Exit planning...A Hot Topic

Why is Exit Planning such a hot topic? I could certainly can go on and on with an answer. Instead, let me tell you what our member's have to say. Many say exit planning is so hot because it is such a unique commodity. By offering this service, advisors can differentiate themselves from their competition. In addition, exit planning traditionally provides higher fees per client, making it a very attractive service to offer. Most of all, the topic is engaging because it puts the advisor in a strategic, holistic, and comprehensive position with the business owner client, making them the 'trusted advisor'.

Why Pinnacle Equity Solutions? Simply put, our attendees and Members tell us that we are the premier provider of comprehensive training and education. Our marketing and educational materials make this complex topic simple to understand and our system for delivering this conversation and solutions empowers advisors to incorporate it in their businesses immediately. Case in point is the book, "Exiting Your Business, Protecting Your Wealth" which has been met with praise and which puts all of this content into a system that our Members are telling us empowers them to follow the step-by-step approach to incorporating exit planning into their practices.

Advisors are ordering this book in bulk to distribute to their business owner clients and prospects. In fact, one firm has made this book 'required reading' for all of its employees. Through the course of 15 chapters you are walked from beginning to end on how to incorporate this system into your business. The bottom line is that you need to have confidence to be in this business and we give you the tools, education, and support to achieve that confidence right away.

I will give away one BIG secret from the workshop that will seem like an uneventful fact, but a very powerful realization for those who attend the workshop and go back to their business owner with this idea. The secret is not a grand revelation and it does not have anything to do with the technical aspects of exit planning. In fact, the secret can be masked by its simplicity - here it is - if you have the confidence to ask the business owner 'what they want' in the context of a business exit, they will invariably open up to the conversation and share their world with you. Now, you need to have some preparation to answer this question. But, the truth behind this secret is that advisors get very caught up in not looking bad in front of their client. Therefore, they fail to ask this question and revert to offering the same services that they have been offering in the past.

I have written in many prior e-mails about the potential to explode your business forward. This simple awareness of discovering what the business owner wants, and being empowered to have a powerful conversation on the basics of exit planning, is the magic behind the implementation of this focus into your practice. Truth be told, it simply takes advisors realizing that this is a simple but very powerful question to ask. In essence, a part of the workshop is helping advisors eliminate all of the 'internal' objections to asking such a simple question, and gets them focused on providing solutions to an owner's largest asset, their privately-held business. So, I am not saying that asking this question is simple, but with the right information and tools to carry the conversation, it opens doors like no other question available to a would-be trusted advisor.

This week's topic therefore is a bit of a commercial for exit strategy planning and for Pinnacle's delivery system. However, if you have been reading along over the past months (or years) you will know that I seek only to empower those to deliver this vital message to the millions of owners who need to hear it from the people that they trust - their professional advisors.

"There is still time to get in the game" is what the 30 advisors we had in training last week were thinking. If you are thinking the same thing, you should plan on attending our next training workshop scheduled for March in Las Vegas - more details to follow.

And, as always, if you need any questions answered, do not hesitate to contact the office.

Specializing in Business Exit Strategies, John M. Leonetti, Esq., M.S. Finance, CM&AA founded Pinnacle Equity Solutions to provide exit strategy planning services to business owners as well as education and training programs for professional advisors. To learn more about John's Exit Strategy Services and his recently published book, "Exiting Your Business, Protecting Your Wealth", visit ExitingYourBusiness.com