If you’ve earned your Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA®) designation you already know the value of exit planning, not just for your clients, but for your career. The question is: how do you take that certification and turn it into a scalable, revenue-generating practice?
At the 2025 Exit Planning Summit, Michael Brady, CEPA and Director of Sales at Maus Software, presented a streamlined roadmap to help financial advisors commercialize their CEPA designation. Whether you’re just starting or expanding your practice, this article summarizes key insights on building, marketing, and systematizing your offering for long-term success.
Let’s start with the elephant in the room: Most CEPAs never fully commercialize their designation. Why?
Don’t go at it alone. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel; you need a proven process.
Before you can scale, you need to know what you're selling.
Use this simple three-phase framework to design your CEPA-based offering:
Phase 1: Discovery
Start with a conversation. Understand the business owner's goals, fears, and timeline. Use digital assessments to gauge readiness and start building a baseline. During discovery is often when a specific pain point or milestone like an unsolicited offer, leadership change, or upcoming retirement is identified. This is your entry point to initiate the exit planning conversation, known as the Triggering Event.
Phase 2: Assessment
Systematically identify gaps using automated tools. Evaluate areas like business attractiveness, value drivers, and shareholder readiness. These assessments provide immediate value and position you as the lead advisor. Automate this process using software, like Maus, that lets clients complete assessments online, while you receive detailed reports instantly.
Phase 3: Action Plans
Deliver a roadmap that outlines the exit planning process. Break the work into manageable 90-day sprints focused on increasing business value and bridging the wealth gap. This is easily done with the right exit planning software, wherein the assessments from Phase 2 are converted into the client’s action plan strategy
Pro Tip: You don’t need to do it all. Select from an “offering buffet” like that provided in Maus to determine what you will and won’t provide. Stick to your strengths and build partnerships around the rest.
One of the most common blocks advisors face is pricing. The best way to start?
Remember: messy action beats perfect planning. The sooner you get your hands dirty, the faster you’ll refine your offer.
The "Triggering Event" is when a business owner realizes they need help, often following a valuation, life event, or internal challenge. Business owners are reactive. Your job is to create proactive engagement by formalizing the Triggering Event. Technology can help, though you must be ready to act quickly. Remember, you are the expert now.
With tools like Maus Software, you can:
This process isn’t just efficient; with the right system in place, you create a feedback loop of engagement that builds trust and urgency without requiring endless manual input.
Once a business owner decides to move forward, they enter the "Prepare Gate,” the most critical (and time-consuming) phase of exit planning.
It is highly recommended to systematize the process with:
Using software to automate these steps saves time and delivers a consistent experience for every client at scale.
Even the best offer won’t work without a way to attract and convert business owner clients. Here’s a simple three-part framework:
Create or utilize done-for-you solutions that speak to the pain points of business owners.
Tools like Maus’ Attract Social automate much of this process, helping you stay top-of-mind with business owners while you focus on what you do best: advising.
Don’t just attract eyeballs. Build relationships and cultivate engagement.
Done right, this system turns inbound leads into long-term engagements that grow your book of business and AUM. Exit planning is the ultimate gateway to asset management. Through this process:
By aligning exit planning with AUM goals, you create continuity in the client lifecycle and protect your book of business from attrition.
One of the biggest problems CEPAs face? They feel alone at the Discover Gate.
Don’t try to reinvent the wheel. Partner with platforms and communities that specialize in CEPA success. Tools like Maus provide the entire Advisory Lifecycle Platform, so you can scale your offering without becoming a full-time marketer or project manager.
There are two common CEPA profiles, both with unique needs:
For new CEPAs, the focus should be on launching a minimum viable offer, getting your hands dirty, and leaning into automation.
For these advisors, the challenge is to integrate CEPA into their current structure without overwhelming operations. With the right tech stack, systems that seamlessly integrate with the Value Acceleration Methodology and are SOC2 Type2 compliant, integration becomes seamless.
Exit Planning Is a Long Game, Make It Scalable
Here’s the hard truth: You can’t scale one-off engagements or ad hoc consulting.
But you can scale:
This is the difference between a high-effort consulting gig and a sustainable exit planning business.
Learn: How Exit Planning Grows AUM For Financial Advisors
Final Thoughts: The Power of Structure
In Michael Brady’s words, “Maus gives CEPAs the infrastructure they need to confidently go to market and deliver value from day one.”
But more than that, the system helps advisors stay focused on their highest-value activities:
By using technology to automate what doesn’t need to be manual, you free yourself to do the work that really matters, and that gets rewarded.
Learn: How the Top 9% of Financial Advisors Use Data to Grow Their Client Base
Michael Brady and the team at Maus Software have built the only exit planning platform designed to align seamlessly with the CEPA designation and the Value Acceleration Methodology.
If you’re ready to launch or scale your CEPA offering, explore how Maus can support your journey.
We’re here to help, schedule a call today.
*Exit Planning Institute believes exit planning is for all advisors, not just FAs.