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by Member Experience on March 30, 2018
Over time, we have learned from advisors who work with business owners in exit planning that education is the strongest service we can provide. Certainly, it’s an important first step, but throughout the entire process, we are educating owners on how to build value into both their business and personal lives as well as their personal financial plans. Education is the key to triggering owner action.
According to the 2017 State of Owners Readiness research, we have found two critical trends emerge more noticeable than ever before. First, when owners were asked, “Who is your most trusted advisors?” most agreed it was their own peers, other business owners. Second, we found that face-to-face/peer-to-peer group learning was one of the most highly recommended ways of learning for business owners.
In today’s marketing world there are many techniques and tactics used to engage the business owner. As we see the baby boomers transition through the next 5 – 10 years, preparing business owners becomes more crucial for advisors and CEPAs. The question then becomes, how do I most effectively and efficiently educate business owners so that I can begin to work with them and engage them in transition planning?
The strategy must be executed using multiple tactics to successfully lead the owner down this path. However, once you get the owner interested, what immediate value are you offering?
How does the owner get comfortable with you? How does the owner learn more about what it means to exit? The owner certainly isn’t going to get that from an email campaign, a whitepaper they downloaded from you, or even a podcast they may have listened to. These are great first steps, but what you now need is an empowerment strategy.
On Monday, January 22, EPI launched the Owner Engagement Program. The program is all about owner education through peer-to-peer facilitated group conversation around Value Acceleration. This program debuted with eight CEPAs and the first two, Jim Bartlett, a partner with B2B CFO and Amy Wirtz, a family business consultant with Family & Business Success, coming to the Owner Engagement Discover Day Training at the EPI home offices in Cleveland, Ohio.
The goal is to further advance owner education around actively planning for their exit while utilizing the techniques and approach owners would like. By placing an expert, a CEPA, into the equation, it helps facilitate a productive conversation.
About Exit Planning Institute:
The Exit Planning Institute (EPI) is an education company that provides exit planning education to advisors and middle market business owners. We view exit planning as a strategy, not an event.
EPI leads the professional services profession with the best industry content, ongoing support, and owner education platform, all of which align with our mission: Change the outcome.
Only 2 out of every 10 businesses that come to market actually sell. We want to increase the number of saleable businesses.
Only 30% of family businesses successfully transition to the second generation, only 12% transfer to the third, and the success rates diminish from there. We want to improve those intergenerational transitions.
Of those that succeed in the sale of their business, 75% experience “profound regret” within one year of exiting their business. We want to understand why and create strategies that achieve profound success, wealth, and satisfaction.
EPI is an education company, powered by an elite community of top advisors and owners, all focused toward creating a valuable, transferable future for the business marketplace.
- Change your outcome. Learn more at www.Exit-Planning-Institute.org.
- Educate business owners. Learn more at www.OwnerReadiness.com.
- Become the Advisor of the Future. Learn more at www.EarnCEPA.com.
