About The Succession Planning Group

Our collective experience with businesses, particularly with privately held businesses, is that succession planning is generally the last thing on the minds of the owners of the organizations.

This is not surprising. Most small to mid-sized companies are working and planning at capacity to move their businesses to larger sales, greater visibility, and larger profits.Succession planning can be a hard sell to business owners because they currently cannot see or imagine a future in which a plan would be necessary.

These are just some of the comments we have heard from business owners:

“My partner and I get along really well, and we are a great team. Why would either of us want to change anything?”
“I’m forty-five years old. Why do I need to think about a succession plan?”
“I’ve had insurance for years, and I don’t have time for more planning.”
“This company is growing so fast, it takes everything I have just to keep up.”

These statements all reflect good excuses, but not good reasons to ignore succession planning. In fact, each of these statements reflects a strong reason to take the time for succession planning. Any company that is growing rapidly needs to update or create a succession plan that is consistent with the current size and growth potential of the organization. It is ill-advised for any business owner who is 45 or older to be without a succession plan.

Any organization undergoing a sudden and unexpected change of leadership runs the risk of decline during the transitional period. In fact, the value of the company could decline dramatically during a period of extended transition. Critical decisions must be made during such a time. Whether the business is a sole proprietorship, a partnership, a family-owned business or a non-profit organization, negative events can create a leadership vacuum as well as a financial nightmare. The potential loss to a company without a succession plan could leave nothing to sell.

We are convinced that every business should have a succession plan and that the plan should be re-examined and updated at least every three to five years. Business owners need think through and plan for possible future events. Every business owner should be able to answer these questions in a way that is comfortable:

What will happen to a company if the partners have a serious disagreement, or if one of them dies or is disabled? Will the ownership fall into the hands of someone not interested in the same goals or without the appropriate skills to run the business?
Will the insurance policy you believed to be adequate five or ten years ago still be adequate to support your family at the level to which they have been supported by your business?
If I die, will my family be taken care of?
If one of my partners dies and his/her spouse takes a share of the company out of our working capital, can the business survive?
If this partnership doesn’t work, how will I get out?
If certain negative events occur and I can no longer make business decisions, who will make the buy/sell decision about my company?
After all I’ve put into building this company, what will happen to it when I die? Will my spouse want to run it? Will the state take it?

We believe succession planning is the right and responsible thing to do for the client. We also know there is a substantial market for this service, because only 10-20% of the one million or more owners of small to mid-sized businesses (in the $5-50 million range) actually have a succession plan. It is thus a huge opportunity for financial planners, accountants and attorneys to bring more business into their firms while they look out for the best interests of their clients. It is one of the additional services your practice can offer as you create a plan to grow your own business from the inside. Click here to learn more about The Practice Building Team.

We are, further, convinced that many people are having conversations about succession planning. The problem is that the conversations are not providing adequate incentive to move business owners to take the next step and actually sit down and create a succession plan. The reasons these conversations are not achieving the desired result is that people are having the wrong conversation. The proof is in the pudding --- many conversations take place, yet 80% of clients are at risk. The conversations happen, yet hundreds of thousands of dollars in potential revenue is sitting on your books.

The only conversation that helps business owners hear a call to action is the conversation that makes succession planning part of a larger conversation about how to maximize the value of their biggest asset – the business. Maximizing the value of the business is the way to mitigate risk. This is where we can help both you and your client. We know how to have the conversation about maximizing the value of a business effectively. By partnering with you and having that conversation on your behalf, we can move your client into a different way of thinking about the value of the business. Maximizing the value of the business will include several actions. Succession planning is one of those actions. It is our particular backgrounds that have produced in us the unique skills necessary to hold a conversation with the client that truly motivates him/her to take action immediately.

Succession planning is a win – win opportunity. Your client wins and your practice wins!

Click here to schedule an appointment to talk with us today.

Or call us now at 800-222-8888.

Keys to Success

Surround ourselves with great people.

Give them the framework for being successful and the freedom to find their own way.

Have them work in their areas of strength.

Train them so that the organization continues to improve

Our success is based on bringing our clients value.

Trust is key for our team, our partners, our clients and our ability to be successful.

Being in charge of marketing for joint ventures will often be a key to success.

These keys to success can help you build and manage a thriving practice.

Why do you need The Succession Planning Group?

You need us because you now understand that you can help your clients in a critical area of business planning.

You need us because you now understand that 80-90% of small to mid-sized companies need a succession plan and do not have one.

You need us because we can help you to increase billable services to each client by $10 – 50,000.

You need us because we will help you build an outstanding succession planning extension of your practice and because we will help you grow your practice quickly.