Notice of business license, occupational license, or any other municipal license that is coming up for renewal. The fine for missing one of these dates will pay for several years of software licensing fees.
• If your site is a franchise, when is the franchise agreement due for renewal?
• Do you know when equipment warranties expire? You want to take advantage of warranty services while you can. Don’t let the window of opportunity close because you’re unaware of an expiration date.
• Do you have a personal guarantee that is a limited time period or possibly a rolling guarantee? Is it time to negotiate a reduction or termination of your PG based on enterprise assets and brand strength?
• Are there events or any custom elements you would like to add to meet organizational objectives?
In today’s dynamic business environment, it’s critical to leverage your strengths.
It’s a topic frequently addressed by Ed Rensi, former CEO of McDonald’s, who is a proponent of focusing on core competencies.
In the book Inside the Box: The Power of Complementary Branding by Greg Sausaman, Rensi stresses the importance of knowing your limitations and sticking to what you’re good at. He says humility and self-awareness are assets for great operators because they need to recognize what they aren’t good at.
How does this tie into lease and location management software?
Easy — the software becomes your memory and personal assistant. You get a secret weapon that enhances awareness and helps protect from competitive threats. The right system will babysit mundane tasks while you focus on running and growing the business.
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