Congratulations! Getting hired is what Bark is all about. 

When you get hired by a customer you meet through Bark, all the money you make is yours to keep.

Remember, we have no involvement in payment. This is entirely between yourself and the customer.

We strongly recommend you mark that lead as ‘hired’. Our customers love to see how many times a professional has been ‘hired’, so make sure you’re showing this to them. 

For information about setting a status on a lead, click here

Don’t forget to invite customers to review you on Bark. 

For information about how to add reviews to your Bark profile and invite customers to review you, click here.

If you’d like advice on increasing your conversion rate, then watch the video below.

Once you have clicked ‘Contact’ on the lead you have chosen, your details and Bark profile will be sent to the potential customer however we would always recommend calling them directly to introduce yourself, let them know you’re interested and make a great first impression. 

If they don’t answer your first call, that’s O.K, try ringing them again at a more convenient time such as lunch time or when a typical working day would end i.e. 6pm.

We would then recommend heading over to My Responses and Sending them an email or an estimate. You will very clearly see the options to do this in your My Responses section, under the leads contact details.

We have a great feature that allows you to create and build different email templates for different kinds of leads. You can learn more about making those here.

When you click ‘Send Email’ you will then see the option to send an email from your list of pre-written templates, or to write a brand new custom email.

If you’re unable to reach them at first, then don’t worry. You should continue to follow up using the different contact methods you have available.

You can find the details of leads you have responded to in ‘My Responses’.

You can scroll down through all of your responses and select any lead to view its details.

You can also use the filter options on the left hand side to specify which leads you would like to see the details of.

A great first message is so important to catch the customers attention and stand a good chance of getting hired. We have now made this easier than ever to do by creating easy and eye-catching email templates or newsletter style responses. 

You can have photos, logos, banners, you can write in columns or normal text and you can build this out to be as colourful or as simple as you like as well customise each email template to suit different kinds of leads (and then save them for future use!) See more here:

Your first message should include key points about your business and what you offer; a short, clear description of how you can help the customer; a basic quote or estimate and your contact details. 

It is also crucial that your message is well written and clearly formatted with no spelling or grammatical errors. 

Always include your direct contact details so the customer can contact you directly. 

Despite sending a great first message, we would still recommend calling the customer unless they have stated otherwise.

Can I set a status on leads I have responded to?

Bark provides professionals with a simple, clear and easy way of categorising and setting statuses on leads you have responded to. 

You can set a status on a lead in My Responses

Select the lead you wish to set a status on.

On the upper right hand side of the page above the main heading of the lead, you can select a status from the drop down menu. 

Select between Live Lead, Hired and Archived.

You can then use the filtering options on the left hand column of the page to filter between your responses by status.

Whilst you are unlikely to hear back from every customer you respond to, there are lots of things you can do to encourage a customer to reply.

Firstly, a customer’s response is largely going to be based on your profile and their assessment of how good a fit you are for their request/project so ensure your profile is completed to a good standard. You will need to have spent some time filling this out, including a company description, uploading photos and videos where appropriate and ensuring that you have positive reviews from your previous customers on your Bark profile. More information on doing this here:

Ensure you have made use of all of the contact details provided, calling the customer and sending an email via our site.

Trying to call the customer outside of standard working hours (but not too early or late) is also a great way of reaching them to pitch your services.

Don’t call the customer too much within a short space of time, as this could make them less likely to reply to you positively.

For some more great tips for responding to leads which increase your chances of hearing back from customers, click here

Your Bark profile plays a huge part in whether a customer decides to respond or not. They will look at your profile and the links/information/pictures etc that you attach to help them assess whether your business is a good fit for them. See more on why your Bark profile is important below.

If you would like direct assistance and advice from Bark to help you increase the number of customers you hear back from, please contact our customer success team here.

Bark screens every request to prevent incorrect details being released, so this shouldn’t happen too often.

In the unlikely event that you respond to a lead with incorrect contact details, please contact the Bark customer success team to investigate. 

Following verification, Bark will return the credits used to your account. 

Our credit return policy works as follows.

We will return credits immediately if:

    1. A phone number provided is invalid, for example if it says “calls are not being connected to this number”.
    2. An email address provided isn’t functioning.
    3. We can verify that the contact details provided are not for the person submitting the request.

We will not return credits in the following circumstances:

    1. The contact details provided are valid, but the customer does not respond.
    2. You make contact with a customer, but do not secure the job.

You must also inform us of any issues relating to this policy within 14 days of responding to the lead.

As much as we would like to, we cannot guarantee that every customer you contact through Bark will respond to you.

It is important to use all of the available contact methods when responding to a customer to stand the best chance of speaking to them. 

Because customers receive different responses from competing professionals, it may be the case that a customer only replies to the professional they want to hire or the professionals they have shortlisted. 

To increase your chances of hearing back from customers, please read some great tips for responding to leads here

If you would like direct assistance and advice from Bark to help you increase the number of customers you hear back from, please contact our customer success team here.

Once you have responded to a customer, it is free to send additional messages.

You can send an email to the customer through Bark or of your own accord (although we would recommend making use of our great email template function). 

 

As much as we would like to, we cannot guarantee that every customer you contact through Bark will respond to you.

Because customers receive different responses from competing professionals, it may be the case that a customer only replies to the professional they want to hire or the professionals they have shortlisted. This is normal when running a business. If you had a shop front, not everyone who walked in would buy something. If you’re advertising online, not everyone who clicked through to your website will convert. Do not worry, this is part and parcel of generating new customers.

That being said, there are numerous things you can do to improve your chances of getting hired. These include:

  • Ensure you have a great profile! Potential customers will view your profile and use this to decide whether you could be the right professional for them. Ensure there are no spelling mistakes, you have a salesy company description and lots of information highlighting how your business is right for them.
  • Set your lead preferences. You want to make sure the leads that are coming through are as relevant as possible.
  • Respond to customers as soon as possible. Strike whilst the iron is hot!
  • Try and get through to them in a few different ways. Attempt to call them, send them an SMS or an email. If at first, they don’t answer, that’s ok! Keep trying – they might be at work or doing the school run!

To increase your chances of hearing back from customers, please read some great tips for responding to leads here

If you would like direct assistance and advice from Bark to help you increase the number of customers you hear back from, please contact our customer success team here.