Case Study: Northwestern Mutual grows business owner planning and valuation revenue with BizEquity

Northwestern Mutual grows business owner clients to 25% with BizEquity

Aaron Roush of Northwestern Mutual, a financial planner with 23 years of experience, sought to focus more on business owner clients but faced a major challenge: his clients often had no idea what their businesses were worth. This lack of valuation made accurate retirement and succession planning difficult, as traditional third-party appraisals were too costly and time-consuming at $10,000–$15,000 each. He needed a scalable and affordable solution from a vendor like BizEquity to integrate business valuation into his financial planning process.

The solution implemented by BizEquity was integrated as a cornerstone of his firm's service model. Aaron began charging separately for the valuation service, which generated new fee revenue from $750 to over $3,500 per case. This approach acted as a planning catalyst, helping to attract new business owner clients who now make up 25% of his new business. In one notable result, a BizEquity valuation closely aligned with a later $7.4M third-party appraisal, enabling a client to finally begin a succession plan after years of delay.

Northwestern Mutual