For many commercial tenants, negotiating a good lease or lease renewal against an experienced agent or landlord can be a challenge. While an entrepreneur focuses on marketing and managing his own business, savvy real estate agents and brokers are specialized sales people. Their job is to sell tenants on leasing their location at the highest possible rental rate.

Tenants may go through the leasing process only two or three times in their entire lifetime — yet they have to negotiate against seasoned professionals who negotiate leases every day for a living. Negotiating appropriate leasing terms is vital for a commercial tenant as the amount of rent he or she pays will directly affect the entrepreneur’s financial bottom line.

Whether you are leasing a new for the first time or negotiating a lease renewal for your business, here are some tips:

Get a document review

Commercial tenants often sign their lease documents without a proper review. The Lease Coach offers a complete 39-point lease inspection with a written review and a one-hour consultation for under $1,000.

This is a good investment for your business. A lawyer may point out a potentially harmful clause in a lease agreement (something written in the landlord’s favor …); however, The Lease Coach offers solid negotiating strategies to help the tenant modify — or completely remove those clauses.

Measure your commercial space

Most entrepreneurs lease commercial space and pay rent per square foot. Your commercial space, however, may have never been properly measured and you are paying more than you should be for Phantom Space (or space which doesn’t exist).

Measurement discrepancies are common so make sure that you have your area verified. This not only affects your base/minimum rent but also your Common Area Maintenance (Operating/CAM costs).