As the leading innovators in the Exit Planning space, the BEI team talks daily to hundreds of advisors across the globe about their experiences with Exit Planning. More specifically, we talk to professionals in a variety of disciplines who are on the fence: sharing their aversions and hesitations about adding Exit Planning to their existing offerings. In digging deeper and monitoring these uncertainties about Exit Planning work, there are common responses that are typically along the lines of one of the following: “I can’t seem to get clients engaged or interested.” “I don’t have the bandwidth to do this myself or the staff available to assist with it.” “I don’t have much Exit Planning knowledge and don’t know what my training options are.” While each advisor has their reasons for concern, we feel it’s our duty to challenge them and knock down the roadblocks of reluctance with proof that Exit Planning can actually elevate an advisor’s existing offerings and broaden their reach. Addressing the Roadblocks Lack of Clients and Client Interest Half the battle of Exit Planning work is convincing your owner clients of the importance of planning for their future. Just as you might be hesitant to add Exit Planning to your core services, they are hesitant to admit they should start thinking long-term. The fact is that 100% of business owners will exit their business, whether they planned for it or not. Another fact that will be supported with statistics in the 2022 BEI Business Owner Survey (coming soon!) is that business owners are considering Exit Planning earlier in their ownership cycle than ever before. Not only does this mean that the demographic audience available to you is expanding, but the ways in which you can reach them are changing too. The key is to not throw in the towel too early in the process of seeking clients. Putting in the work to market your service as an effective solution to the problem that owners may or may not know they have might take some time. Some effective ways that BEI Members have found success have been utilizing their BEI license to enact automated e-newsletters, using assessment tools for discovery, installing a referral strategy and leaning into social media for outreach. Lack of Time & Bandwidth The truth about time is that everyone wishes they had more of it. Just as you may be worried about the lack of time you have to add this service to your offerings, your clients stand by the idea that they don’t have enough time to plan. As their advisor, it is your job to acknowledge and articulate to them the dangers of not planning. By waiting, your client may not build enough business value to sell for their desired amount, they might neglect training next-level management, or some unforeseen death or injury might occur. Both you and the business owner will appreciate putting the time in beforehand versus wishing you had made more of a plan once the transition event happens. After all, the role of an Exit Planning Advisor is to optimize the business owner’s time based on their goals, which in turn, will help to prioritize your own time. From our perspective, there are two solutions that ease time and bandwidth challenges: adopting a repeatable process and connecting with a network of professionals. BEI Advisors adhere to the Seven Step Exit Planning Process and have found value in being able to repeat proven steps with their clients from identifying exit goals to business continuity planning and more. In addition, gaining access to the BEI Network allows for collaboration between advisors across different disciplines to share expertise and strategies. Lack of Exit Planning Knowledge & Training Lack of knowledge and training typically falls back on having a shortage of time. However, it’s worth repeating that putting the time in will lead to more clients and more profitability in the long run. It’s easy to use inexperience as an excuse to tack on one more thing to your list. But, having a solid understanding of what options are available when it comes to Exit Planning training can determine how to fit it into your schedule. As far as BEI training goes, there are two paths to obtaining the Certified Exit Planner (CExP) designation, the industry’s highest certification to perform Exit Planning services: either beginning with one of three BEI Licenses and then doing the series of courses, or beginning with the series of three courses. To learn more about each path’s pricing, download the info sheet below.
