Each day, business owners are entrenched in the financials and operations of their business. The future feels distant compared to the issues and successes they encounter every day. Owners understand that, eventually, they will need to exit. Despite this, internal research from the Exit Planning Institute® (EPI) shows that 78% of owners still have no formal transition team.
According to Micah Brandenburg, founder and president of Legendary Exits, it’s crucial for advisors to understand that this isn’t about apathy or procrastination—it’s about clarity and vision.
“Owners need a radically compelling vision of the future,” Micah says. “One that is so vivid they can see, taste, and want it! Owners find a lot of their identity in owning the business—they need to see themselves with as much clarity in the next chapter of their life or they’ll never take action.”
At Legendary Exits, Micah and his team call these owners “Legends in Transition”—business owners within five years of stepping into what’s next who are done putting it off and determined to make the most of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If the owner is working with an advisory team, it is crucial that the team approaches it on a personal level, with an owner focus rather than a transaction focus. Bringing in a Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA®) who has in-depth knowledge of the personal planning process and the Value Acceleration Methodology™ can reduce the risk of becoming too transactional.
Micah and the team at Legendary Exits see themselves as “Exit Architects”—professionals who help business owners design a future they feel compelled to move toward. They’ve developed a methodology that pivots away from the transaction and toward the next chapter of the owner’s life.
“Once we’ve defined their vision for the future, we bring it back to the present tense and say, ‘Hey, what’s keeping you from living that life now?’” he says. “One of our concepts is ‘paying twice.’ The same things that are causing stress in the business and lower profits now, are the same things that will drive down your price and terms later—that’s paying twice.”
Working with a CEPA to address those problems when they first present—rather than at the moment of exit—creates what Legendary Exits calls “Total Alignment”: bridging life, money, and business goals into a cohesive plan. The team has also created conversation scripts to help advisors guide these discussions, helping owners define what they’re moving toward, not just away from.
Following the Value Acceleration Methodology naturally embeds the CEPA throughout the business owner’s advisory team, positioning them as not only the exit planning concierge, but also the orchestrator of key conversations. “Exit planning starts and lives in the client conversation,” according to Micah.
The conversations both in the Value Acceleration Methodology and Legendary Exits provided scripts are designed specifically to inspire owners to take action, but the CEPA must own the conversation.
“If you’re not talking about it, it’s never going to happen,” Micah says.
A CEPA can be any type of advisor, whether M&A, an attorney, a financial advisor, a consultant, or other, but above all else, they must be the conversation leader. They must act as the touchpoint for the owner and really know them beyond their business and financial goals. You do not have to be an expert in every gate of the Value Acceleration Methodology, but you do need to be able to connect owners to the professionals and advisor types they need to achieve their desired exit.
To make this process tangible, the team starts by developing an Exit Strategy. They answer eight key questions with the owner over the course of three to six months to show them where they are today, define where they want to go, and craft a plan to bridge the gap. The first three questions of eight act as an opening engagement over 6 weeks. They value, benchmark, perform a readiness assessment, and customize the client’s Legendary Exit Blueprint.
At EPI, Chairman Christopher Snider has created the Triggering Event through the Value Acceleration Methodology – this calls on the owner to value their business, assess their own needs, and create a prioritized action plan. This all happens in the Discover gate of the Value Acceleration Methodology.
Through these processes, CEPAs can piece out the plan with their business owner clients, and take what can be a daunting process into something a little less overwhelming. Chunking it out in weeks solidifies it further, according to Legendary Exits Partnerships Manager Elise Brandenburg.
“By just having that initial six weeks, it feels less overwhelming and more concrete to an owner,” she says.
“Every wealth advisor who wants to get their owners to do exit planning has to lead boldly through conversation,” Micah says. “Every time you meet with your client throughout the year, you need to have strategic questions to uncover their vision for the future. Not golf or skiing, but deep questions about their identity, purpose, and how that will work its way out into their average Tuesday (including tee-times). When the future is vivid, owners will take the steps to get there.
When owners gain clarity, they take action. When they take action, opportunities emerge—for deeper client relationships, expanded engagements, and ultimately, helping owners step into what Legendary Exits calls “abundant lives”: exits on their own terms, lived with intention, impact, and purpose.
Your business owner clients are standing at the edge of a once-in-a-lifetime transition. With the right methodology and the right partners, you don’t need all the answers. You just need to step into your role and Lead like a Legend.