Overview
The 2023 BEI National Exit Planning Conference gathered 140 Exit Planning professionals in Denver, Colorado last week. Over three days at the Four Seasons Hotel Denver, attendees connected with peers, thought leaders, and gained insights from business, leadership, and marketing experts through a variety of sessions and networking events.
Professionals from various industries and sectors, including financial and business advisory, accounting, banking, consulting, mergers & acquisitions, and legal, came from all around the country to participate in the conference. With more than 25 sessions led by 33 speakers and in line with the conference theme, “From Engagement to Action,” attendees left feeling motivated to elevate their Exit Planning work to new heights.
Powerful Partnerships
Our 12 industry partners played a vital role in making the 2023 BEI National Conference a resounding success. These sponsors provide valuable tools and services designed to enhance the services of any professional advisor. Throughout the main event, the exhibit hall buzzed with activity as attendees connected and discovered innovative solutions to incorporate into their work.
We highly recommend visiting their websites, which are linked below, to explore how their offerings can support and enrich your planning efforts with your clients.
A special thanks again to the following 2023 sponsors:
- Business & Legal Advisors
- Capitaliz
- Footprint Capital
- Executive Financial Services
- Metlife
- Madison Fund Service, Ltd. (Madison Tax Advisory)
- BrantHickey
- CSG Partners
- BizEquity
- Currence
- The ReWild Group
- Clear Water Insights
Inspirational & Informative Speakers & Sessions
Tuesday –
After a powerful kickoff session by returning speaker Stuart Sorkin (Business & Legal Advisors) on successful strategies to maximize company value, a variety of breakout sessions were offered for attendees to enjoy. Some of mention include:
- A discussion on traditional vs. digital client-engagement strategies led by BEI Members Robert DePalo and Patrick Carroll that focused on modern tactics of email and social media.
- A popular session put on by Greg Banner of Asset Preservation Strategies, Inc., titled Tax Strategies for Highly Appreciated and Concentrated Stock. Banner broke down the different tax and investment planning recommendations used for these types of transition events.
- An interactive presentation by BEI Members Todd Feldman and Eddie Drescher on Business Continuity Instructions and the importance of them in kickstarting an Exit Planning engagement.
- A highly-attended session by BEI Member Terry Staley and his associate on cash flow modeling.
- Keynote speaker Kevin Knebl concluded the day with a presentation on how to leverage technology to create human connection and conversation.
Wednesday –
Momentum from day one carried into Wednesday, where another impressive lineup of speakers gave impactful presentations, including:
- An inspiring morning session with Allie Taylor of Clear Water Insights to get attendees inside the minds of their business owner clients to better understand their strengths, ambitions, and challenges.
- A presentation by David Jean, Cory Tanner, and Nick Niemann on the importance of staying involved with business owners through the various stages of business planning.
- A pre-lunch session all about AI and the future of planning alongside powerful technological advances hosted by Kelly Finnell and Molly Coyne of Executive Financial Services and their guest, Laura Miller of Shadowing AI.
- An afternoon presentation by Matthew Pohl with The ReWild Group on how to boost business value using a case study example to illustrate strategies.
- The conference concluded with a session led by CEO Jared Johnson and Founder John Brown on the future of planning at BEI. They discussed several upcoming developments to service offerings, as well as a sneak peek of the new software and user interface. Stay tuned to learn more!
Interactive Workshops
Those attendees who opted into the optional workshops on Monday had two paths:
- Client Engagement Workshop
The client-engagement workshop this year was titled, “LinkedIn, Social Selling, & Relationship Marketing for Huge Sales and Business Success.” With plenty to discuss, facilitator Kevin Knebl kept the day moving by providing interactive discussions about improving social media presence, out-of-the-box marketing strategies, and more!
- CExP Workshop
The second workshop option was provided for those attendees with the Certified Exit Planner (CExP) designation. Led by BEI Founder, John Brown, attendees were placed in groups of their peers, tasked with creating their own Exit Planning recommendations after receiving case study details to work through collectively.
Relationship Building, Networking & More!
There were plenty of opportunities to network throughout the conference, including the exhibitor hall, lunch hours, and evening receptions. Many attendees have mentioned that the collaborative atmosphere and the chance to connect with peers are the biggest advantages of attending the BEI Exit Planning Conference. Ultimately, the main purpose of the conference is to share stories, exchange ideas, and discover new systems and processes that can be implemented in attendees’ practices.
Whether you were in attendance or couldn’t make it this year, we invite you to join us next year. Get ahead of the game and register early at the following link:
2023 BEI National Conference: August 12 – 14, 2024 at The Four Seasons Denver.
We also welcome and encourage feedback so we can make next year our best event yet. To give us your suggestions, contact us at ev****@be***.com.
