Best Exit Planning Advisors and Consultants
for Business Owners (2026)

Why succession planning and exit planning get confused

Succession planning usually prepares a family member or internal leader to assume ownership, leadership, or both. Exit planning covers every path out of ownership, including an internal transfer or a competitive sale to outside buyers. Owners often need both when family continuity remains possible but uncertain.

Many family businesses do not remain under family ownership across multiple generations, so owners may benefit from preparing for either an internal succession or an outside sale. Cornell's family-business overview reports that about 40% of U.S. family businesses reach a second generation and 13% reach a third. Northern Trust's discussion of family-business transitions gives a similar estimate for third-generation survival. These widely cited estimates are not directly comparable survey results, but they illustrate the difficulty of sustaining family ownership. Harvard Business Review's guidance on preparing the next generation describes how family businesses can prepare prospective successors for leadership.

Planning often remains incomplete even when succession concerns are active. Kreischer Miller found that 45.9% of surveyed family companies lacked a formal succession plan. PwC found that succession planning was a priority for 44% of surveyed U.S. family businesses over the following two years.

A family succession consultant is the better fit when family governance and successor readiness drive the decision. An M&A advisor is the better fit when the owner needs buyer outreach and transaction execution. The firms below represent both types of service, while the Exit Planning Institute provides advisor education and credentialing.

How we selected these firms

We included firms only when public information supported their services, leadership, and advisory process. We recorded published fee structures and deal-size information when firms disclosed them. The comparison identifies missing information rather than estimating it. We excluded firms when we could not verify enough public information to describe their services and positioning accurately.

We compared each firm based on its family-business or general succession focus, fee model, typical transaction size, and level of senior-advisor involvement. Salt Creek Advisory authored this article and appears among the firms reviewed. Each “best for” category reflects the type of owner a firm appears suited to serve, rather than a universal ranking.

Quick comparison: exit planning advisors and consultants at a glance

Choose an advisor whose experience matches your intended transition and company size. Before signing an engagement, compare the fee model, confirm current terms, and identify the senior advisor responsible for the work.

Salt Creek Advisory

• Overview. Salt Creek Advisory is a family-owned, lower-middle-market M&A advisory firm based in Chicago. Brothers Jack and Connor Pitts work directly with owners throughout transaction preparation, buyer outreach, negotiation, and closing.
• Best fit for. Salt Creek fits founders and family-business owners who expect an eventual sale and want succession planning connected to a competitive buyer process. Owners seeking an internal family transfer or long-term family governance advice may need a succession specialist, attorney, or tax advisor instead.
• Typical client and transaction size. The firm generally works with established private companies producing $2 million to $75 million in annual revenue and at least $500,000 of adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted EBITDA starts with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. An advisor then documents adjustments for items such as owner-specific expenses or unusual costs.
• Industries served. Salt Creek serves manufacturing, industrial services, distribution, and business services companies. The firm also works with managed IT providers, preschools, pet care businesses, accounting firms, and dental practices.
• Geographic coverage. Salt Creek serves owners across the United States from its Chicago office.
• Core services. The firm provides preliminary valuation work and sell-side M&A advice, including buyer research, confidential outreach, offer evaluation, due diligence coordination, and closing support.
• Notable strengths. Jack and Connor Pitts work directly with owners throughout the engagement. Standard M&A engagements carry no upfront retainer, and Salt Creek earns its advisory fee only when a transaction closes.
• Potential considerations. Salt Creek operates from one Chicago office rather than through a national network of local brokerage franchises. Owners who prioritize a nearby branch office or a large local brokerage network may prefer another model.
• Why included. Salt Creek connects exit preparation with transaction execution. Its model suits owners who want direct founder access and prefer a success fee without an upfront retainer.

Exit Consulting Group

Overview. Exit Consulting Group provides exit planning and transaction support through its named Exit Engineering methodology.

Best fit for. The firm suits owners who want a structured, named methodology and may pursue an eventual sale. Owners seeking specialized family governance or internal succession support may prefer a family-business consultant.

Typical client and transaction size. Exit Consulting Group does not publicly disclose typical revenue, EBITDA, or transaction-value ranges.

Industries served. Published case studies cover private companies in manufacturing, construction, professional services, healthcare, and other industries.

Geographic coverage. The firm does not publish a defined service territory.

Core services. Exit Engineering starts by assessing the owner’s goals and designing a plan. The firm then supports implementation and manages the transition, including buyer engagement when a sale forms part of the plan.

Notable strengths. The methodology divides an engagement into four stages covering assessment, plan design, implementation, and transition management. Exit Consulting Group says it also addresses operational risks before approaching buyers.

Potential considerations. The firm does not publish its fee structure or typical deal size. Securities products and investment-banking services are offered through BA Securities LLC, a separate, unaffiliated FINRA and SIPC member. Public materials name Andrea Steinbrenner as a firm representative, but they do not explain who leads each client engagement.

Why included. Exit Consulting Group provides a verifiable example of method-driven exit planning that can continue into a buyer-facing process without claiming a family-succession specialty.

Exit Planning Institute

The Exit Planning Institute belongs in this comparison as a credentialing and education body, not as a firm that manages succession plans or business sales. EPI trains professional advisors through its Certified Exit Planning Advisor designation, commonly called CEPA.

According to a CEPA credential overview, candidates must hold an undergraduate degree and have at least five years of full-time experience working with business owners. The overview also describes a four-day course, a proctored closed-book exam, ongoing EPI membership, and 40 hours of continuing education every three years. Because credential requirements can change, confirm the current standards with the Exit Planning Institute.

The credential confirms that an advisor met EPI’s stated training, examination, and experience requirements at the time of certification. It does not establish the advisor’s transaction record, family-business expertise, fee structure, or ability to manage a competitive sale.

Use EPI's member directory to check whether a prospective succession planning consultant currently holds the CEPA designation. Then ask the advisor about relevant client work, personal involvement, and responsibility during a transaction.

EPI does not run business-sale processes. A hands-on M&A advisor, business broker, attorney, accountant, or family-succession consultant must perform that work, depending on the transition you are considering.

Generational Equity

• Overview. Generational Equity is a large, multi-office M&A advisory firm serving privately held middle-market businesses. Its services include exit planning, valuation, sale execution, capital markets, and wealth advisory through affiliated entities.
• Best fit for. The firm suits owners who prefer a national brand with broad transaction resources. Its focus rests on general exit planning and M&A rather than family governance or internal leadership succession.
• Typical client and transaction size. Generational describes its market as the middle market. The firm reports more than 1,800 completed transactions totaling over $9 billion and says LSEG ranked it first or second nationally by transaction count across deal sizes between $25 million and $1 billion. These figures and rankings come from Generational’s own press release.
• Industries and geographic coverage. Generational serves multiple industries through 17 North American offices, according to the firm.
• Core services. Owners can use Generational for business valuation, growth advice, exit preparation, and transaction execution.
• Senior-advisor involvement. Generational publishes advisor profiles, but it does not disclose its typical senior-to-junior staffing ratio or guarantee that a particular managing director will oversee an engagement. Ask the firm to identify the people responsible for each stage of your process.
• Fee structure. Generational does not publish standard fees. Ask for a written schedule covering upfront, recurring, and closing-based charges before signing an engagement.
• Potential considerations. Generational does not publish a standard engagement-staffing model, so owners should ask which employees will handle each stage of the work. Ask who will perform each stage of the engagement and request relevant client references.
• Why included. Generational represents the large, multi-office M&A model in this comparison.

The Rawls Group

Overview. The Rawls Group advises family-owned companies on leadership, ownership, family relationships, and business continuity. Its work centers on preparing a company and its family stakeholders for succession rather than executing a sale.

Best fit for. The firm suits owners planning an internal family transition or working through governance, management, and family conflict before changing ownership.

Typical client and transaction size. The Rawls Group does not publish client size or transaction thresholds. Because the firm does not present itself as a sell-side M&A advisor, transaction size provides limited guidance when evaluating fit.

Industries served. The firm works across sectors such as auto dealerships, franchising, agriculture, construction, manufacturing, professional services, and technology.

Geographic coverage. The Rawls Group lists an Orlando address and publishes service pages for several other U.S. markets. Owners outside Orlando should confirm how the firm delivers services in their location.

Core services. The Rawls Group says its Succession Matrix and three-phase process examine a company across 10 connected areas. Review and Analysis typically takes six to eight weeks and includes input from owners, family members, managers, and outside advisors. Plan Development and Implementation typically spans 12 to 18 months. Continuing Facilitation revisits the plan as family circumstances, finances, and tax laws change.

Notable strengths. The process examines family dynamics and governance alongside financial and operational planning, which differentiates the service from buyer-focused transaction advice.

Potential considerations. The firm does not publicly disclose its fees. Its public materials also do not describe competitive buyer outreach, deal negotiation, or transaction execution, so an owner pursuing a sale would likely need a separate M&A advisor.

Why included. The Rawls Group represents the family-systems succession model in this comparison.

Transworld Business Advisors

Overview. Transworld Business Advisors operates as a franchised business-brokerage network. Local offices help owners sell companies. The broader organization also provides franchise consulting and development services through independently operated locations.

Best fit for. Transworld suits owners of small and midsized businesses who want a local broker within a wider franchise network. Owners seeking detailed family governance or long-term succession consulting may need a separate specialist.

Typical client and transaction size. Transworld focuses on small and medium-sized businesses. The organization does not publish a consistent transaction-size range across its network.

Industries served. Industry experience varies among the brokers working in each Transworld territory, so owners should review the record of the specific local office they are considering.

Geographic coverage. Transworld reports more than 1,000 brokers across 250 offices worldwide on its franchise recruitment site. Because network counts can change, confirm current coverage with the local Transworld Business Advisors office you are considering.

Core services. Brokers provide business valuation support, sale preparation, buyer marketing, and transaction assistance. Two local Transworld Business Advisors offices publish example seller-commission ranges of 8% to 12% in North San Diego and 10% to 15% in Colorado. These local examples do not establish a network-wide fee schedule.

Notable strengths. Transworld's franchise model provides local broker coverage across many markets, but each office's availability and experience vary.

Potential considerations. Pricing, broker experience, and senior involvement can vary by office because local franchisees manage client engagements.

Why included. Transworld provides a widely available brokerage option for smaller transactions, which makes it a useful comparison against succession consultants and lower-middle-market M&A advisors.

How to choose an exit planning advisor for your situation

Start with the transition you are considering. A family transfer usually calls for experience in family governance, successor readiness, ownership structure, and conflict management. An outside sale calls for an advisor who can prepare the company, contact qualified buyers, compare offers, and manage due diligence through closing.

Match the advisor’s experience to your company’s size. Business brokers generally focus on smaller owner-operated companies, while M&A advisors tend to serve larger companies that require more detailed financial analysis or broader buyer outreach. Ask for relevant examples, but confirm that the advisor personally worked on them.

Review the full fee structure before signing. Consultants may charge hourly fees, project fees, or retainers. Transaction advisors may charge an upfront retainer, a closing fee, or both. Salt Creek’s standard M&A engagements use a success fee without an upfront retainer, which can suit owners who prefer to pay an advisory fee only if a transaction closes.

Confirm who will handle the work. Ask whether the senior advisor who leads the initial meeting will remain involved in valuation, preparation, buyer outreach, negotiation, and closing. Direct senior access lets you discuss family concerns and deal terms with the advisor making the recommendations.

Use credentials as one vetting tool. The Exit Planning Institute awards the Certified Exit Planning Advisor credential, and its directory can confirm whether an advisor holds it. A CEPA designation shows relevant training, but you should still assess transaction experience, industry knowledge, fees, and personal involvement.

Owners who need more help with timing can review our guide to when exit planning should begin.

FAQ

How do succession planning and exit planning differ?

Succession planning prepares a transfer of leadership, ownership, or both, often to family members or employees. Exit planning covers the owner's broader path out of the business, including internal succession or an external sale and the preparation each option requires.

What does a CEPA credential mean?

A Certified Exit Planning Advisor has completed specialized coursework and an exam through the Exit Planning Institute. The credential requirements signal relevant training, but you should still evaluate the advisor’s transaction experience, services, and role after planning ends.

How do exit advisors typically charge?

Planning consultants may charge hourly fees, project fees, or ongoing retainers. M&A advisors and business brokers often charge a closing-based success fee, sometimes combined with an upfront or monthly retainer.

When should an owner start planning an exit?

Owners should begin several years before a possible transition when time allows. Early preparation gives an owner time to strengthen management and financial records while comparing internal succession with a sale. Our exit planning timeline.

Talk to Salt Creek Advisory about your exit

If Salt Creek Advisory appears to fit your planned transition, you can request a confidential preliminary valuation conversation with Jack and Connor. You can discuss potential value and timing before deciding whether to begin a sale process.