Marketing Due Diligence and Exit-Readiness Consulting

The marketing problem that lowers valuations

The most common marketing issue that lowers a valuation, or kills a deal, isn't a bad website or weak ads. It's the owner running the marketing.

If you're the one bringing in the work, a buyer has to replace you. Say that means a $120,000-a-year marketing hire. That cost comes straight off EBITDA, and a business that leans on its owner often gets a lower multiple too.

• $1M EBITDA at 4x = a $4M business
• $880K EBITDA at 3.5x ≈ a $3.1M business

That's roughly a quarter of the value gone, because nobody but the owner runs marketing.

I run an M&A advisory practice alongside Ronin, and I spent 20+ years in federal strategic communications before that. So every plan I write starts with one question: what's the end game? Then we work back from it.

How a buyer looks at your marketing

A buyer's accountants run a Quality of Earnings review to answer one question: how much of this profit is real, repeatable and transferable? I ask the same question about the revenue engine that produces it. These are the eight areas a buyer's team probes:

1. Quality of pipeline. How much revenue comes from repeatable marketing, and how much from your personal relationships, referrals and one-off wins.
2. Channel and revenue concentration. Whether one channel or a few customers carry the business, and how much depends on rented media like paid ads instead of assets you own.
3. Unit economics. Cost to acquire a customer by channel, conversion at each stage, lifetime value, and how long it takes to earn back what you spend.
4. Proof of pipeline. Whether your CRM and reports tie to real closed deals and invoices.
5. Trend and forecast support. Whether lead flow is growing, flat or declining, and whether your marketing plan can actually deliver the growth in your forecast.
6. Transferability. Whether marketing runs without you: documented processes, clear roles, regular reporting.
7. Asset ownership and hidden liabilities. Who owns the domain, ad accounts, Google profile and email list; locked-in agency contracts; consent and licensing gaps.
8. Market position and reputation. What a buyer finds when they search for you: reviews, rankings and how you compare to competitors.

Marketing Diligence Snapshot: $500

A fast first look at how your marketing will hold up in a sale.

• Owner questionnaire
• Review of your public presence: search, reviews, website and ads
• Account-ownership check
• A 0–100 readiness score with the top 5 red flags a buyer would find
• A 45-minute readout, within a week

The $500 fee credits toward the full assessment. See what's in the Snapshot →

Not sure which one you need? Start with a quick consultation. We'll talk through where your business is and when you might sell, and I'll tell you whether the Snapshot or the full assessment fits.

Book a Consultation

Marketing Due Diligence Assessment: $3,500

The full review, run the way a diligence team would run it. About 3 weeks.

• All eight areas above, reviewed against your data, not just what's public
• CRM tracing: sample deals followed from lead source to invoice
• Quantified EBITDA adjustments, showing what each gap could cost you at sale
• A findings report with every issue rated by severity
• A remediation roadmap split into before listing, before LOI and after close
• A buyer-facing summary of your marketing function for your data room
• A readout call, with your M&A advisor if you'd like

The fee credits toward your first month of fractional CMO work if you sign within 30 days. See the full assessment →

Book a Consultation

The assessment reviews your marketing function. It is not a financial audit, a Quality of Earnings report, a valuation, or legal or tax advice. If you're preparing for a sale, also work with a CPA, an M&A advisor and an attorney.

Closing the gaps

The assessment shows what a buyer would find. These services fix it:

• Pre-Exit Marketing Positioning. The story and assets that make your business easy to buy.
• Recurring Revenue Architecture. Subscription and recurring models buyers pay more for.
• Marketing Org Design & Hiring. A team, in-house or outsourced, that runs marketing without you.
• Fractional CMO. I take over marketing and build the systems the assessment calls for, using The Ronin Method: Map, Build, Grow, Multiply.

Ongoing engagements are priced by scope and outcomes, not hours, and run $2,500 to $10,000 a month. Clients typically see results within 30 days. I won't promise a number of leads or a sale price, but you'll know where you stand and what to fix.

When to start

Ideally one to three years before a sale. That's enough time to fix what the assessment finds and build a track record a buyer can see. Starting later still helps: even six months is enough to clean up account ownership, document processes and get your numbers in order.

This work isn't for owners who only want ads run or leads sourced. It's for owners who want a business that's worth more and runs without them.

"He views marketing through the lens of enterprise value and M&A readiness, not just clicks or impressions. He builds transferable infrastructure that reduces founder dependency and actually compounds a business's valuation multiple."

Clayton Joyner, mastermind peer

I'm based in Woodbridge, Virginia, and work with owners nationwide.