A Perth-based advice practice has entered an expansion phase through leveraging its specialised focus in business succession planning.
Succession Matters founder, Adam Smith, told Riskinfo that while life insurance advice remains the core of the business, the key point of differentiation has been the strategic focus of the firm, which is dedicated towards business succession planning advice, fuelling the growth of the business and is now offering significant expansion opportunities.
Having commenced in the sector as a risk specialist adviser, Smith repositioned his proposition towards business succession and personal estate planning more than 15 years ago. He says the expanded service offer accompanying this specialised niche is now presenting the business with what he refers to as left-field opportunities to source new clients, particularly through connections with national firms who operate franchise business models or independently-owned co-operative groups.
In ‘playing the long game,’ a family succession plan placed by Smith ten years ago and recently implemented for a business client, which is part of a national co-operative network, subsequently led to an invitation for Succession Matters to make a presentation at their client’s co-operative network’s national conference.
This exposure and subsequent engagement with other firms in the co-operative group has led to the opportunity for Smith and his recently appointed partner, Luke Towers, to expand their business to cater to a national client footprint.
…any risk based advice business or any financial planning firm has the capacity to broaden the scope of their proposition to build in succession planning
Both Smith and Towers are naturally strong advocates of an advice business model that specialises in personal estate and business succession planning. While they concede the adviser would need to possess the knowledge base fundamentals and competence around providing advice services to business owners, they both agree that any risk based advice business or any financial planning firm has the capacity to broaden the scope of their proposition to build in succession planning and estate planning services.
“If you’re a holistic planner, the detail involved in delivering business succession and personal estate planning advice may require a more specialist focus,” says Smith, who believes the key ingredient – the secret sauce – required for anyone to succeed in this space is the imperative to be empathetic to the needs of the client or to the multiple clients involved in structuring appropriate business or personal estate planning solutions.
He says the conversation between the clients can often get quite personal, due to the nature of the subject matter, and he and Towers regularly need to play the role of mediator. He says the only way to get all the information needed is to keep asking questions until all the information, obstacles and points of view have been disclosed and a shared vision has been reached:
“Most risk advisers I know are very empathetic people,” comments Smith. “They have that skill set. It’s a natural thing to be able to talk to people about difficult situations and try to get them to meet in the middle. That mediation skill comes more naturally the more empathetic you are.”
…succession planning is a process, not an event
Smith says advisers and advice businesses involved in succession planning also need to adopt a long-term view, and be mindful of Smith’s own mantra that succession planning is a process, not an event:
“It’s not going to be resolved today. But we’re going to start today to try to get you on the same page.”
He adds that whether it’s personal estate planning or business succession, “…you cannot move forward until you have a shared vision – until we’re all on the same page. That’s why we’re very process driven – to get everything out on the table, fleshing out possibilities and options.”
In terms of process, Smith and Towers apply a specific format in their business client conversations, within which they position their narrative around the three key risks facing most businesses:
- Equity Risk
- Debt Risk
- Revenue Risk
In working through each of these risks and implementing appropriate solutions, Smith and Towers’ role includes coordinating other financial or advice elements: “Bringing the right people to the table at the right time is very important,” says Smith. “For example, the advice business drives the process but requires input from legal firms or accountants to manage the implementation of certain elements of the solution, whether that relates to business or personal.”
Smith and Towers are now actively exploring their expansion options, which they agree is entirely due to a left-field opportunity emerging by virtue of their specialisation in business succession advice services – and where their lofty goal is to become recognised as the leading business succession specialist firm in the industry.
Bringing it back to basics, Smith says “Fundamentally we’re still a risk advice business. Still today. It’s just that we overlay that with some unique services that perhaps other risk specialists don’t or haven’t considered. There’s such an opportunity there to specialise in that space. Not just for us, but across the adviser market.”
