Watch our video here!
Understanding Bark
Bidvine is now a part of Bark.com
Bidvine is now a part of Bark.com!
We are very excited about this next chapter and are looking forward to making the integration between Bark and Bidvine as seamless as we can.
Here are some FAQs.
What will happen to my Bidvine account?
- Bidvine has gone into administration and therefore we are unable to guarantee any access to your Bidvine account.
- Bark is unable to assist with any queries related to your Bidvine account. That said, we would love to welcome you to Bark.
- Any enquiries in respect of the administration of Bidvine Limited should be directed to Quantuma LLP at bidvine@quantuma.com.
What about my recent Bidvine bids?
- We are unable to help with any queries relating to Bidvine bids. We will, of course, be on hand to help you get started on Bark.com.
What about my Bidvine reviews?
- We are now able to migrate your Bidvine reviews over to your Bark account.
- A button will appear on your ‘reviews’ tab, giving you the option to ‘import Bidvine reviews’. (Settings > reviews)
- Once you have clicked this button, it will import your reviews and they will show on your Bark profile.
- If you click ‘dismiss’ (even accidentally) then the button to migrate your reviews will disappear for good, so please be careful and make sure to click ‘import Bidvine reviews’.
I had Credits on my Bidvine account, what’s happened to that?
- Unfortunately, Bidvine went into administration so any remaining credit or subscription you had is now in the hands of the administrators. Bark therefore cannot honour or transfer any credit.
- Getting started with Bark is very easy and we have some amazing deals running at the moment to get you started for less!
- For any further assistance please call our Customer Success team on +44 20 3866 4431 or email us on bidvine@bark.com.
- Any enquiries in respect of the administration of Bidvine Limited should be directed to Quantuma LLP at bidvine@quantuma.com.
What about my Bidvine premium subscription?
- This will lapse, as Bidvine went into administration. Any remaining credit or subscriptions can’t be transferred to your Bark account.
- Bark does however have a premium tool designed specifically to boost a professional’s visibility and success called Elite Pro. Find more information on Elite Pro here.
- Your first month of Elite Pro will be free! Give us a call to find out more.
Can I contact Bidvine to discuss my account/credits/subscription?
- Any enquiries in respect of the administration of Bidvine Limited should be directed to Quantuma LLP at bidvine@quantuma.com.
How do I get started with Bark?
- Getting started with Bark.com couldn’t be easier. Head over to https://www.bark.com/en/us/sellers/create/ and create your profile in a matter of minutes!
- Alternatively, if you want a little extra help you can call our Customer Success team on +44 20 3866 4431.
How does Bark work? Does it differ to Bidvine?
- We have lots of resources available for you to read when learning how Bark works. Head over to our help center here.
- If you want a little extra help understanding how we work, you can call our Customer Success team on +44 20 3866 4431 or email bidvine@bark.com.
What are your top tips for success on Bark?
Here are some tips for you:
- Tell us what services you offer, the types of leads you want, and the locations you cover by setting your Lead Preferences. We’ll then send you tailored leads that best suit your business.
- Your profile is the first thing customers see, and it’s your chance to make a great first impression. Having a full, up-to-date profile makes you more likely to win even more new customers.
- Professionals with a strong review score are more than twice as likely to get hired than those without! Your reviews don’t always need to be from customers on Bark, they can come from your previous customers too.
- Responding quickly hugely boosts your chances of securing the job. In fact, you’re 80% more likely to get hired if you contact the customer within the first hour!
- Only pay for the leads that you choose. Look at things like how many other professionals have responded and how old the lead is to help you make your decision.
I have an unverified Bidvine account, do I need to verify to use Bark.com?
- No – we are an open platform, so no verification is needed. We do, however, recommend you follow our top tips for success and ensure you have a completed profile and outstanding reviews from your previous customers, so new customers can clearly see why they should hire you.
I already have a Bark account but have forgotten my password?
- Don’t worry if you need to change your password! Follow the ‘forgot password’ steps when logging in.
- You will be emailed a reset link – if it doesn’t arrive in your inbox please check your spam folder.
Can I have the same lead and location preferences on Bark as I did on Bidvine?
- At Bark, we give you the flexibility to set your own lead preferences to ensure the leads you receive are as relevant as possible. You might notice that some of the filter questions on Bark are different from those on Bidvine, however, they will still give you the ability to thoroughly tailor your leads.
- You can set your location/s preferences in many different ways. By travel time, by drawing your preferred location/s, or by your preferred radius.
- We have a dedicated Customer Success team on hand to help you, please call us +44 20 3866 4431 or email bidvine@bark.com.
We hope we have answered your questions, however, if you need to reach us to clarify anything else then please call us +44 20 3866 4431 or email bidvine@bark.com.
Remember to watch our quick video on how you can see success on our platform!
What is an Unsold Lead Subscription?
Exciting news! We have recently launched Unsold Lead Subscriptions!
Our professionals are loving the introduction of Unsold Lead Subscriptions as they offer a massive 66% discount on all unsold leads in your account!
See our most frequently asked questions below.
What is an Unsold Lead Subscription?
Our Unsold Lead Subscription allows professionals to purchase all the leads that pass 48 hours without any response from a professional on Bark. The leads are sold at a fantastic 66% discount. You are then in charge of reaching out to these leads and converting them as normal, with the knowledge that you are likely the first and only professional to have contacted them.
Where are the leads stored?
The leads are funnelled into your own private Google Sheet that updates dynamically on the hour with new unsold leads. This sheet will be shared with you via email up to 48 hours after you agree to the subscription.
How much does it cost?
We are selling our unsold leads subscriptions at a 66% discount. The price will be different for each professional, as it is based on the number of monthly leads we can provide you within your lead preferences. Our Customer Success team can check whether you are eligible and if so, provide you a quote based on the services and locations set up on your account.
How long does it last?
Currently, we are offering this subscription for a maximum of 3 months.
The leads on my spreadsheet don’t match my lead preferences?
If you change your lead preferences after agreeing to the subscription, this will not update the leads you receive on your sheet. The leads on your sheet will be based on your lead preferences at the time of the sale. In order to change the leads seen on the spreadsheet, you will need to let us know you have amended your lead preferences.
What is the refund policy? Can I change my mind and cancel?
This subscription is commitment for a set period of time and as such, once agreed this cannot be cancelled. We can offer partial refunds on the subscription, but only if the number of leads received on the spreadsheet varies by 30% or more than the forecasted number of leads at the time of the agreement.
What are Credit Pack Subscriptions?
Exciting news! We have recently launched Credit Pack Subscriptions!
Our professionals are loving the introduction of Credit Pack Subscriptions as they offer a lower cost per credit, one simple monthly invoice, and we take care of the rest!
Give us a call to discuss further, these discounts aren’t to be missed!
See our most frequently asked questions below.
What is a Credit Pack subscription?
A credit subscription is a fixed term agreement involving either monthly or weekly payments. As per your agreement, you will automatically have the credits applied to your account and the payment will be taken from the card linked to your account. Committing to a credit subscription offers you better discounts than those available through pay-as-you-go and will see you accumulating larger savings.
Why should I commit to a subscription?
Simply put, you will receive a higher discount on credit purchases, a lower cost per credit and ultimately an increased return on investment. One simple monthly invoice, so you know exactly how much you’re spending and can easily track your payments. You also eliminate the hassle of topping up manually, and still the credits never expire, so you don’t lose them if they aren’t all used within the week/month!
How do I sign up?
Currently, these subscriptions are only available through our Customer Success Team. Our friendly agents will build your personalised subscription package options and clarify all the details for you. You can call us or email team@bark.com for more information, we’re open 24/7.
When do I pay?
The payment comes out on a date or day of your choice. If you choose monthly payments, the payment date would always be on the same date of the following months, i.e. 1st Jan, 1st Feb, 1st March and so on. If you choose a weekly package, the payment will come out on the same day every week, e.g. every Saturday. In both cases, the payment is always taken at 9am (your local time).
How long does it last?
You can choose between 6 month (26 weeks), 9 month (39 weeks) or 12 month (52 week) subscriptions. Longer commitments offer better discounts.
What’s the cancellation policy?
This subscription is commitment for a set period of time and as such, once agreed this cannot be cancelled.
What happens if I miss a payment?
If for any reason a subscription payment fails, the credits will not be applied. We will contact you to let you know, and you can get in touch with us so we can attempt to retake the payment.
Do you have any tips for getting hired on Bark?
Here are some amazing tips that will help you get hired:
- Respond quickly: Customers like to hear from professionals as soon as possible. Being the first to respond actually makes you 50% more likely to secure the business.
- Call the customer: When you introduce yourself to a customer, always call them straight away. They’re expecting to hear from you. You will be emailed their details and can also find them under My Responses.
- Give a quote: Where you can, give the customer a quote. You can also send an email using our email templates function with a breakdown of the quote.
- Complete your profile: This is your opportunity to show off what you do. Customers love reading about professionals so make sure your profile is complete and up to date.
- Ensure you have a high star rating: Customers love reading reviews for every service and product and it is the same with Bark. Even one 5 star review makes you 3 times more likely to win the business over someone with no reviews. You can add reviews here from any of your previous customers (even non-Bark customers).
- Follow up with the customer. Ring them again, email them again, maybe send them a follow up SMS. Not all business is secured on the day you purchase the lead – lots of business is secured on the 2nd and 3rd for example
- Do not get too disheartened when a customer doesn’t respond to you. A customer’s response is largely going to be based on their assessment of how good a fit you are for their request/project – sometimes despite having a great service or making a good first impression they will just decide to hire someone else. Realise this is part and parcel of business and respond to your next lead with just as much enthusiasm and positivity.
What happens when I get hired?
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.
What is Bark and how does it work?
Bark is a lead generation platform that connects customers looking for a service with professionals who provide that service.
We receive millions of requests every year from customers and we operate across 1000’s of industries worldwide.
As a professional, you simply sign up, list the services you provide and your location, fill out your Bark profile, buy credits and start responding to warm leads straight away.
See more on how Bark works below.
What does a great first message look like?
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.
How can I encourage the customer to respond to me?
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.
Should I keep my Elite Pro subscription?
Visibility is one of the most important things for any business. Our Elite Pro advertises your business to 100s of customers every month, boosting your profile and providing them access to your contact details.
The Elite Pro fee is a small price to pay for a service that works round the clock to boost your profile and ensure you get seen by more customers than ever before.
It just takes 1 extra customer a month to have Elite Pro pay for itself. With the service showing your profile to 100s of extra customers per month, who can opt to contact you directly or through Bark, it’s most certainly worth the money and works hard, so you don’t have to.
- Your profile will be seen by x3 more customers than a standard professional.
- You’ll be shown first in a customer’s search results.
- We will highlight that you’re an Elite Pro, and give you a gold badge, so customer’s know that you’re gold standard.
- We show your contact details on your public profile, so any browsing customer can reach out to you directly.
We absolutely recommend keeping Elite Pro – it really works.
To ensure you get the full benefits from the Elite Pro service, you must have a completed Bark profile with lots of information on it. You don’t want customer’s to find your bare profile – first impressions count!
How do I write a great profile description?
Your profile description is a great opportunity for you to explain in your own words what you do and what sets you apart from other businesses in your industry.
A few key things you could include are:
- A list of the different services you offer.
- A brief company history e.g how long you’ve been in business etc.
- What makes you different from your competitors.
- Any current offers you may have.
Remember, you want to make a good first impression, so:
- Format your description so it can be read clearly.
- Space things out and avoid big blocks of text.
- Make sure there are no spelling or grammatical errors.
