Franchising is much like a buffet: There is always a great deal on the menu, from the salad bar to the dessert table. With franchising you get the brand name, instant recognition and company support. In a nutshell, you get yourself a viable business.

For these reasons, and others, franchising appeals to many hungry entrepreneurs and has a great deal going for it - but you don’t always get it all!

Whether you are looking at a franchised coffee shop, a restaurant or a children’s clothing store, you can easily contact any franchisors of your choice. They will accommodate you with ample marketing material relating to the company and the business concept.

The franchisor will walk you through the entire process and readily answer all of your questions. The franchisor will be available before, during and after your franchise purchase to lend support with site selection, branding, promotion, training, staffing and ensuring name recognition.

There is one area, however, where many franchisors fall short - this is the commercial lease (site selection and negotiating). There are various reasons for this. While franchisees are often offered intensive training prior to opening up shop, there is simply not enough time to cover everything involved. The several days or weeks allotted can pass by quickly; real estate and leasing gets cheated.

Often, franchisors lack home office personnel - specifically, real estate and/or leasing specialists. Your initial contact with the company may send you marketing material plus be involved with your training process. This leads to yet another reason - cost.

It can be expensive to hire a lease specialist or to outsource this task. You may be asked to pay a higher franchise fee to cover the additional salary. My best advice? When it comes to contacting a franchisor of interest, always ask how much help and support you will get with real estate and the lease.

Undoubtedly, the commercial lease plays a vital role in the franchisee’s business success or failure. Many elements including the term (or length of the lease), the rental rate and tenant inducements are outlined within a commercial lease.

What a tenant agrees to in the lease has a direct and dramatic impact on his/her bottom line. While there are many costs associated with doing business, it is far better to save on your rental payments than to pay your landlord from the venture.

But wading through and understanding the lease document can be challenging and often intimidating. This is little surprise as a commercial lease often extends to 50 - 60 pages in length, complete with plenty of complicated real estate jargon.

The lease terms and the lease language typically favor the landlord, I often explain. As founder of The Lease Coach, a Certified Commercial Lease Consultant, and best-selling author of Negotiate Your Commercial Lease, I often educate a commercial tenant as to his/her rights and obligations.

Commercial tenants, franchisees or otherwise, far too often ignore or accept the terms as-written. Since new and/or existing franchisees may only go through the leasing process once or twice in their lifetime, negotiating a good retail lease or renewal can be challenging.

With little or no background experience in this area, it is little wonder why a franchisee would find this entire process daunting. At the other end of the spectrum, real estate agents and landlords negotiate leases regularly; this means they are vastly more experienced at the negotiating process.

Take your time with the leasing process and opening your business. Any potential retailer will be eager to open up just prior to Christmas to reap the profits. Avoid the temptation to sign the lease too early.

Just because you secure space in a busy shopping mall, your location may not be advantageous for business. You may be located on the second level with less pedestrian traffic, or parking may be a nightmare. The best thing to do, in this case, is to bide your time and wait until a better spot becomes available.

I recall one of my clients, a master franchisee, who remained patient during the site selection process. I have seen so many entrepreneurs eagerly jump at the first space. Would you step off a curb without looking? This individual played it smart and took almost a full year to decide on his first location plus kept his day job during the search.

Setting up a business involves far more than just opening your doors. You must plan. You must prepare. You must have visibility, good access and ample parking. You’ve certainly heard the old adage of "location, location, location" in regards to your business success. Consider the impact of that location both initially and in the long term. You will likely be remaining in this location for the duration of your franchise agreement. Is this truly the best spot? Can you find better?

Savvy franchisees should do more than take their time. There are many more ways to turn the tables on a landlord and to negotiate a lease in your favour. The following are just a few tips from my 15-plus years of coaching and consulting experience:

Negotiate to Win: All too frequently, franchisees enter into lease negotiations unprepared and do not even try to win. With possible high commissions at stake, a franchisee can be sure the landlord’s agent is negotiating to profit the most. Remember, it is okay to negotiate aggressively.

Be Prepared to Walk Away: Franchisees should set emotions aside and make objective decisions. The party that needs to make the lease deal the most will give up more concessions. A good franchise in a poor location will become a poor business. Do not let the landlord or his/her agent pressure you into an area you will later regret.

Measure Your Space: Franchisees frequently pay rent on phantom space. That is, they are paying their rent per square foot; however, they are often not receiving as much space as the lease agreement states.

Ask the Right Questions: Gathering information, such as what other tenants are paying for rent, what incentives they are paying and asking the right questions will position you to get a better deal. Consider that the landlord and his/her agent knows what every other tenant in the property is paying for rent. You must do your homework too.

Determine Your Bargaining Strength: With respect to negotiating a new lease or renewal, several factors can determine your bargaining strength. These include the overall vacancy rate of the building and recent tenant turnover. Also, your business size, in relation to the entire property, is relevant. It is not whether you occupy 1,000 or 5,000 square feet, but what percentage of the building you represent that counts.

In theory, franchisees should get a better deal than independents (based on the proven track record of the franchise). However, this is not always the case. Your own business history is also important, as is the nature of the business. While hair salons are plentiful, pet stores are not, for example. Therefore, a pet store should command more favourable lease terms.

Who Should Be the Tenant? Never enter into a lease agreement (or an Offer to Lease) under your personal name. This will make you personally liable for everything. Instead, form a corporation or holding company that will become the tenant. Additionally, if you are negotiating on a location, but don’t intend to incorporate until a later date, then the Offer to Lease should state the tenant is "Your own name on behalf of a company to be incorporated."

Use the Franchise Advantage: By joining a franchise system, lower rents should await you. A good franchisor potentially can get you a much better lease deal, with more incentives, than most independents can on their own. However, a franchisor hungry to sell you a store, or one who is using a landlord-paid broker to negotiate for you, may not be doing you any favours.