Complaint Review: Allison Bliss Consulting

From: Angela

Date: April 28, 2010 11:58:05 AM PDT

To: abliss@allisonbliss.com

Subject: INVOICE - Marketing and Communications Consulting Engagement

Dear Allison Bliss,

I hope this finds you and Allison Bliss Consulting well.  It has been a busy time of start-up activities for (our firm).  And with the close of our first quarter, I am following up with you again directly for the final time.

Several months have passed with no response from you regarding several email and phone communications requesting a meeting regarding project failure of your engagement with (our firm), which is contrary to your signing an engagement to serve us as the client.  Please be advised of the following:

I engaged you on 02/04/10 for marketing and communications assistance with mission-critical tasks including an important deadline of 02/17/10.  You recommended your 5 hour coaching package as a solution, not I, even when I expressed doubt that I needed that amount of consulting given my realities.  Moreover, please note that as a consultant I was unclear how you were going to conduct a needs assessment of what was important to me with your process of a very lengthy questionnaire.

In my consulting practice I use a simple and short needs assessment tool to focus in on what my client's needs, not what I think I should deliver.  And I offer a free 30 minute consultation that's devoted to that needs assessment where we come out of that with shared vision of mutually agreed upon deliverables for engagement.  And if engagement occurs, I execute my client's vision, not mine.

So I assessed your description of this package on your website, where I've put in bold below the items that I found of interest to me:

http://www.allisonbliss.com/

MARKETING COACH

Affordable advice for entrepreneurs and solo business owners from experienced Marketing Coach

Well show you what works & create a step-by-step action plan you can implement yourself or well do it all for you.

• Boost revenues, grow business
• Attract higher profit margin clients
• Clearly and persuasively describe the value of your products/services
• Create effective promotional campaigns
• Position your company to create the right perception
• Increase your sites ranking on search engines
• Free and affordable marketing tools and resources
• Tool to write your company profile

From that, I gave you the benefit of the doubt because you were a Women's Initiative 2009 Businesswoman of the year, went through your time consuming questionnaire process when I did not have a great deal of time, and put what I want delivered in the questionnaire that took me almost 7 hours to complete.

CENTRAL ISSUE:  

Allison, you delivered a 13-14 point Marketing Action Plan that encompassed actions that were not at all my priority, or that I was already taking.  Moreover, I did not ask for a marketing plan, I had a marketing plan that was satisfactory enough for me to graduate from the Women's Initiative program, and had specific tasks to accomplish to FUND my start up, in particular satisfying my Executive Advisory Board's request for my edited business plan and finalizing corporate sponsor proposals.

In your lengthy questionnaire, in line with what's advertised on your website for this package, I asked for:

2.     "What is your primary goal for Allison Bliss Consulting at this time? What do you wish to discuss, learn, understand, achieve?"

l   Define what we do so people understand it and purchase our services for:

o      SEO website content (as implied on your website "increase your site's ranking on search engines")

o      Collateral materials (target ~ updated business plan to Executive Advisory Board members, under construction website finalization by March, corporate sponsor proposal)

l   Crafting (i.e., assist with editing) a winning corporate sponsor proposal (partially completed, based on the business plan) for dissemination by 02/17/10 that clearly defines our target market

l   Promoting Leadership Seminar and Launch Celebration March 31, 2010

Moreover, engaging your services not only did not deliver anything I asked for, but put me off track with mission-critical tasks for FUNDING my start-up phase, which felt very stressful, not helpful at an already demanding time.  Because the fact is Allison, the report your delivered clearly demonstrated that YOU NEVER HEARD the priority needs that were important to me.  And then, although you stated in your email below you'd be happy to meet with me, you refused to meet with me or return my calls, your client, to resolve my complete lack of satisfaction with your service but instead repeatedly kept emailing me, taking up more of my time, about what you wanted to deliver and your business model.  This outrageously demonstrates that engaging your service in no way helped but only harmed my business and was a project failure.

As a result, my firm is compelled to present you with the following electronic invoice with a hard copy to follow via mail, as our firm needs to close this outstanding accounts receivables:

However, not only am I interested in resolving this outstanding accounts receivable owed our firm.  But I feel concern as a fellow small businesswoman affiliated with the Women's Initiative.  Because I want to promote good will in our community.

Consequently, please note the invoice terms are net 2 that offers Allison Bliss Consulting the opportunity to resolve this matter with full payment of $325 is due in my office April 30, 2010.  This will preclude (our firm) from taking further action.  Allison, thank you for your prompt attention to this outstanding matter.  I look forward to your reply regarding resolution.

Best regards,

Angela

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