Strategic Glue announced a new small-business marketing book, “6 To Fix: How to Grow a More Valuable Small Business.” Terry Sullivan, founder of Strategic Glue, a fractional CMO and author of four marketing books, reframes marketing as one of the most overlooked tools an owner has for building a business they can eventually sell. As many as eight in 10 privately held businesses for sale never find a buyer, according to the Exit Planning Institute. Owners often build companies that are too dependent on them and lack systems — but the main premise of Sullivan’s book is that most smaller businesses are missing the marketing strategies to build their companies into compelling propositions for future buyers.
Sullivan calls the approach value-creation marketing. His 6 To Fix Marketing Strategy Framework connects six marketing strategy areas — Brand, Customer, Offering, Communications, Sales, and Management — to six drivers that foster value creation, all laddering up to a premium a buyer will pay for a valuable business. Three of these strategy areas are assets that build earnings; the other three are systems that make those earnings more valuable.
According to Sullivan, “Value creation isn’t new. But value-creation marketing to build a small business worth buying so owners can finally sell — is. Most business owners spend on marketing like it’s a monthly bill, not like they’re building something they’ll one day sell.”
The book is the front door to the 6 To Fix Marketing Strategy Framework Program, a three-tier path Strategic Glue developed for business owners:
Tier 1 • Diagnostic Audit — scores the business across the six areas and finds where value is leaking.
Tier 2 • Strategy Playbook — develops strategies in the six areas of marketing that build value creation.
Tier 3 • Fractional CMO & AI + Human Execution — turnkey marketing management and execution on a monthly basis.
The 6 To Fix book launches in two stages: a free e-book PDF goes to everyone who registers for the October 8 launch webinar, followed by Kindle and print editions on Amazon on October 22. The book was written primarily for owner-operators of businesses in the $1 million to $15 million range across industries — and, secondarily, for leaders of private equity-backed businesses in the $15 million to $25 million range. Its principles apply to any owner who wants to grow a more valuable business.
At 6ToFix.com, owners can take a free scorecard that assesses the six areas of marketing that may be eroding future sale value; register for the October 8 launch webinar; reserve or purchase their copy of the book; or receive book release notifications. Review copies, interviews, podcast appearances, and speaking engagements with Terry Sullivan are also available upon request.
