One of the biggest challenges Certified Exit Planning Advisors (CEPA®) face is maintaining relationships with business owners throughout their journey, not just when they’re ready to plan an exit. Many founders aren’t actively thinking about exit strategies early on, and by the time they do, they may have already engaged with another advisor. So, how can CEPAs stay top of mind, provide ongoing value, and build trust long before a founder is ready to sell?
The answer is to establish a structured relationship funnel. This allows continual engagement with business owners at every stage by offering relevant insights and practical tools early and often. Here’s how to build a stronger, more effective relationship funnel that ensures you’re positioned as a trusted advisor long before the exit conversation begins.
Open Conversations Beyond the Exit
Many business owners hesitate to engage with exit planners because they feel it’s too early in their business journey. That’s why the best approach isn’t to sell exit planning, but to sell growth and readiness. Instead of focusing on the long-term exit, start by offering strategic insights that help owners improve their businesses today. Some key ways to do this include:
- Providing a free assessment that helps business owners identify operational gaps
- Offering business health check-ins with simple frameworks for growth
- Educating owners on building transferable value long before they need to exit
Leading with value rather than a sales pitch establishes trust and opens the door for future engagement, without overwhelming the business owner.
Nurture Business Owners Through Every Stage of Growth
Once you’ve begun the conversation, the next step is staying in contact over time. One of the biggest mistakes CEPAs make is only reaching out when a founder is close to exiting. Instead, position yourself as a long-term business partner by helping them implement best practices throughout their growth journey.
Ways to do this include:
- Guiding them through quarterly goal setting to ensure they’re building a more structured, scalable business
- Helping them think thought process documentation and organizational structure so they can reduce owner dependency and improve efficiency
- Providing accountability and insights as they work toward long-term financial and operational stability
The more value you provide along the way, the more likely business owners will see you as an essential advisor, not just when they’re exiting, but in every stage of development.
Strengthen Your Relationships With Technology
Many CEPAs struggle to stay engaged with their client base because they lack a structured way to track progress or consistently stay in touch. This is where business operating systems (BOSs) and growth platforms can make a significant impact.
Leverage a tool that allows you to:
- See which business owners are actively improving their operations
- Track key performance indicators and milestones over time
- Identify when a company is truly exit-ready
By using software to build these touchpoints into your business relationships, you can engage at the right moments and provide targeted support where it matters most.
Build a Scalable Business
At this point, you might be wondering: This sounds wonderful, but how do I put this into action? This is where Ninety comes in. Ninety is an all-in-one platform that helps CEPAs engage business owners, track their progress, and provide structured guidance, all while generating additional revenue for your practice.
By partnering with Ninety, CEPAs can:
- Offer a seamless way to engage prospects, providing them with free access to key business-building tools.
- Use Ninety’s Org Chart, Process tool, and Scorecards to help clients strengthen their operations and build value.
- Stay connected with business owners over time by tracking their progress in the platform.
As a bonus, Ninety’s revenue-sharing program allows CEPAs to earn an additional income stream while building stronger relationships with their client base.
Future-Proof Exit Planning With a Single Source of Truth
One of the most overlooked aspects of exit planning is preparing businesses for transition long before they start the process. When companies document their goals, processes, and leadership structure within Ninety, they create a digital blueprint that makes the exit process exponentially easier. This includes:
- Centralizing company knowledge for smoother handoffs to new leadership
- Capturing essential processes and operational best practices for buyers
- Reducing transition risk by ensuring the business can function without the owner
As a CEPA, this gives you an immense advantage because instead of scrambling to prepare a business for sale, you can help build transferable value from day one.
From Start to Exit, Ninety Helps CEPAs and Their Clients Grow
To see this approach in action, let’s look at how one coach transformed their client engagement strategy and built a scalable practice.
Cullen Talley, the founder of Exit Momentum and an experienced business coach, faced a common challenge: keeping business owners engaged long before they considered an exit. Many of his early-stage conversations stalled because owners weren’t thinking about transition planning yet.
To solve this, Cullen refined his approach by:
- Using a structured business operating system to help business owners improve clarity, accountability, and execution.
- Implementing Ninety to track progress, set priorities, and create a roadmap for long-term growth.
- Shifting the conversation from exit planning to business readiness, positioning himself as an indispensable partner in their success journey.
Watch this video to hear more about how Exit Momentum engaged prospects and grew their practice.
By focusing on continuous engagement and structured growth strategies, Cullen not only improved client retention but also ensured business owners were well-prepared when the time for exit planning arrived.
For CEPAs, building a strong business development funnel is essential to long-term success.
By integrating a structured system, staying engaged with founders long before exit planning, and using technology to strengthen relationships, you can position yourself as the go-to advisor for your clients’ most important decisions.
Ninety helps make this possible.
To learn how you can leverage Ninety to build a stronger, more scalable exit planning practice, visit www.ninety.io/cepa.
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