Are You A Safe Driver? Navigating Collaboration With Other Professionals In The Exit Planning Process
As we wrap up the 2025 Exit Planning Institute Summit — where I’m honored to be the 2024 Member of the Year — I want to share some key insights about collaboration in serving high-net-worth and business-owner clients.
Exit planning is a complex, multi-year journey requiring a team of trusted professionals working seamlessly together. My experience and my book, Can I Borrow Your Car?, use the analogy of borrowing a car to illustrate how we must carefully navigate referrals and collaboration.
When someone refers a client to you, it’s like lending you their prized vehicle — they’re trusting you to drive carefully, respect the rules, and return it in better condition.
The Essential Rules of the Road for Collaboration
Stay in Your Lane: Know your role clearly and respect the scope of your engagement. If you’re brought in to advise on company growth, don’t try to take over related areas like M&A if that’s another professional’s domain. Trying to “carjack” a client by competing with your referral partner damages trust and kills future referrals.
Communicate Expectations Early: Have a direct conversation with the referring professional about what they expect from you, how you should communicate, and what boundaries to observe. This builds trust and prevents “car wrecks” on the referral road.
Protect Relationships: Your goal is to enhance the referring professional’s reputation by delivering exceptional service and safeguarding their client relationship. Return the “car” in better shape than you received it.
Why This Matters for Your Referral System
In Can I Borrow Your Car?, I introduce a proven referral system built on giving rather than begging. This approach lowers perceived and actual risk in the referral process, making it easier and more natural for clients and centers of influence to refer to you repeatedly.
By becoming a trusted connector who actively gives referrals and adds value beyond your core service, you become the obvious choice in your industry. This strategy turbocharges your referral pipeline, fills your sales funnel with ideal clients, and builds a diverse, engaged network.
Practical Steps to Implement Now
Identify and focus on your highest-value referral sources.
Have candid conversations about expectations and boundaries with your referral partners.
Use the “I Love Referrals” mindset: offer introductions and connections proactively to your clients.
Prioritize face-to-face time and build deep relationships that inspire clients to refer you naturally.
Track and measure your referral activity to double your meeting targets based on your closing rates.
Collaboration done right is the key to growing enterprise value for your clients and your practice. If you want to avoid costly “car wrecks” and become the trusted advisor everyone wants to refer to, start by respecting the rules of the road.
I welcome your stories, questions, or experiences with referral collaboration — please reply or reach out anytime.
Drive safely and prosper,
Mike Garrison
2024 Exit Planning Institute Member of the Year
Author, Can I Borrow Your Car?
Trusted Advisor in Referral-Based Growth and Exit Planning
I know that successful sales professionals and business owners face unique challenges as their career matures. My goal is to help people like you manage the transition from producer to successful business leader while enjoying life now. To learn more about how we do that, subscribe to Can I Borrow Your Car on Substack.
You can also:
💡 Connect with Mike on LinkedIn
🔗 Visit Can I Borrow Your Car website
🔗 Explore Strategic Referral Team website
📕 Purchase your copy of Can I Borrow Your Car?
🎙 Subscribe to the Why Should I Refer You? Podcast