Strategic Glue — Marketing strategy that builds value
The Question

Can marketing help you create a business you can sell?

70–80% of small businesses listed for sale never actually sell

The reason isn't usually the financials — it's everything that wasn't built to transfer. 6 To Fix is the marketing framework that closes the gap: six strategy areas, six value drivers, one operating system for building a business buyers actually want.

The 6 To Fix Self-Scorecard
See where your business stands — in 5 minutes.

Six strategy areas. Six value drivers. Score your marketing on what actually transfers to a buyer. No email required to start.

Score your business 5 minutes · Free
In 90 Seconds

What Strategic Glue does, and who it's for.

Terry Sullivan introduces the 6 To Fix methodology
Terry Sullivan introduces the 6 To Fix methodology
~ 90 sec
Six To Fix

Build a marketing strategy that drives growth — and a more valuable business.

Six To Fix is the proprietary methodology specifically designed for long-term value creation. Six strategy areas — Brand, Customer, Offering, Communications, Sales, Management — each mapped to a value driver marketing owns. Delivered in three productized tiers.

6 To Fix — Strategic Glue's proprietary marketing methodology
6 strategy areas that marketing owns
6 value drivers that build assets and systems
3 productized tiers — Audit (diagnose), Strategy (document), Execution (deploy)
4 reasons for value creation — sale, succession, stepping back, or staying in
The Misdirection

Most owners think marketing is tactics.

Tactics matter — but without strategy, they're just motion. The system you build is what creates the value.

Owner-operated businesses don't fail at marketing because the work isn't getting done. They fail because the work happens inside the owner's head — undocumented, unrepeatable, dependent on one person showing up every day.

That's not a marketing problem. It's a business-value problem. Buyers, lenders, and successors don't pay for activity. They pay for systems that work without you in the room.

The 6-to-6 Bridge

Every strategy area maps to a value driver marketing owns.

Fix the 6 areas. Build the 6 drivers. Build Goodwill (the premium that a business buyer pays over book value). Increase the multiple. This mapping is proprietary to the 6 To Fix marketing strategy framework. Take control of the value you're creating in your business.

The 6 To 6 Value Bridge — Six strategy areas (Brand, Customer, Offering, Communications, Sales, Management) map to six value drivers (Brand Worth, Customer Yield, Category Claim, Demand Engine, Revenue Integrity, Transferable System). Assets build EBITDA, systems expand the multiple, and both carry the business across to the acquisition premium.

Six areas. Six drivers. Six places where marketing adds dollars to the buyer's offer.

The Destination

What grows the business is what makes it valuable.

Sale, succession, stepping back, or staying in — every path rewards the same investment in systems.

50%+
of small businesses operate with no documented marketing strategy
10%–20%
of small businesses track customer acquisition and lifetime value costs
30%+
valuation discount typically applied to owner-dependent businesses at sale
The 6 To Fix Self-Scorecard
Score your own business in 5 minutes.

Six strategy areas. Six value drivers. Where would your business score today? No email required to start.

Score your business 5 minutes · Free
The Offering

Three tiers, designed to be used in sequence.

Or stand alone — the audit always comes first. Diagnose. Document. Deploy.

Start Here
Tier 1
Diagnose

The 6 To Fix
Audit

$7,500
fixed fee · 3 weeks
  • Full audit that exposes value creation holes
  • 6 To Fix Scorecard and Gap Analysis
  • Value Driver Assessment
  • AI Readiness & Systems Readiness Assessments
  • Live interviews with key stakeholders
  • Customer portal / interactive dashboard
  • 90-Minute Audit Workshop
See what's inside
Tier 2
Document

Documented Strategy

$15K
fixed fee · 30–45 days
  • Six-chapter Strategy Playbook
  • Standalone assets that drive value creation
  • Full documented strategy to support your goals and objectives
  • 30/60/90-day implementation roadmap
  • Strategy workshop with your team
  • Customer portal / interactive dashboard
See what's inside
Tier 3
Deploy

Full-Service Marketing Department

$7,500+
monthly · ongoing
  • Your own full marketing team for the cost of a marketing manager
  • fCMO, managers, and creatives plus a 6 To Fix AI-optimized system
  • Fully customized to support your Tier 2 Strategy
  • Weekly and monthly KPI / metric reporting
  • Bi-weekly update meetings
  • Customer portal / interactive dashboard
See what's inside

Each step is a system, not a checklist, for marketing that creates business value beyond monthly metrics.

Beyond 6 To Fix

Three other ways to work with Strategic Glue.

6 To Fix is a productized methodology designed specifically for small to mid-size businesses. We also work with a wide variety of companies on consulting engagements, small business owner development, as well as keynote and workshop bookings.

01 · Consulting

Marketing, Branding, Management, & AI

Project-based or retainer engagements for owners who need senior expertise on a defined challenge or opportunity. Scoped per engagement with documented deliverables, project milestones, and accountability cadence.

Explore consulting
02 · Coaching

1:1 Small Business Coaching

For owners who want to develop themselves as operators and marketers — using 6 To Fix as the framework. Monthly cadence, subscription pricing, by application.

Explore coaching
03 · Speaking

Keynotes & Workshops

Small business marketing, business value creation, productization for founders, AI-native marketing, and international marketing, among others. Industry associations, owner conferences, and organization chapter meetings.

Book a talk
Terry Sullivan, Founder of Strategic Glue Terry Sullivan, Founder
The Founder

A CMO who built and sold a business — then built the marketing system for the rest of us.

With 35 years of experience, Terry Sullivan founded Strategic Glue nearly two decades ago to help small to mid-size businesses with value creation marketing. Terry has been a consultant, entrepreneur, business coach, college professor, three-time published textbook author, and founder who sold his own business. That last part is the part most marketers can't claim. It's also the part that informs the 6 To Fix Marketing Strategy Framework as well as every Strategic Glue engagement.

"The marketing work that moves the needle day-to-day isn't always the work that moves the needle at sale. That gap is what Strategic Glue exists to fix."
More about Terry
6 To Fix — Grow a More Valuable Small Business through Six Areas of Marketing Strategy, by Terry Sullivan
The Book

6 To Fix Marketing Strategy Framework Field Guide

The methodology in full in a short, easy-to-read format with real-life examples and practical knowledge for every business owner. Why marketing is value creation, not just growth, and how these key value drivers affect valuation and higher multiples upon exit — and what deferred maintenance costs businesses on a daily basis and at time of sale.

Let's Talk

The audit will tell you exactly where you stand.

You manage what you measure. Find out how to create more value in your business. Learning more about the Tier 1 Audit costs nothing — but the payoff could be significant.

Book a 15-minute discovery call
Schedule the call
The 6 To Fix Self-Scorecard
Where does your marketing actually stand?

A 5-minute diagnostic across all six strategy areas. Free, no email required to start. See where value creation can be added in your business.

Score your business 5 minutes · Free