The owner says they want to exit. Then they avoid the meeting, reject the valuation, delay delegating, or sabotage their plan. Most advisors answer resistance with more analysis, more urgency, and another conversation about enterprise value. But you cannot spreadsheet someone out of an identity crisis. In this session, Jerome Myers reveals why technically sound exit plans stall when the business is still supplying the owner with identity, belonging, purpose, structure, security, or significance. Drawing from more than 3,500 founder conversations, he will show advisors how to recognize the personal planning risk hiding beneath a business objection, ask questions that surface what the owner is truly afraid of losing, and move the engagement forward without becoming the owner’s therapist. Attendees will leave with a practical diagnostic approach for opening conversations competitors avoid, strengthening client trust, and preparing the owner for the life the transaction will create.
