Every location counts leads differently
Each acquisition arrives with its own agency, dashboard and definition of a lead.
COST: NO WAY TO COMPARE LOCATIONS OR MOVE BUDGETAfter close
What breaks when a location joins a platform
The industry changes. The handoff problems don't. These show up whether the platform is buying service companies, apartment communities or clinics.
6–8 WKSAds can go dark when an acquired brand is rebranded and Google re-verifies it.
30–90 DAYSHow long data integration typically takes after an acquisition, with limited reporting until it's done.
$150M → $350MRentokil-Terminix's one-time integration costs as its integration plan changed.
Spend is reported as clicks and calls
Nobody can tie a marketing dollar to a booked appointment, a signed lease or sold revenue.
COST: SPEND CAN'T BE TIED TO EBITDALogins belong to the founder or the agency
Ad accounts, business profiles, listing sites and domains sit outside company ownership.
COST: STALLED REBRANDS, LOST HISTORYInquiries go unanswered or unbooked
Calls, web forms and tour requests are won by whoever responds first, and response times go unmeasured.
COST: PAID LEADS THAT NEVER BOOKPeak season lands mid-transition
Every business has its rush: storm season, spring demand, August move-in. A handoff timed badly costs a year.
COST: THE YEAR'S BEST MONTHS, MISSEDBrand calls get made too slowly, or too fast
Keep-or-rebrand decisions drift, or get forced before the data is in.
COST: SLOWER ORGANIC GROWTHThe Integration Playbook
Five plays, in the order a deal needs them
Start with Play 01. Each later play builds on what it finds, and you can stop after any of them.
PLAY 01 · START HEREPre-close or first 30 days
Integration Assessment
A scored read of the location's sales and marketing, with a 100-day plan.
3–4 WEEKS · FIXED FEEPLAY 02After the assessment
100-Day Integration
Accounts moved to platform ownership, one lead definition, response standards, a weekly sponsor scorecard.
100 DAYS · FIXED FEEPLAY 03Each new acquisition
Add-On Onboarding
The same 30-day playbook, rerun for every location you buy.
30 DAYS · PER ADD-ONPLAY 04During the hold
Performance Retainer
Monthly location scorecards, budget and vendor reviews, and accountability for local managers.
MONTHLYPLAY 0512–18 months before sale
Exit-Ready Data Room
Clean attribution history, normalized spend and documented playbooks for buyer diligence.
4–6 WEEKS · FIXED FEESelling a company?The Seller Readiness Report is a two-week version of Play 01 for owners, built for the advisor's data room.
What Play 01 delivers
- Sales and marketing scorecard for each location
- Lead-source matchback: spend tied to booked appointments and sold revenue
- Response and booking snapshot across calls, forms and tour requests
- Inventory of every account, login, listing and vendor
- Peak-season calendar, so the handoff is timed around the rush
- Keep-or-rebrand recommendation for each brand
- EBITDA-impact estimate and a 100-day plan
Extra hands, not another agency
I work alongside the platform's leaders, the local managers and the agencies you already have. They keep running ads, creative and day-to-day leasing or sales. I set the standard they're measured against and do the integration work nobody has time for.
Out of scope
Running ads day to day, creative production, CRM or software implementation, and hiring.
Who I work with
Built for the people who own the deal
PE operating partners
A read on an add-on's sales and marketing before close, and a plan the platform can run after it.
Platform leaders
Extra hands for integration, so it stops being the last workstream in the 100-day plan.
M&A advisors
Buy side: a sales and marketing workstream for diligence. Sell side: a readiness report that holds up under buyer review.
Where the playbook comes from
Two industries, the same handoff
Ashley Cody, principal. 15+ years in marketing and operations, most of it inside businesses that grow by adding locations.
Home services
Inside a PE-backed multi-brand platform
Marketing due diligence and onboarding for acquired brands, daily call accountability across 14+ branches, spend rebuilt on lead-to-job matchback, and board-level reporting for the sponsor.
Off-campus student housing
Where the audit came from
Every lease runs through the same pipeline: listing, inquiry, tour, application, signed lease. I audited each step with one goal in mind: a sold-out move-in day.
Start here
Start with a 20-minute fit call.
Tell me about the platform and the next acquisition. I'll tell you which plays fit and what the first one would cover. For multi-location roll-ups, their sponsors and M&A advisors.