According to recent reports, there is a potential $3.7 trillion in value that business owners can unlock with proper planning and preparation. During a time in which owners have seriously shifted their gaze towards exit planning, business owners are more inclined than ever to engage in formal planning discussions centered on accelerating value.
Despite the increased awareness and interest in exit and succession planning, a large percentage of owners still lack formal transition strategies and the advisors to help them employ them.
As market dynamics continue to shift, preparing clients for a successful exit requires a strategic approach and the right tools.
The Capitaliz platform offers a robust solution for business succession and exit planning engagements. This blog article will explore the key features of the Capitaliz platform and provide insights on how advisors can effectively implement these features in their practice and processes to ultimately help clients maximize their business value and achieve successful exits.
Keeping Up in a Digital World: Understanding the Capitaliz Platform
The Capitaliz platform is an industry-leading assessment, valuation, and roadmap tool designed for business succession and exit planning. It has been used with over 800 clients for over 15 years, providing a comprehensive solution to identify value gaps and map out exit planning engagements from start to finish. The platforms key features include the Value Gap Assessment, Business Insights Report, Value Potential Insights, 21-Step Implementation Roadmap, Dynamic Revaluation, and Collaborative Engagement.
The Capitaliz platform is designed to empower advisors with the tools and resources they need to excel in their roles, at every level of exit and succession planning. Many elements of the modern-day advisory process have demanded digitization and systemization. Therefore, it’s essential for advisors to not only possess deep industry knowledge but also to leverage innovative software solutions that enhance their capabilities.
Capitaliz provides advanced functionalities that allow advisors to effectively apply their expertise, streamline processes, and deliver tailored strategies to their clients. The integration and partnership with a robust software system like Capitaliz can significantly elevate an advisor’s practice from good to great.
By utilizing the platform’s comprehensive analytics, client engagement tools, and customizable planning options, advisors can create more impactful outcomes for their clients. This synergy between knowledge and technology ensures that advisors are not just meeting expectations but exceeding them, ultimately fostering stronger client relationships and driving success in an increasingly competitive business market.
Key Features of the Capitaliz Platform
1. Value Gap Assessment
A relatively new tool, the Value Gap Assessment was designed to give advisors the power to market themselves and prospect clients using data. The assessment provides advisors with the analysis to identify and bridge the discrepancy between a business’s current value and potential worth. This tool helps owners understand the factors that influence the valuation, including market trends and operational efficiencies. By using the Value Gap Assessment, advisors can deliver recommendations tailored to enhance business value, thereby empowering their clients to make informed decisions. Ultimately, this feature not only aids in maximizing returns during an exit strategy but also fosters a deeper client-advisor relationship rooted in trust and expertise.
2. Business Insights Report
The Business Insights Report is a cornerstone of the Capitaliz platform. It uses 300 data points to automatically calculate company-specific risk, beta, and risk weightings, as well as the business valuation. This report allows for efficient and accurate comparisons across industries, helping advisors identify value gaps and map out the exit planning engagement.
The report has dramatically improved conversion rates from the initial Business Insights Report to advisory engagements, making it a powerful tool for advisors.
3. Value Potential
Based on the Business Insights Report, the Value Potential Index feature uses over 150 non-financial data points for each clie
nt to quantify the value gap and identify key projects to accelerate business value. The platform’s algorithm can predict the value potential for each client, providing insights by business, industry, or country. This feature allows advisors to offer targeted advice and strategies to maximize business value.
[Download the latest Capitaliz Value Potential Index report here.]
4. 21-Step Implementation Roadmap
The 21-Step Implementation Roadmap is a structured process used for 12 years with business owners to identify, protect, accelerate, unlock, and manage value in privately owned businesses. The roadmap is automatically generated by the platform and maps out an advisory engagement over 18 to 24 months. This feature provides a clear and actionable plan for advisors to follow, ensuring that all critical steps are taken to maximize business value and prepare for a successful exit.
5. Dynamic Revaluation
As clients progress through the various projects identified by the Business Insights Report, the Dynamic Revaluation feature automatically calculates the valuation impact and updates the client dashboard. This feature tracks the value gap and value acceleration over time, highlighting the value of advice over the five stages of value. Advisors can use this feature to demonstrate the tangible impact of their advice and keep clients informed of their progress.
6. Collaborative Engagement
Exit planning is inherently collaborative, requiring coordination between various advisors and business owners. The Capitaliz platform allows multiple users to be added to projects and access the system, including CPAs, attorneys, and other professionals. The system supports internal collaboration, communication, and interaction, with all interactions date/time stamped for due diligence history. The management of tasks and notifications creates accountability for project activities across the entire team, ensuring a seamless and coordinated approach to exit planning.
Watch the video overview of the Capitaliz platform here:
Effectively Using Capitaliz as an Advisor
Having explored the key features of the Capitaliz platform, it’s essential to understand how these tools translate into tangible benefits for advisors. By harnessing the powerful capabilities of Capitaliz, advisors can enhance their offerings and streamline their practices, ultimately leading to superior client outcomes.
To maximize the advantages of the Capitaliz platform, advisors should follow these best practices:
1. Leverage the Business Insights Report
Start by generating a comprehensive Business Insights Report for each client. Use the report to identify value gaps and prioritize key areas for improvement. This report will serve as the foundation for your advisory engagement, providing a clear understanding of the client’s current business value and potential areas for growth.
Click here to explore some of popular use cases of the Business Insights report.
2. Focus on Value Potential
Utilize the Value Potential feature to quantify the value gap and identify key projects that can accelerate business value. Provide clients with targeted advice and strategies based on the platform’s insights, helping them focus on high-impact areas that will maximize their business value.
3. Follow the 21-Step Implementation Roadmap
Adhere to the 21-Step Implementation Roadmap to ensure a structured and comprehensive approach to exit planning. This roadmap will guide you through the critical steps needed to identify, protect, accelerate, unlock, and manage value in the client’s business. By following this roadmap, you can provide clients with a clear and actionable plan for achieving a successful exit.
Click here to replay a Capitaliz webinar on the Capitaliz approach to client engagement using the 21 steps or watch the brief explainer video below.
4. Monitor Progress with Dynamic Revaluation
Regularly monitor the client’s progress using the Dynamic Revaluation feature. Keep clients informed of their valuation impact and value acceleration over time. Use this feature to demonstrate the tangible benefits of your advice and maintain client engagement throughout the exit planning process.
Check out this brief explainer video to preview dynamic revaluation in action.
5. Foster Collaborative Engagement
Encourage collaboration between all stakeholders involved in the exit planning process. Use the Capitaliz platform to facilitate communication and coordination between CPAs, attorneys, and other professionals. Ensure that all interactions are documented and tasks are managed effectively to create accountability and streamline the exit planning process.
Supercharge with Software: Elevating Advisory Practices with Capitaliz
The Capitaliz platform offers a comprehensive and powerful solution for business succession and exit planning. By leveraging its key features, advisors can provide clients with targeted advice and strategies to maximize business value and achieve a successful exit. From the Value Gap Assessment to Dynamic Revaluation and more, the collection of features works together to create a seamless and effective exit planning process.
By following best practices and utilizing the Capitaliz platform to its full potential, advisors can help clients navigate the complexities of exit planning and achieve their business goals.
