Gain Clarify on a Misunderstood Role With:
Demystifying the Role of the
Exit Planning Quarterback
Course Overview
At the center of every successful business transition is the Exit Planning Quarterback, the advisor who leads, coordinates, and drives the process forward. Demystifying the Role of the Exit Planning Quarterback dives into this pivotal role, helping you understand what it truly takes to quarterback complex exit planning projects with skill and confidence.
Whether you’re just stepping into exit planning or looking to sharpen your leadership edge, this course equips you with practical strategies to lead advisor teams, align with business owner goals, and bring clarity to complex transitions. You’ll learn how to build consensus around the quarterback role, articulate its value clearly, and set realistic expectations for success.
Led by Sean Hutchinson, a Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA®) who deeply understands the complexities of exit planning from both an advisor and family business perspective. With over 25 years of experience, Sean has founded five companies, served on the boards of several private firms including his family’s 67-year-old manufacturing business.
Attendees will gain further knowledge on:
- Build Consensus and Momentum Around the Role of the Quarterback
- Understand Better the Necessary Skills to Quarterback a Transition Planning Project Well
- Consider a QB “Job Description” and Why It Requires a Range of Skills to Fulfill
- Describe the QB Role to Owners in Ways That Demonstrate Clear Value for Which You Should Be Compensated
- Set Performance Metrics So We Can Make a Personal/Professional Decision About Whether We Want to or Can Be the QB
Course Details
EPI Academy Brochure
For more details on this course, and other EPI Academy courses, download the brochure.
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Course Curriculum:
MODULE ONE:
Introduction
- Understand why clarifying the QB role matters.
- Recognize the leadership value of a well-defined Exit Planning Quarterback in the transition planning process.
MODULE TWO:
The Inter-Disciplinary Team Approach
- Understand the Three Legs of the Stool and Value Maturity Index to support owner readiness and business growth.
- Explore the QB’s leadership role and assess your own readiness to guide collaborative exit planning teams.
MODULE THREE:
Five Key Observations
- Recognize common misconceptions about the QB role and the critical importance of role clarity.
- Evaluate the characteristics of an effective QB based on real-world observations.
MODULE FOUR:
What Is the QB’s “Value Add?”
- Identify the three core criteria for value-added activities from the client’s point of view.
- Understand how to communicate and deliver measurable value that clients are willing to pay for.
MODULE FIVE:
Six Quarterbacking Scenarios
- Identify common QB challenges like unclear roles, owner stress, communication gaps, advisor misalignment and learn to lead with clarity and accountability.
- Build the required skills to manage conflict, strengthen team culture, realign scope, and maintain transition momentum in complex situations.
MODULE SIX:
The QB Scope of Work
- Learn to align QB's service offerings with client goals by creating clear proposals that outline steps, roles, deliverables, and communication.
- Understand key factors affecting QB pricing and intensity, such as project complexity, team size, and engagement stage.
MODULE SEVEN:
QB Skillsets
- Distinguish between Intellectual (IQ), Emotional (EQ), and Executional (XQ) Intelligence in the QB role.
- Understand how these three forms of intelligence can support leadership in complex advisory teams.
MODULE EIGHT:
Conclusion
- Reflect on your personal strengths and weaknesses in the QB role.
- Create an actionable development plan based on your self-assessment results for continuous improvement.
BE THE QB YOUR CLIENT NEEDS
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Meet Your Instructor
Sean Hutchinson is a partner at Ready for Next, a value growth consulting firm that helps business owners in the U.S. and Canada increase enterprise value, prepare for transition, and harvest that value to fund their next chapter. With a strategic, process-driven approach, Sean guides middle-market owners through complex business transitions using RFN’s Value Accelerator methodology.
Sean brings decades of leadership and real-world insight to the table. A third-generation heir to his family’s manufacturing business, he understands firsthand the personal, emotional, and financial challenges of succession and ownership change. His grounded perspective is shaped by lived experience and it shows in how he works with clients and fellow advisors.
One of the first 100 Certified Exit Planning Advisors (CEPA®) in the profession, Sean has served as CEPA faculty since 2014. He has been recognized as Exit Planner of the Year, Leader of the Year, and was inducted into the CEPA Hall of Fame in 2024. He also holds the Certified Merger and Acquisition Advisor (CMAA) designation and has served on the boards of five private companies.
In this course, Sean helps advisors cut through the noise and define what it really means to lead as the Exit Planning Quarterback. With clarity, humility, and a structured approach, he equips learners to bring order to chaos, build trust across teams, and drive real value for business owners.