Every consulting engagement begins with a complimentary 30-minute consulting interview by phone or video call. We listen, ask questions, and identify the highest-leverage opportunities for your Bay Area business — then recommend the right next step. No pitch, no pressure, no commitment.
For new and potential clients, after the complimentary phone call, we conduct an initial assessment that reviews current and potential business opportunities, marketing strategies, marketplace competitive analysis, and online presence — to determine the best recommendations for productivity, efficiency, and revenue.
The initial assessment is the discovery process for both client and consultant. It's how we figure out — together — whether there's a real fit and exactly where the highest-leverage opportunities lie.
Ready to start? The 30-minute conversation is free either way.
Every assessment audits the same six dimensions of your business. Some are obvious; some clients have never thought about systematically. The combination is what generates leverage.
Who you serve, what you do differently, and whether the message is consistent across every customer touchpoint. We audit website, social, print, in-person — looking for drift between what you intend and what's actually being communicated.
Where prospects come from today, where they should come from, and what's broken in between. Channel mix, conversion rates by source, funnel leakage points, and the cost-per-qualified-lead reality.
Retention rates, repeat purchase behavior, review acquisition velocity, referral source mapping. Most growth gets blocked at retention before it ever shows up in acquisition. We surface the leak.
The infrastructure that turns activity into output. CRM hygiene, marketing automation, data pipelines, vendor stack, internal SOPs. Cheap growth usually lives here — under-deployed tools you're already paying for.
Who's doing what, where the bottlenecks are, what skills are missing, and which roles are underutilized. We don't recommend hires until we've audited what's already in place — most teams have hidden capacity.
What you measure, what you ignore, and what you should be tracking but aren't. We map the KPI landscape against business goals and identify the dashboards leadership actually needs to make decisions.
Six dimensions sound like a lot. The audit takes weeks, not months — and the findings are concrete.
If we determine we're a fit, the full assessment establishes a clear current business baseline, outlines critical next steps, and designs the appropriate consulting services to achieve ultimate success.
This is the deep-dive. A day or more of seeing the business in action, in-person interviews with key team members, and end-to-end analysis of marketing, technology, and operations.
The full report becomes the foundation. From there, we map the engagement that fits.
Anonymized examples of findings from real engagements. The pattern is consistent across industries — most businesses have leverage hiding in plain sight.
Marketing spend was 90% allocated to in-store traffic. Catering inquiries were going to a generic info@ inbox with no tracking. The team thought catering was "a nice add-on."
Build dedicated catering landing page, dedicated phone tree, dedicated CRM workflow, and reallocate 30% of paid media to corporate catering decision-makers. Catering became a primary revenue line.
Web form submissions went to an email inbox. The paralegal who monitored it was overloaded. No CRM, no SLA, no auto-responder. Conversion from inquiry to consultation was tracking at 32%.
Implement a basic CRM with auto-routing, 4-hour follow-up SLA, and weekly inbound report. No new hires, no new spend. Conversion lifted to 71% within 60 days.
Excellent product curation, loyal customer base, beautiful storefront — but minimal Google Business profile, no email list, no social cadence. Discovery for new customers was 90% word-of-mouth.
Don't change the brand — amplify it. Build email collection at point-of-sale, structured Google Business presence, biweekly social cadence with editorial guardrails. Foot traffic 3× within 9 months.
These patterns repeat. The leverage in your business is probably hiding in plain sight too.
The free initial interview is structured but conversational. We've run thousands of these — the format is optimized for surfacing the right diagnostic information without wasting your time.
You'll leave with a clear sense of where leverage is hiding in your business, two or three concrete actions to take immediately, and a yes-or-no on whether full engagement makes sense. No pitch deck, no follow-up sequence pushing you to sign.
Thirty focused minutes. You'll know if it's a fit before we hang up.
Our assessment process is built around what's most useful for your business — not what's easiest to sell. Three things every client experiences.
Mutual fit, mutual respect. Worth 30 minutes either way.
The assessment is the start, not the deliverable. Here's the path most clients take from initial conversation to active engagement.
The diagnostic conversation. You walk away with concrete actions whether or not we proceed together.
If we both see fit, a paid 2–4 week deeper audit producing the full assessment report and roadmap.
If you choose to proceed, the full consulting engagement kicks off — Silver, Gold, or custom scope.
Three steps from conversation to action. Step one is free.
The free assessment is most valuable for businesses in specific situations. We're as interested in saving your time as our own — here's the reality of who benefits.
Strong fit on the left side? Let's talk. Otherwise, we'll point you somewhere better.
What businesses ask before scheduling the free consulting interview.
Yes — completely free, with no commitment. The interview is how we figure out whether there's a real fit before either of us invests further. You provide context on your business; we provide honest input on opportunities and challenges. If we're not the right consultant for you, we'll say so.
Minimal prep. Come with a rough sense of what you'd like to be different in 6 to 12 months — revenue goals, brand positioning challenges, operational pain points, or whatever's been on your mind. Half the value of the conversation is sharpening that picture together.
If you have specific questions about our packages or our approach, those are great topics to bring up too.
If we both agree there's a fit, we move to the Initial Assessment Interview — a structured business questionnaire followed by a focused 2-hour review meeting. From there, depending on the situation, we may also conduct a Full Assessment Report with comprehensive on-site research before designing the engagement.
If we're not a fit, you walk away with concrete next steps you can implement either way. Honest assessment matters more than securing every potential client.
Yes. The 30-minute consulting interview can be done by phone or video call (Zoom is the default). For Bay Area clients who prefer in-person meetings at our Oakland office, that's also available.
The Initial Assessment 2-hour review is also typically virtual, though in-person works well too for local businesses. The Full Assessment Report involves at least some on-site time to see the business in action.
Use the self-scheduling tool to find a time that works on David's calendar — typically within 1–2 weeks. If you have an urgent need, call directly at 510-761-5895 or email info@piedmontave.com and we'll prioritize the request.
The first conversation is always free. Use the self-scheduling tool to find a time that works, or call directly. Include any specific topics you'd like to discuss.
Two decades of consulting relationships across restaurants, law firms, healthcare, retail, and professional services. Selected testimonials — full case studies and references available on request.
We worked with Piedmont Avenue Consulting to implement new sales processes and launch a successful customer loyalty program. As a result, we have dramatically increased revenues from catering events and "front of mind" sales.
"Dramatically increased revenues from catering events and front of mind sales."
Right away things started to happen. We have managed to fill up our seminar rooms again, he has found us great new staff to run our marketing department, and business is booming. More than a marketing consultant, he is also a business confidant.
"Right away things started to happen. Business is booming. More than a consultant — a business confidant."
David strives to deliver value first and only then presents additional services. He has earned my business and he has earned my trust. He is a natural connector — extremely comfortable in networking environments.
"He strives to deliver value first. He has earned my business and my trust."
Extremely helpful, and the most responsive consultant I've ever worked with. If he didn't know something, he had no problem acknowledging that and calling an expert. His follow-up was absolutely impeccable.
"The most responsive consultant I've ever worked with. His follow-up was absolutely impeccable."
David was very helpful with structuring online marketing for my business. He presented clear ideas and strategy that was totally relevant for my dental office. His innovative thinking helps me to think outside the box.
"Clear ideas and strategy totally relevant for my dental office. Innovative thinking."
My experience with David's services was excellent. He was always responsive to numerous questions; his answers and guidance were of the highest quality. You would want to have David on your team.
"Always responsive. Guidance of the highest quality. You'd want him on your team."
He is a creative genius and excellent sounding board for strategic planning. I have been fortunate to continue our relationship, learning many things that have helped me grow.
"A creative genius and excellent sounding board for strategic planning."
David gave expert marketing assistance on how to prepare my website and bio in response to a national design award. His creative solutions to client negotiations provide unexpected business opportunities.
"Expert marketing assistance. His creative solutions provide unexpected opportunities."
After hearing David speak at a Constant Contact seminar, I knew I needed to meet with him. He conveyed information in an easy-to-follow manner. From A-Z, David was thorough and easily accessible throughout the entire project.
"Thorough and easily accessible throughout the entire project. From A to Z."
It's been a long time since David was in my accounting class, but I have followed his career ever since and he constantly amazes me. He has created an incredible business network within the Bay Area.
"He constantly amazes me. An incredible business network within the Bay Area."
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