It’s hardly news that that the most attractive market for your financial and insurance services and products are successful business owners. Yet, it can be difficult to attract and engage these owners as clients because they are laser-focused on their businesses. These owners are often deeply immersed in the day-to-day operations, strategic planning, and decision-making processes of their businesses. To effectively engage owners, financial and insurance advisors must approach owners through methods that recognize the specific needs and constraints of successful business owners.

In order to engage owners in planning, you must use an approach with owners that aligns what you have to offer with what owners want: To grow and protect their businesses. Owners are far more willing to meet and engage with you if you can demonstrate how you can help them. Is that something you are doing effectively today?

It might be obvious that a process called “Owner-Based Planning” would do precisely that: Help owners do what they want to do by growing and protecting cash flow and business value. What isn’t so obvious is that financial and insurance advisors trained in Owner-Based Planning more effectively engage more business owners clients than those who are not. But to work with more owners, you need to change or alter your approach to attracting and engaging them.

In this blog, we’ll cover how utilizing Owner-Based Planning can help.

A New Approach to Engaging Business Owners

At BEI, we are firm believers in the effectiveness of targeted marketing and client engagement, which entails delivering the appropriate messages to the right individuals with consistency, and then delivering customized solutions to your prospects. For owners, their time is a precious commodity, and they are highly selective about how they use it. That’s why we’re providing you with a three-step approach to connect with owners.

Step One:  Focus your marketing on providing information about how to grow and protect value. Clearly articulating the value of your offerings and the efficiency of your services is essential to capturing owners’ attention.

Our Owner-Based Planning Advisors use brandable newsletters (“Business Briefs”) whose topics include:

• When Business Value Stalls
• All Business Value is Not Equal
• Using Owner-Based Planning to Build Business Value

Our Advisors also use brandable white papers that describe in greater detail topics like using value drivers to increase the value of a company and filling gaps in business continuity plans.

Our marketing tools and resources seldom mention life insurance or investment planning. Instead, the emphasis is placed on the ways owners can build and safeguard the value of their businesses – a topic that universally captures the interest of all owners.

Step Two: Help owners identify and prioritize their company-related concerns or challenges using a software-based Assessment. Common challenges include developing and retaining management, growing cash flow, and involving family in ownership.

Step Three:  Address the concerns identified in the Assessment. We’ve created over 30 recommendations for action designed to address various owner challenges. Nearly all of them require the purchase of one of your products or services. These tailored solutions are not only a critical component of attracting and engaging successful business owners, but also reinforce the necessity of your firm’s products in growing and protecting their business.

Once owners understand that you—unlike your competitors—have the expertise and tools to help them grow and protect business value, engaging them is that easy.

https://beiwp.itulbuild.com/event/bei-strategies-for-success-using-phantom-stock-incentive-planning-to-exceed-goals-and-roi

Did you know that collaborative expertise can lead to a remarkable increase in business value? In today’s fast-paced and evolving business world, the synergy of collective knowledge isn’t just beneficial – it’s essential.

There has been a lot of discussion lately in the business planning space around the topic of growing and protecting business value. Wealth and insurance professionals are increasingly recognizing the value of collaborating with growth advisors and business coaches to unlock profit and value growth for their business owner clients. This collaborative approach is driven by the understanding that achieving sustainable success in the business world requires a multi-faceted strategy, blending financial expertise with strategic guidance. 

In a recent BEI webinar, Founder John Brown met with George Sandmann, Founder and CEO of Growth Drive LLC., to discuss this topic. During the presentation, there was some time spent diving deeper into business growth and what elements of growing and protecting value are important to advisors when working with business owners. Simply put, when it comes to business value, collaboration is key. 

The Three Dimensions of Business Growth

One of the key focal points of this collaboration, and as discussed in the aforementioned webinar,  is the emphasis on the three dimensions of business growth: predictable profits and cash flow, predictable growth, and predictable equity value. By working together, wealth and insurance professionals, growth advisors, business coaches, and other members of the advisor team, create a holistic framework that addresses not only short-term financial gains but also long-term sustainability and value creation.

Predictable profits and cash flow: Profits and cash flow are crucial for the stability and day-to-day operations of any business. Wealth and insurance professionals bring their financial acumen to the table, ensuring that businesses have the necessary financial foundation to weather uncertainties and capitalize on opportunities. Growth advisors and business coaches contribute by helping business owners develop strategies for consistent growth, aligning with the overall financial objectives. Finally, predictions on profits and growth can drive the direction of the planning so it’s important to have a realistic and accurate representation of what profits and cash flow will look like within a forward-looking timeframe.  

Predictable growth: As the second dimension of growth, predictable value is what is used to underscore the collaboration between professionals. Business owners seek not only immediate success but also sustained growth over time. Growth advisors play a vital role in crafting growth strategies that align with the unique goals and challenges of each business. They provide insights, market intelligence, and actionable plans to drive continuous expansion and lead owners to the growth required to exit or transition on their terms. 

Predictable equity value: Equity value is particularly crucial when considering Exit Planning conversations. Business owners often face the question of how to extract value from their businesses, whether through a sale, merger, or insider transfer. Here, the collaboration between wealth and insurance professionals, growth advisors, and business coaches becomes instrumental. By building and enhancing the equity value of the business, they set the stage for a successful exit, ensuring that the business owner maximizes returns when transitioning out of the business.

Collaboration is Key 

Exit Planning and Owner-Based Planning conversations become more comprehensive and strategic when the focus is on building business value. Business coaches, with their expertise in strategic planning, guide business owners through the intricacies of exit options. Whether selling to a third party, passing the business to family members, or implementing an employee buyout, the emphasis on building equity value ensures a smoother and more lucrative transition.

Moreover, business advising is increasingly recognized as a team sport. The collaboration between wealth and insurance professionals, growth advisors, and business coaches exemplifies the collective effort required to address the multifaceted challenges businesses face. Each professional brings a unique perspective and skill set, creating a synergy that goes beyond individual expertise.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the collaboration between wealth and insurance professionals, growth advisors, business coaches, and other advisors is a strategic move towards unlocking profit and value growth for business owner clients. By addressing the three dimensions of business growth and incorporating planning conversations into the equation, this collaborative approach ensures a comprehensive and sustainable strategy for long-term success. Business advising, as a team sport, exemplifies the power of collective expertise in navigating the complex landscape of business growth and value creation.