Succession Planning for Financial Advisors in a Digital World

How A [More] Digital Practice Aids In Succession Planning

As a digital (virtual) financial advisor pioneer, myself, I’ve been through the “building a practice” ringer since entering the financial services industry in 2006. Although I experienced a high level of success early on, which I attribute to the philosophy of “do what is right for my clients, and eventually, I will get paid.” it came at a cost.  Time & money invested into the way things used to be done.  Perhaps there is a better way.

After three years, I started my own firm. In 2013 I decided to transition my practice to a Digital/Virtual model when most of my peers were double downing on the brick & mortar model. I “went virtual” to serve my unique clientele best while also ensuring an outstanding life-work balance for myself.

Successfully digitally attracting & serving clients virtually attracted a lot of advisors, all of them asking how I did it.  Not only was this my motivation and inspiration for founding another, Conneqtor, to help them do what I had done, but it also made me look at succession planning from an entirely different angle. 

Traditionally, senior advisors have looked to exit their practice by grooming a younger advisor, or small group of them, to take over their practice at some point, working with various “matching” services and business brokers, or simply looking for another firm to acquire their client base, and revenue stream, outright.

The “practice” they are trying to sell typically includes the client relationships and goodwill, the in-house staff to service them, as well as the filing cabinets, furniture, sometimes the actual office space (lease or purchase) itself, and a variety of other office-related items.  These are all included, negotiated, and ultimately made part of the purchase and sale agreement.

The challenge with these latter components is that they can be expensive, restrictive, and not really what the acquiring advisor is looking for.  This can make it difficult for a succession plan to be effectively executed when one party (the seller) puts more value on these brick & mortar components of the business, while a growing number of next generation buyers see these items as expensive and maybe even dead weight.

Succession planning will be important as long as there are financial advisors looking to sell their practices.  Retiring advisors who make their firm more Digital and operate as “location-independent” or hybrid will be positioning themselves as a more attractive practice to be purchased, without any geographic constraint to who the buyer may be.  Now that is a win-win.

Before we get into succession planning, though, let us take a detailed look at what a digital financial planning practice needs to thrive in the 21st century.

Firms Looking to Sell Should Consider Their Digital Footprint & Infrastructure

Digital (Virtual) financial planning (investment, insurance, etc.) firms need to be all-in on embracing a variety of technology.

Specifically, to thrive in the 21^st century it can be argued that firms must be more systematized in technology, have a more robust digital footprint (websites, social media, etc.), and a more robust physical infrastructure to support the digital assets, things like what computer to use, webcam, mic, monitors, lighting, docking station, the list goes on.

Going digital isn’t just how about the firm services its clients, it’s how the firm acquires and services its clients moving forward. When adopted and utilized correctly, technology can reduce the time and energy it takes to bring a potential client through the sales process to ultimately drive revenue for your firm. The faster it happens, the less it costs to acquire a client or service existing ones.

Advisors who are 5-10 years from retiring that built their practice via product sales (life insurance, mutual funds, etc.) in a belly-to-belly manner must realize that this model is not what the majority of newer, younger advisors are interested in.  There has been a shift from product to planning as well as in-person to digital.  Just because the senior advisor built their business this way does not mean that’s how the next generation (acquiring advisor) will continue to grow and run it after acquisition.

I’m not discounting or marginalizing how veteran advisors built their businesses, it took years of hard work to get where they are.  What I am saying is that the landscape has changed, what the consumer and nextgen advisor are looking for is a 21^st century experience, not something from the past.

Building A Digital Footprint

The oldest marketing trick in the book is to go where people already are and be present.  This used to mean things like cold calling, door knocking, sending out snail mailers, and going to local networking meetings and other community gatherings to become known and trusted. Similarly, a digital/virtual practice needs to build out its own robust digital footprint.

Veteran advisors already understand the importance of marketing (prospecting) and now simply need to have a mindset shift, changing the medium from cold calling and door knocking to digital storefronts (websites) and social media marketing (networking).  If veteran advisors can understand and accept this shift, then how they evolve is actually a simple process.  Not easy, but simple.

There are some basic foundational pieces that are easy enough to set up which you (or the acquiring firm) will build upon over time.  Also, a lot of what you set up can be done once and then automated.  So yes, it can feel overwhelming but know you don’t need to do it all at once and that there are plenty of resources to help you do it, step by step.

Veteran advisors should at a minimum consider setting up their digital assets (website, blog, social media profiles, YouTube, email, etc.) which can then be leveraged by creating content that drives real traffic.  Yes, this sounds like a lot, and it is!  It will take time to do this correctly, but you don’t need to do it all at once.  Rome wasn’t built in a day.  Most successions plans happen over months or years, not weeks, so there is time to put in the digital assets that will make your practice more attractive.  If you are 3-5 years out from wanting to sell (retire) than now is a perfect time to give your business the 21^st century refresh that will make it more attractive for a potential buyer.

Let’s break this down into some basic steps you can do by yourself (we expand on these later on):

Set up (or refresh) your website (digital storefront).

Your website is one of the first places potential clients will go to start vetting you.  Given that we live in a 3 second world your website must be clean, visually appealing, and capture someone’s attention instantly.  Your website should clearly tell people Who you Serve, Who You Are, What You Do (Problems You Solve), Your Pricing, Some Free Assets (eBooks, etc.), and a simple way for them to contact you or even schedule a meeting.  This site can include a place for you to publish a blog (articles just like this one) or you can consider getting a second website that is strictly educations and publish your blogs there

Set up (and use) your Social Networks

Set up your LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc. profiles and pages.  Make sure they all have the same theme, brand, and messaging.  Make sure they link to your website.  

Building this digital footprint is what leads to new clients coming in the digital door. Google processes over 3.5 billion searches a day. There are billions of people on Social Media. Firms that have embraced a robust digital footprint will be the ones that will be able to capture a larger market share of the people looking for financial advice.

You may be thinking, “why would I bother with all of this stuff if I am going to retire soon?”.  Valid question!  It depends on how you envision your succession plan.  Are you grooming a younger advisor to take over your firm, brand, and clients?  Or are you looking to sell your book to another firm that will just rebrand it themselves?

Both are possibilities.  So, the argument now becomes to protect your downside and invest in your digital assets in the event that you don’t just sell your book to another firm.  If you do sell it outright and walk away, fine, but if there is a chance that won’t happen then doesn’t it make sense to protect and increase the value of your practice?

If you know 100% for certain that you are just selling your book and walking into the sunset than you can probably ignore the digital marketing components since the acquiring firm will most likely already be doing their own thing. 

Even so, there are other digital assets you should still consider investing in as they can still drive up the value of your practice. 

Let’s first assume you are going to invest in your digital/social marketing infrastructure, here are some things you should do.

Having A Clean and Engaging Website

How would you feel hearing about a butcher shop in town that claims to have the best meat around only to arrive and see a dirty, run down storefront that hasn’t been cleaned in ages and it’s signage looks like it was printed at home?  You probably wouldn’t even enter, let along become a customer.

Well, the same holds true with our website.  If it looks outdated, ugly, boring, and does not grab the attention of a visitor in 3 seconds than they bounce and are off to the next option.

Your website is your digital storefront, make it inviting and useful.  It’s where people (online traffic) will go and where you will hopefully convert some of these prospective clients into paying clients.

Your website should clearly state who you are, what you offer, whom you serve, and what your prices are.  The website should be a reflection of your ideal client and you, but mainly built around your ideal client.  Show/tell people visiting your site that you understand them, know them, and specialize helping them solve real problems.  Stay away from general terms like “helping retirees & pre-retirees enjoy retirement” as this essentially means you serve everyone, thus you serve no one.

Your About Section should be about you but don’t just have a laundry list of your credentials and the areas you help people in with one short sentence at the end that says you’re married and like to play golf.  Show people who you are.  Get a bit personal, give people the opportunity to get to know you before ever talking to you by using stories, examples, pictures, videos, etc.

Although you may be working as a solo practitioner, you may want to consider branding your firm outside of just your name.  Let’s get real, this simply may not be of any interest if you have been practicing for decades and are on your way out, but the idea of it still is logical.  I have seen veteran advisors do this as they are looking to transition.  Easier said than done, but possible.  Perhaps just adding the words “and associates” or “and partners” to your existing name can be an easy first step to start the mental branding transition that will eventually happen.  When you retire so does your name.  If you have a separate brand identity from your name you now have created additional digital value.

Update your website regularly with fresh, engaging, and highly informative content that highlights your expertise, purpose, and value. Everything you do online, be it webinars, blog writing, or social media activity, all call-to-actions should be directed (funneled) to your website.

Although the website may need to be refreshed as part of the sale, having it set up to a point where only minor edits need to be made will save a tremendous amount of time and money instead of starting from scratch.

Building an Audience on Social Media and Creating Content

Why create an audience?  Simple, when done right a percentage of them can be converted into new clients.  Simple math.  But building an audience and actually doing it are two very different things.

The first part, like we discussed above, is setting up your social media accounts.  Chances are you probably already have some of these set up.  Although there are countless options to pick from, I would encourage you at a minimum to set up:

• Your LinkedIn profile (and company page)
• Your Facebook Business Page
• Your Twitter Profile

You can’t grow an audience if you don’t have a place for them to be your audience.  Your social profiles/pages should have a consisted brand, feel, color, logo, headshot, and message.

You should also have a blog set up as part of your website.

The combination of these foundation pieces is what you can now use to push out your content strategy (what you want to talk about) which ultimately will attract and grow an audience for you.

As an example, since I started doing all of this, I have grown my audience from only a few hundred to now over 35,000.  Yes, this took a couple of years to happen, but it will grow like a snowball, you have to start somewhere.

Content Marketing

Your content writing strategy, which should be based upon your Why and Ideal client (and can be outsourced), combined with the power of a strong social media presence cannot be undervalued, as this is where you will engage with your audience, acquire most of your leads, and gain opportunities to convert them into clients.  You may be thinking; “but I don’t want to grow anymore, I just want to maintain and sell.”  Yes, makes total sense!  But what does the acquiring advisor want?  If you are grooming them to take over your practice then doesn’t it make sense to grow your audience?  Your growing inherent value for you now (you are still active and getting paid to bring in new clients) while also driving future value (warm leads = sales) for the next generation.

It could be argued that if you have a strong digital presence there is more inherent value in your practice than if you are still sending out cold snail mailers for in-person seminars and review meetings.  A junior/acquiring advisor will look for things like this. Your marketing approach should be one that educates and nurtures your audience (not in your face cold prospecting) by doing the following:

• Post content that let’s people get to know you and not just as a professional.  Share stories, things you learned, give people glimpses into your life.  This of a conversation with a new client, what types of non-business stuff do you talk about?  Your family, hobbies, experiences?  Share this online.
• Building brand awareness by posting useful, conversational content that speaks to the solutions and benefits of the work you do
• Actively engaging with others’ content frequently, Like, Comment, etc. on others posts.  Show people you are there as part of the conversation, not to just share your content.
• Launching a compliance-ready podcast
• Posting about live seminars and webinars related to your brand or that you have produced yourself (live seminars/webinars are a great way to engage with your audience and offer them something of value simultaneously.)
• Being genuine with your audience (offering sound financial advice), which in turn will start positioning you as a thought leader.
• Use your personality and personal profile to create awareness around your business – have conversations and interact with people as much as possible.
• Regularly sending direct, personalized messages (email marketing) to your ideal client to build a relationship – remember, soft sell, do not push too hard.
• Building a mailing list in exchange for content of value by directing people to your other channels (download an eBook, register for a webinar)
• Video posts such as explainers (better for engagement).

Are you thinking; “man, that sounds like a lot of work and I don’t know how to do this stuff”?  It’s OK.  We all started not knowing this stuff.  My advice, start small and let it build.  I started with two things; writing one blog article a week (around 1,000 words) and getting more active on LinkedIn.  Instead of spending time cold-calling and hours in the car I spent 5 or so hours a week blogging and being on LinkedIn.

This is a great way to get started and then build upon it.  Now I have a team that helps me curate, create, and publish a lot more content but you don’t need to worry about that to get started.

Another benefit of doing the original content creation yourself is that it will help you find your voice online and become a better writer if you struggle with it.  Your first attempts will most likely be less than ideal, but that’s OK.  You will get better, I promise. 

The other benefit in this is that when you do outsource your content creation they will be able to look at what you have already done and be able to mimic your style so the content they help you with will be more genuine, not white label canned spam.

And think of the “value” to a potential buyer when they see the following you have created online, especially when it comes to followers of your brand.  This is a digital asset.  Done right you will even know what your cost of acquisition for each new lead is from your digital channels.  Advisors will pay for this.

Investing in Paid Ads

First, a word of caution, paid ads for paid ads sake will be a complete waste of money.  Paid Ads without first getting your basic digital assets in place is like pouring gas on a fire you haven’t started yet.  You must have all the other infrastructure in place before you start fanning the digital flames of your business.

You may not be wanting to invest in this, which is OK, but it depends on how far out you are from retiring and how much you would like to grow till you do.  Although you may not want to do Paid Ads it could be argued that by doing so you not only would be adding real revenue to your bottom line (more AUM, insurance, etc.) but also driving more value to the non-tangible aspects of your brand, presence, etc.

Paid Ads is not an exact science.  It comes with a major learning curve to figure out what works.  If you can short that learning curve a bit and then be able to hand off a paid ads strategy that is predictable, that is worth something.

Once you have built up an organic presence on social media and organic traffic to your website through SEO, the next step would be to consider investing in paid advertising. With the reduced overhead one can experience in going at least partially virtual this could simply be a reallocation of some funds you were already spending on non-revenue producing activities into something that could produce revenue.

By investing in paid ads, you can effectively grow your business in an increasingly competitive marketplace. By paying Google, Bing, or Yahoo, you increase your chances of appearing on the first page of SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages).

You also can get very targeted on social media platforms, paying to get your ads in front of the right people based upon a variety of demographics you identify.

The greatest benefit? Appearing in front of people who are already interested in hiring your services. Together with an organic presence, you are setting yourself up for a lot more leads. After that, it is up to you to convert. This is where mailing lists come in.

One of the things you can learn from a Paid Ads strategy is your cost of acquisition.  How much does it cost you to pay for a new client?  Knowing this will be of value to the acquiring advisor as they can now budget it in to their cash flow and have a more predictable lead flow.

Building an eMail List

Another way to convert all this newfound traffic is by giving away expert advice for free. Whether it be and eBook or guide download, or a free educational webinar, by offering your audience something of value that they cannot get from anywhere else, you can then, in turn, ask them for their contact details.  These are people you can nurture via an automated email campaign, building trust and awareness along the way.

The leads you generate from an email list tend to have a higher conversion ratio because you can get in touch with them regarding offers or retarget them as you know for sure are already interested in your services.

Email marketing is an art & science and could have an entire article unto itself.  Consider it a more advanced technique, one that you certainly should consider but know it will take some time to set it up correctly.

Developing Relationships with Other Thought Leaders

What are thought leaders?  People who are known for being experts, and vocal, about certain topics, industries, etc.  They are looked up to, respected, and known by others as the people to follow when it comes to learning more about X, Y, or Z.

As you are developing your digital assets and growing your online audience and thought leadership you will start to be approached by (and can approach) other thought leaders.  These people will see what you are doing and some will feel compelled to reach out to you.  You can leverage these relationships.

So, an interaction like this needs to be mutually beneficial. Being featured on a podcast, or being able to guest blog on another site relevant to your industry are not to be taken lightly as these thought leaders are essentially putting their stamp of approval on who you are.

These relationships can help exponentially grow your brand and awareness since these thought leaders are sharing you with their audience.  That means more potential traffic to your digital assets and that means more potential clients.

There is also a technical aspect/benefit to these relationships.  They can lead to backlinks to your digital assets which from an SEO perspective will help your website, etc. look more credible and relevant in search engines like Google who are looking for things like this.  The more Google likes your digital assets the higher up organically you will place when people are searching for things you are creating content around.

Other Digital Assets to Consider:

In addition to adding your digital marketing and social media assets there are others you also can consider investing in to help drive the value and efficiency of your practice, both as a going concern today as well as to help facilitate an easier transition in the future.

One big one you can consider is moving all of your files to the cloud (online secure storage).  Like many advisors I used to have multiple metal filing cabinets that housed all of my client files.  They took up a ton of space and where not accessible unless I was physically in the office.  Does an acquiring advisor really want to physically move and sort through all of your paper files?  Probably not.

More and more advisors are embracing online secure filing solutions like eFileCabinet (Rubex) and MuniMetrix.  These allow you to upload client files to the cloud and can be accessed from virtually anywhere.  I have been using eFileCabinet since 2013 and never had an issue.  How easy would it be to simply hand over the digital files when you retire?  Very easy! 

Another thing you can transition over to digital would be all of your procedures, processes, training manuals, etc.  Having all of this on the cloud makes them easy to access by anyone on your team while also being easy to update as needed.  One thing I have found a lot of value in is recording (check out Loom) short training videos on how to do a variety of tasks for my firm.  That way I can simply share the link to a video with any staff member (or junior advisor) who needs to learn how to do something.

A Virtual (Digital) Practice Increases Your Pool of Potential Acquirers, Making It Easier to Sell

Selling advisors want the best/highest price for their business as possible. Selling the traditional brick & mortar practice comes with location dependence – dependence on the pool of potential buyers in their area (or who want to acquire a presence in their area).

Expanding the pool of potential buyers can drive the price up since more of the “right people” have access to buying the practice and may compete for it. Just like being able to work with clients virtually anywhere, a selling advisor can market their firm to acquiring advisors almost anywhere, finding the best advisor for their practice regardless of its zip code/physical location.

A virtual/digital practice already has a client base that is comfortable working at least virtually part of the time and is used to digital communication. They understand and appreciate the relationship dynamic. Thus, they are not concerned about being able to pop into the local office or see their advisor in person as much as it used to be in the past. This makes the practice more attractive and appealing to acquiring advisors, since they can rely on the fact that since the client base is already comfortable with “virtual,” there will be less client attrition when the business does get sold. Less attrition means more revenue they can reasonably count on moving forward.

More and more clients are making the switch to virtual advice. According to the 2019 McKinsey report, there are 42 million households that are prime candidates for virtual advice. This was pre-COVID-19; now, it could be argued that many more people are comfortable getting their advice in a virtual/digital manner.

If clients cannot get what they want, then they will go where they can. Having a practice that have embraced digital/virtual assets makes it easier for clients not to go to another firm.

More Flexibility and A Better Life-Work Balance

Flexibility is simply what more and more NextGen Advisors are looking for. Flexibility to work from any location they choose. Flexibility to not have to worry about the physical and financial constraints (expenses) that come with owning a brick & mortar office… like having to deal with a broken sewage pipe at 1 in the morning (did that!).

Flexibility to pivot quickly from one meeting to the next by simply clicking their mouse instead of having to hop in the car.

Flexibility provides financial benefits as well as emotional ones. I have spoken to hundreds of advisors, and not one of them said they wanted to be tied to a brick-and-mortar office 100% of the time.

None of them wanted to be tied to a zip code. None of them wanted to be restricted to working belly-to-belly. The younger generation of advisors wish to have a different experience; firms that give it to them will be more “valuable” in their eyes, which directly translates to being able to sell your firm for more.

Typically, most of the revenue comes from a small % of clients in a book of business (80/20) rule.

Most advisors want to increase the ideal client % in their book but struggle to do so when constrained by a zip code and brick-and-mortar office. It’s simple math; there are only so many “ideal clients” that fit your profile in a geographic region. Thus, advisors are forced to work with non-ideal clients as well.  Although one could make the argument that in large metropolitan areas there are larger pools of ideal clients to work with, which is true, there is also a larger pool of advisors competing for the same client pool.  So yes, things will vary with geography, but by getting super clear on who you specialize in working with and marketing to them you give yourself a much better shot at growing with the right clients.  As my friend Michael Kitces said, “In the future, consumers won’t just pick the best advisor in their area.  They’ll find the best advisor to solve their problems anywhere.”

Having at least a hybrid virtual model empowers advisors to market to and attract more ideal clients – hence the value of a robust digital footprint. Firms embracing the hybrid-virtual model can go niche at scale: more ideal clients, more revenue, more value.

A better life-work balance is often overlooked for advisors, especially young ones coming into the industry.

So much time is lost with the traditional brick-and-mortar model. For example, if an advisor spends one hour a day driving to their office and/or client meetings (let’s face it, most commute much more than this), five days a week, fifty weeks a year, that is 250 hours a year in the car. In other words, it equates to 6.25 40-hour work weeks sitting in the car!

You could be spending this time with your family, pursuing your passions and interests, or even marketing to and working with more clients.

By getting this time back, you not only save real dollars but also save time.

If a younger advisor has a choice between two similar firms from all perspectives, but one is virtual, and the other isn’t, why would a younger advisor want to spend the same to acquire a firm that requires a much larger time (and financial) commitment?

There are so many pros to owning a virtual financial planning practice—another one being that your successor will be able to expand their workforce while reducing their overhead. You may wonder, well, how can that be?

Virtual Employees Are Way More Affordable

I envision the hybrid practice of the future utilizing a combination of some in-house staff (maybe) combined with virtual team members.  Why?  Cost.  Running an office with only in-house employees can be very expensive.  Not just their compensation but benefits, physical space, computers, supplies, paid time off, the list goes on.

Virtual staffing solutions means less cost and headaches for the business owner. They will not have to worry about office supplies, laptops/desktops, or even their internet connection – their services are paid for per hour/task.

So, essentially, you have a lucrative practice with incredible flexibility, too. The rate per task or hour is all-inclusive and is way more affordable.  When you hire FT or PT virtual assistants you usually do this via a staffing agencies that specializes in it.  So instead of having to pay W2 wages, FICA withholdings, unemployment insurance, health benefits, PTO, and so on now you don’t pay for any of it.  The staffing agency does this for you.  You simply pay for dedicated hours which can literally be charged to your credit card once a month.  The savings are significant.  I have been running with virtual staff since 2013, sure there were some learning curves, but those come with any hire, yet I have been able to hire more people to do more things to help me grow while doing it at a fraction of what it typically would have cost me had I gone the original W2 route.

If someone else takes over, they bring with them new ideas and a unique approach.  Having a virtual team could be perceived as a risk, and it very well could be if you are only using freelancers or VA’s that are not dedicated to you.  If you build your virtual team correctly you can still manage the human element that is so important for growth and maintaining sold client relationships.

I see this model working best for advisors running solo or small firms (4-5 advisors).  Firms much bigger than this will most likely require more dedicated staff for some aspects of the business, which actually can be of immense value to the business and can still be combined with a team of dedicated VA’s.

It’s Easier to Facilitate A Transition from Founder to Successor

Given our industry’s nature and how many acquisition deals are structured, it is common for retiring advisors to want to effect a smooth transition while maybe even hanging on to some clients while they slowly transition out of their business. It is natural for you to want to work a few hours a day as you ease into retirement. As an advisor selling your business, something you spent decades, blood, sweat, and tears on, you will more than likely have an emotional attachment to it. You will also have life-long relationships with clients you may not want to let go of immediately.

Your core group of clients tends to be the higher revenue-generating kind. They will be critical to the acquiring advisor as part of the purchase, so if you can maintain those relationships and transition them over a matter of months to the acquiring advisor, it is a win for everyone.

What Happens When the Retiring Advisor Wants to Move After They Sell the Business?

Typically, with a brick & mortar office there is an expectation, or at least hope, that the selling advisor will stay “local” to help with a variety of things related to the succession as it is most likely in their best interest (financially, reputationally, and emotionally) to do so.

The acquiring advisor now has the support and relationship equity of the selling advisor while not having to worry about where people are physically located.

People move, more so now than in the past. Even if the transition has started, there is now continuity regardless of where the senior advisor is retiring or where clients end up moving. The younger advisor also does not need to worry as much about client attrition due to physical location anymore since they can continue the relationship and work with their clients virtually anywhere.

Succession Planning in the 21^st Century

At the end of the day, whether we like it or not, the consumer has gone “online”.  The way we get out information, products, and services has evolved, exponentially via the technology evolution we have seen in the 21^st century.

Thus, advisors looking to add/maintain value for their firm in anticipation of executing a succession plan should consider the evolution of their own practice to include a variety of virtual and digital assets/components.  It will come with growing pains of course, but if it means getting a better price for your firm, more value for the buying advisors, and a better experience for the clients then it would be hard to argue to alternative of keeping the status quo.

Speaking of the alternative, let me end on with a story.  I new a guy who had run his own insurance practice for decades.  He had built up a strong reputation and client base via the traditional brick & mortar model and was making a lot of money.  As he started to talk about selling and retiring he started to realize that what had worked for him was not going to work for someone who would purchase his practice.  He didn’t have a website or social media set up.  He didn’t have a paperless office.  He barely used tech other than email.  And that’s OK since he was clearly able to make it all work, but it was built upon legacy ideas, processes, systems, and tech.  He also noticed that he wasn’t getting new clients like he used to since he had virtually no digital presence.  He was still in the Yellowpages while everyone else was looking on Google.

What happened?  He ended up losing all of his clients to other firms that were “more with the times” and wasn’t able to sell his business.  He was sad and frustrated how it all ended up and looked back wishing he had done a bit more to unlock the years of sweat equity he had put in.

Perhaps you can learn something from this and unlock more value for everyone involved in your succession plan. We’ve covered a lot in this article, pick one thing to improve upon and go do it, then another, and so on. Need help? Consider joining a Conneqtor Cohort, we help advisors with all of this.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, please consider me a resource.

Best Regards,

Derek Notman