Ask the Expert: Five essential gardening jobs to do this spring

With spring in full bloom, now is the perfect time to create the perfect space to relax with your friends and family. Getting on top of things now will make all the difference as temperatures start to rise and barbeque season gets into full swing – and that’s where Bark comes in.

To help you make the most of that neglected outside space, we asked one of our top gardening pros – Harrison Gardens founder Julian Harrison-Jones – to run you through five essential gardening jobs to do this spring.

1. Fix up your lawn

*You can find hundreds of Lawn Care specialists on Bark.com*

One of the main things that people think about at this time of year is Lawn Care. Weeds are coming through, the edges aren’t done and it’s starting to look overgrown.

“It’s time to start working on your lawn,” says Julian. “That means aeration, mowing, weeding and feeding. You feed the lawn twice a year, in Spring and Autumn.”

“When you’re starting to mow the lawn, because it will be the first cut of the year you should do it on a high blade,” he adds. “You’re just encouraging new, healthy growth. Don’t go crazy otherwise you’ll do damage and you might kill the lawn.”

2. Get on top of the weeding

Your lawn isn’t the only thing growing again now the winter months are behind us. Rolling up your sleeves and tackling the weeding now will mean you have a head start going into the rest of the year.

“To be honest, weeding is probably ‘number one’ because of the time of year,” says Julian. “You’ve left it over the winter, they’re coming up now and if you don’t tackle weeds now they’ll compete with shrubs and plants that you want to keep.”

“Basically, they’re all competing for nutrients and water,” he adds. “So if the weeds take over, they’ll take that away from the actual plants. As well as some weeds, like Ivy or creeping weeds, which will can strangle and kill your plants.”

It’s time to start working on your lawn

3. Choose your ‘feature’ plants

*Julian planting flowers for one of his many happy clients*

Once you’ve got the weeds under control, it’s time to think about the plants you actually want to look at.

“It’s still relatively early in the gardening year,” Julian explains. “So you can plant your ‘feature’ plants or architectural-type planting – your shrubs, the backbone of your garden.”

He adds: “If you like roses, this is the perfect time for them, as well as perineal flowers and trees.”

4. Get mulching and feeding

Mulching and feeding goes hand-in-hand with weeding and planting, but the exact type of plant food you use depends on what you’re using it for.

“It could be manure, it could be peat, it could be leaf mould or compost,” Julian explains. “If it’s roses, for example, they really like a horse manure. Whereas, in general, your shrubs prefer bark just to supress weeds and keep the heat in.

“With your lawn, it would be nitrogen. Generally, a well-balanced fertiliser containing nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus in equal proportions. You can’t go too wrong with that.”

5. Repair damaged trees and fencing

Starting with storm Desmond back in December, the UK has been buffeted by a wave of severe storms over the past few months. Thankfully, the worst of it is behind us, and you can now be thinking about repairing those damaged fence panels.

“Because of the recent storms, any damage that’s been caused over the winter – fencing, staking trees – those kind of essential works can be done,” Julian explains. “That’s what took up most of January. Lots of fencing work.”

“About two weeks ago we had a job that involved a lot of staking and getting everything back into shape,” he adds. “You should have two large stakes either side of the tree, which should be tied together firmly, then the tree tied to that.”

Find a local gardening expert today

With thousands of registered gardening professionals, giving your garden a makeover in time for summer is easy with Bark.com.

Whether you’re fixing the fence, clearing away those pesky weeds, or planning a full-blown garden renovation, we can help. Simply click the link below to find gardening professionals in your area today.

Hire a pro to fix up your garden today.

Why we’ve stopped asking for budgets

“There needs to be a way to stop timewasters who ask for a quote without any intention of ever going ahead,” says one Bark pro. “Maybe a guide with realistic budget advice may help this?”

This was a piece of feedback we heard time and again in your responses to our recent Seller Survey. The overwhelming consensus was that we should give people more guidance to make sure they have realistic budgets.

It got us thinking about what we could do to make sure everyone who uses our site knows what things actually cost. We’ve been testing a number of ideas behind the scenes, and today we’re happy to announce what we think is the ideal solution.

It’s called the Budget Estimator, and it essentially simulates the experience of having an expert on hand to let you know what everything costs.

Here’s why it should mean a better experience for both you and your customers:

The problem with letting the
buyer dictate the price

So why were so many people selecting unrealistically low budgets when placing their Barks in the first place? Are they all cheapskates?

We don’t think so. Based on the feedback we get from you and your fellow pros, it looks like most people simply don’t know what things cost – especially when they’re first-time buyers.

For example, you might guess that a 10-shot photo shoot lasting two hours costs less than a 200-shot wedding shoot with album and retouching services. But unless you’re a professional photographer, you probably have no idea what the price difference is.

Some people intuitively consider this when setting their budgets, and get good responses as a result. But, unfortunately, others do not.

So, when presented with a series of prices and not knowing what something is really worth, most people worry about getting ripped off. They think: “I don’t want to be quoted more than I should be, so I’ll choose the cheapest option just in case.”

How we used to ask for Buyer's budgets — *How we used to ask Buyers their budgets*

The upshot of all this was that people tended to select the cheapest option available when placing their Barks, even when that’s not what they really wanted.

This led to a mismatch between what people placing Barks expected to be quoted and what pros like yourself usually charge for their services.

The result was bad for everyone: buyers got fewer responses at higher prices than they were expecting, while pros felt that most Barks weren’t worth their time and didn’t bother responding to them.

Luckily, our new Budget Estimator changes all that…

Now the power is in YOUR hands

Letting our users specify their own budgets clearly wasn’t the way to go. That’s why, starting today, we’ll be doing things differently.

Instead of having people guess what a service costs, we’ll show them what to expect based on what you and your fellow pros usually charge. Here’s how it will work:

Whenever someone submits a Bark, we’ll identify what they’re looking for based on their answers to our questions.
We’ll then cross-reference their request with historic estimates for Barks in the same category and area, and remove any outliers that look far larger or smaller than usual.
Finally, we’ll present the customer with a range of prices to help them work out what they can expect to be quoted.

As you’ve seen, our old system meant people expected unrealistically low estimates because of the “Market for Lemons” effect.

But our new Budget Estimator should give everyone a more realistic idea of what the services they’re looking for actually cost.

You’ll be able to see the guide prices we provide for each of the Barks you receive, so you can consider them before responding.

If you decide to give an estimate that’s less than the industry average, your customers will feel like they’re getting a great deal – and your customers should still be happy to pay more than the industry average in exchange for a premium service.

In short, we believe our Budget Estimator will help educate our users – so you can win more business at higher prices than you might have been able to in the past.

Let us know what you think!

We’ve tested this new website feature thoroughly to ensure it works smoothly for buyers and sellers alike, and we hope it means you can win even more new business thanks to our service.

Please let us know how you’re finding it by emailing our friendly Customer Service team at team@bark.com, or leaving a comment using the form below.

How we give you better leads than Google AdWords – for a fraction of the cost

If you’ve tried growing your business online with Google’s AdWords service, you already know it’s not for everyone.

The costs are increasing year on year. You’re competing with giants like Amazon that will happily spend £34million-a-year on paid search advertising. Even small businesses routinely spend upwards of £6,500-a-month on PPC, according to online advertising experts WordStream.

With some popular keywords costing as much as £38 per click, it’s easy to see why so many people struggle to make this kind of marketing strategy work for their business. It takes great deal of research and technical know-how to get up and running – and that’s where Bark comes in.

We provide an affordable service that sends you better quality leads than you typically get from paid search advertising, at a fraction of the price. That’s why we believe every small business can grow quickly and easily with Bark.com.

Yet some people seem to think we’re more expensive than Google.

So today we’ll show you how we beat AdWords on both quality and price – and why, if you aren’t already, you should start winning new customers with Bark right away.

The real problem with online advertising

The promise of “pay per click” (PPC) advertising is simple: if the people who click on your ads spend more than it costs you to provide your services and run your ads, you turn a profit.

Sounds easy, right?

The problem is, only a very small percentage the people who click your ads actually end up spending any money.

Imagine you’re a DJ looking to promote your services in Manchester. Let’s say you put an ad on Google which costs you 50p per click.

Being fairly tech savvy, your website is decent. But you know a high percentage of the people who click your ad will just be browsing. So, based on what you’ve read online, you expect around 12% of them to ask you for an estimate.

That means you can get 100 clicks for £50, and generate roughly 12 enquiries. That works out at £4.17 per enquiry.

Mind you, not all those enquiries will be useful. You might be busy on the day they need you, their budget might be too small, or they might be too far away for the trip to be worth your while.

But let’s assume 75% of the enquiries you get are for jobs you want to do. So from 100 clicks you receive nine valid enquiries, costing you £5.55 each.

Even though you respond promptly and politely to each of those nine people, only six of them get back to you. Perhaps the other three weren’t really serious in the first place. Maybe they simply forgot to respond. It’s annoying, sure, but these things happen.

You still have six potential customers who have read your quote – and each of which has cost you £8.33. But, of course, most people will shop around to make sure they get a good deal.

In our experience, people like to get 2-5 different quotes before they make a final decision. So let’s assume each of your leads has also contacted two other sellers – giving you a one in three chance of securing the business.

That should translate into two new customers, and an average cost per booking of £25.

Here’s what Bark does differently

Ask a marketer what’s different about Bark and the’ll say we’re “further along the buyer journey” than Bing or Google. What that means is, there are fewer opportunities for the buyer to drop off.

We handle all the PPC for you completely free of charge, and hunt down quality leads for your business using a variety of other techniques.

Then you can see exactly what your potential customers are looking for in advance, from their budget, to when and where they need your services – and everything else you might need to decide if they’re right for you.

Plus, you’ll never waste money on people who aren’t serious about hiring you, as we’ll refund every estimate you give that doesn’t get read.

Now, the average Bark gets just over two responses, and each potential customer may have tried somewhere else too.

You can respond to a DJ Bark for just five credits, which will usually cost you £5 + VAT. So if we assume they’ve contacted two other pros in total, your chance of winning the business is one in three again.

That means, in this example, each booking costs you just £18, and you save 28% compared to what Google would have charged you.

That’s why we believe Bark is a smarter, more effective way to find new customers online – but the story doesn’t end there:

You could save another 30% today

The bottom line here is that, in many cases, using Bark to grow your business can be much better value than other lead finding services.

Of course, every business is different, and it may be that PPC strategies work well for you – and if so, that’s great.

But if you’d prefer not to bother with the hassle and expense of managing an AdWords account, and don’t want to deal with the expense of hiring an agency to do it for you: we can help.

Not only can we often send you high quality leads at a fraction of the cost of Google AdWords, but you can also enjoy extra discounts on packs of Bark Credits – making our service even more profitable.

In fact, if you open a new Bark account today you’ll be able to claim an extra saving of 30% on your first credit pack.

It’s free to sign up, and we’ll start sending you quality leads right away.

So, if you’re not a Bark member already…

Click here and claim your FREE account today.

Four essential steps to getting the perfect customer review

Last week we looked at how our new reviews tool makes asking customers to leave feedback on your Bark profile easier than ever.

We believe getting great reviews is one of the most important things you can be doing to grow your business. But, unfortunately, a lot of the stuff you read online about how you should go about it is just plain wrong. So we’re continuing on the theme again this week.

This time, we’ll run you through four essential steps to help you get great feedback on your Bark profile – and debunk some of the worst myths about how to get reviews online along the way.

Step 1: Ask the right customers

People generally won’t spontaneously leave positive reviews on your site, no matter how great you are. So, if you want them to give you feedback, the first thing you’ll most likely need to do is ask them.

But if it’s good reviews you’re after, asking all of your customers usually isn’t the way to go.

“The right customers are the ones who are getting the most value out of your product,” explains customer support specialist Groove.

“After all, the best reviews don’t just praise a product; they make it abundantly clear exactly who the product is right for.”

You can identify these customers in a variety of ways. For example, if a customer is referring others to your business, then they’re probably very happy with it themselves.

Similarly, if a customer comes to you for repeat business that suggests they like what you do, and are highly likely to write you a good review.

Step 2: Ask at the right time

Good service is all about making peoples’ lives easier.

You come to us because we deal with the expensive and time-consuming business of marketing your business online for you. Similarly, people come to you because you can help them with something they lack the time, skills or inclination to do themselves.

But if you you leave it too long to ask for feedback, customers won’t appreciate having to wrack their brains trying to remember who you are or what job you did for them.

So the second “essential step” is to ask a customer for a review when you’re still at the top of their mind. That way, it’s easier for them to recall what happened and write an honest review.

We recommend sending your review requests within 14 days of completing a job for someone. Or, better yet, if you work in an industry like Personal Training you can simply ask your current customers to post their feedback.

Step 3: DON’T ask for a good review

Contrary to what you might read elsewhere online, you can’t coerce people into leaving good reviews with special offers. It’s not that it’s impossible to get good reviews this way. But it is deceptive – and, more often than not, a stunt like this will backfire.

“Want to know the best way to increase the number of reviews for your business? Just ask.” writes Forbes’ Nellie Akalp.

“Your customers understand how important reviews are to your business, and as long as you provide an excellent product or service, they won’t be annoyed if you ask for a review.”

But, on the other hand, they may well be annoyed if they feel like you’re not really interested in their opinions.

So while you absolutely should be asking for reviews, you should never ask specifically for a good review. Instead, ask for an honest one.

Step 4: Don’t forget the basics

Most importantly, it pays to remember the basics.

There are no shortcuts that will get you tons of reviews overnight. But there is one simple thing you’re probably already doing that will work far better over the long term than anything else.

It’s simple, it’s straightforward – and it works.

You see, the single most important thing you can do to get great reviews on your Bark profile is deliver an outstanding customer experience.

In Oracle’s 2011 Customer Experience Impact Report, the data company cites research that found that 86% of customers will pay more for a better customer experience.

Happy customers help you grow your business in other ways, too. Studies have consistently shown that satisfied customers are far more likely to tell other people about their experiences.

It can be easy to forget that, ultimately, everything your business does boils down to the quality of service you deliver in the first place.

But if you do a great job and have satisfied customers, that’s half the battle. From there, it’s just a matter of remembering to ask them to give their honest feedback while you’re still fresh in their mind.

Stick to these essential steps and you’ll be getting great reviews in no time – and thanks to our brand new reviews tool, asking happy customers to post reviews on your Bark Profile is now easier than ever. You can see how it works here.

Let us know how you get on! As always, you can reach us by email at team@bark.com.

Getting great reviews on your Bark Profile is now easier than ever

It’s Saturday night. You’ve invited friends over for a film and you fancy a takeaway. Someone suggests an Indian, so you type it into Google and five local restaurants pop up.

Which one do you choose?

Well, if you’re anything like us, you go for the one with the biggest number of positive reviews. If other people like it enough to write about their experiences then it must be good.

That’s why we believe getting positive reviews from your customers is one of the best ways to grow your business and attract more customers.

In this week’s Bark Bulletin, we’ll run you through how we’ve made it easier than ever for customers to leave reviews your Bark Profile – and show you how to start getting great reviews right away.

Why nothing beats a
good review

As a small business owner, we’re sure you already know what a powerful thing a good review can be.

Every company will say it’s good, even if it isn’t. But people know they can trust recommendations from their fellow customers.

In fact, one Zendesk survey found that 90% of people say positive reviews influence their buying decisions, and 86% say their decisions are influenced by negative reviews.

To see this for yourself, imagine you’ve just placed a Bark for Driving Lessons and the following two companies give you an estimate:

All other things being equal, most people will opt for the company with the five-star review.

That’s why it’s so important to ask customers to give you feedback on your Bark Profile – and today we’ll show you how.

But before we get to that, there’s one more benefit to getting more Bark reviews we haven’t mentioned yet…

You could get five
stars on Google

If you have a few reviews on your Bark Profile already, you might like to take a moment now to Google yourself and see this feature in action.

It’s one of our favourite features, as it has the potential to really set you apart from any other companies that crop up when a potential customer searches for local services in your area.

As you can see from this entry for one of our top Computer Repairs specialists, your reviews will show up in Google searches as star ratings:

We’re sure you can imagine what a difference a Google star rating could make for your business.

It could give you a real edge over your competitors and significantly improve your chances of getting hired.

So right now, we’re going to show you how to get one of your very own.

Now it’s easier than ever to
get great reviews on your
Bark Profile

We’ve been working hard behind the scenes to streamline our reviews process, and now it’s easier than ever.

In fact, you can now request a review in a matter of seconds.

You see, every Bark Pro has their own review code.

It’s a unique web address that takes people directly to the reviews section of your Bark Profile. When they arrive, a pop-up box will prompt them to leave their feedback:

So, to request a review you simply send a message containing your review link to one of your customers.

Anyone who’s used your services can leave a review on your Bark Profile, even if they didn’t find you through Bark.

But remember, recent customers are far more likely to get back to you than older ones – so it’s best to get in touch and request a review within 14 days of completing the job.

Now, your review code is usually hidden away in your Bark Dashboard under your ‘Profile’ tab.

But, to be honest, we reckon it’s a bit of a pain having to dig it out every time you want to ask someone for feedback – so we’ve created a handy tool that makes the process a whole lot easier.

If you have your customer’s email address, it will automatically send them a short message asking them to leave some feedback on your profile page.

You’ll find it in the brand new ‘Reviews’ tab on your Bark Dashboard, and it looks like this:

Better yet, it’s really simple to use…

Whenever you want to request a review from one of your customers, simply enter their email, click ‘invite’ and the reviews tool will do the rest.

That’s really all there is to it!

You can test it out right now by finding the tool in your Dashboard and typing your own email address into the box.

Let us know how you get on. And, as always, if you have any questions send us an email at team@bark.com and we’ll be happy to help.

Why Service Areas Matter

Following some feedback from a recent seller survey, we felt it would be helpful to run you through exactly how service areas work.

The whole point of service areas are for you to ensure that you are getting Barks relevant to you and your business. The Barks you receive are generated through the service areas that you cover. They can be added and edited at any time. Please see a few important questions and answers below which should hopefully give you a better understanding on how they work:

“What are service areas?”

Service areas are a combination of the area you cover geographically and the service you provide as a professional. You put in what it is you do as a business (by selecting one of our categories), a location and then set a radius in miles accordingly (up to 30 miles around one location). There is no cap on the number of service areas you can add to your profile. The more service areas you have – the more Barks you will potentially receive.

“I don’t get enough Barks”

Try extending your service areas. It is always worthwhile covering a wider radius just to see what might come in. If a high value job comes through, you may feel it’s worthwhile travelling that little bit further. So long as an email alert is not going to be a nuisance we would always suggest covering as wide an area as feasibly possible. It’s better to see what’s out there than not. Of course, if you get something that is not relevant or of interest then there is absolutely no obligation to respond.

Extend your Service Areas to get more Barks — With a 30 mile range this Seller had 15 matching Barks. A 10 mile range only gave 5 matching Barks

“I get too many Barks”

Great that you are getting a high number of enquiries, but we only want to be sending you over relevant leads. If it is because they are coming in too far a field, you can reduce the radius you cover to make it smaller – this will then stop so many leads coming through to you. If you are receiving the wrong type of enquiry, you can simply remove this service area. You will find a small ‘X’ which will remove this for you.

Remove Service Areas — Click the small X to remove a Service Area

“I cover the whole of the UK”

At present, we do not have a feature that allows you to cover the whole of the UK with one click. That said, you can put yourself down as covering every major city with a 30 mile radius (we have the cities listed in order of popularity at the bottom of each page). For example:

Web Design in London with a 30 mile radius
Web Design in Manchester with a 30 mile radius
Web Design in Bristol with a 30 mile radius
Web Design in Liverpool with a 30 mile radius

Service Area Locations — There is no limit on the number of Service Areas you add.

You will then be alerted to all the Barks placed in these areas.

You can find a list of the top UK cities here

“I cover many trades as a supplier”

No problem at all. Like with locations, you can have as many of our categories as you like listed in your service areas. You can also have a different radius set for each one so you can cover a smaller area for the lower value jobs and then a larger area for the higher value jobs. We would always suggest adding in as many categories as possible so you can see the other types of enquiries we receive which could be relevant to you.

For example, someone in the Gardening industry might have the following:

Gardening in Richmond with a 5 mile radius
Landscape Design in Richmond with a 30 mille radius
Fence repair in Richmond with a 10 mile radius.

Vary Service Areas by category — You can vary your service areas by category if you’re willing to travel further for larger jobs.

If you are having any difficulties with service areas then just give the customer service team a call on 0207 1172 656 or email team@bark.com – we would love to help.

The 7 Deadly Sins stopping you winning new business

Our customer service team often get asked how Sellers can ensure they secure the business when responding to a Bark. As with anything, there are no guarantees, but there are some things we see Sellers doing that harm their chances.

In association with Nick Hewer from The Apprentice we’re bringing these together in a video and Blog post covering the “7 Deadly Sins stopping you winning new business” and providing guidance on how to quote.

Sin 1: Not addressing the Buyer by Name or getting the Buyer’s name wrong

If you know the Buyer’s name – use it. It shows you’ve read their details, shows a little care and makes a great first impression. “Dear Mr Jones” looks so much better than “Dear Sir”, or worse “Dear Sir or Madam”.
One watch-out though – make sure you type it correctly. If you address a Buyer called “Beverley” as “Baverly” (yes that has genuinely happened) it’s unlikely you’re going to hear from them again.

How not to quote — Make sure you get the Buyer’s name right

Sin 2: Copy Pasting Stock responses to save time

We know it’s quicker to have a ready-made “Dear <insert name here>, I would love to do your job for you please call me on <insert number here> or email <insert email here>”, unfortunately it just doesn’t work very well.
When a Buyer is reading the responses – and they could get 3 or 4 they’re choosing which Seller to work with – it’s far more likely that they’ll go with the Seller who’s taken the time to tailor their response to the Buyer’s needs as the Buyer will be thinking: “yes, that’s exactly what I need”.
You may think that Buyer’s can’t spot a copy pasted message, but trust us – they can.
The average response is around 500 characters long – about a paragraph – and there’s a balance to strike: Write too much and the buyer will get bored, write too little and they may not be interested.

Sin 3: Not giving details on what your quote covers

There’s nothing worse than getting to the end of a job and sending an invoice including materials only to be told by the Buyer “I thought the quote included materials”.
The best Sellers are clear from the start what’s included in the quote and, more importantly, what’s not.
Including this helps reassure the Buyer that they won’t get stung and makes it more likely that they’ll choose your business.

Sin 4: Not including a price

Pricing can be a touchy subject: Price too high and the Buyer may rule you out before reading the details; too low and you risk making less money than you could do.
Where price is relatively standard e.g. a pricing a job per hour it’s relatively easy to share a price with the Buyer with confidence that you won’t be overcommitting.
Where you don’t have all the information needed to price accurately or the Buyer’s specification is vague this can be much more difficult, however most Buyers still expect at least a guideline price.
Our advice is to always give a price, giving comments to support and marking as an “estimate” if needed. This allows scope to discuss with the Buyer later as more information becomes available.
For example, if you don’t know how much a garden Landscaping job would cost you could estimate based on the average cost of other jobs you’ve done and include comments along the lines of “price subject to survey” or similar. Alternatively, you could give your usual minimum price and mark the price as “minimum price given, final price subject to discussion”.
Around 60% of our responses have a price attached and Buyers tell us this is useful to know so you may be missing out on business if you don’t give a price up front – particularly if your competitors do.

Sin 5: Not including usable contact details

At Bark, we want you to secure the business so we always make it easy for the Buyer to see your contact details.
When the Buyer sees your response they can click to view your website, profile, contact details or ask you to call them so it’s vital to ensure these are up to date on your Bark Profile Page.
One complaint we hear from Buyers is that Sellers aren’t available to answer the phone when they call – we know that it’s likely you’re on another job of course but the Buyer may not.
If possible give a phone number that can always be answered – Buyers may not call back a second time if you don’t answer right away.
It’s also a good idea to include your contact details in your response to the Buyer too. We’d recommend doing this in a signature that is the same each time, something like:

Kind Regards
Bob Jones
Company Name Limited
bob.jones@companynamelimited.com
01234-567890
www.companynamelimited.com

Sin 6: Poor spelling and grammar

When your response includes poor spelling and/or grammar Buyers will get the impression that your work will be of a similar standard.
Some of the most common things we see are:
- Using i instead of I.
- Missing apostrophes, for example: “youre” instead of “you’re” (we also get the occasional “ur”!!!)
- Using capitals in the MIDDLE of a sentence for no real reason.

Poor grammar response — Poor spelling and grammar turns Buyers off quickly

You can get plug-ins for your browser that check automatically as you type, so you don’t need to check in a word processor (e.g. Microsoft Word) before responding.
- One we’ve found useful is Grammarly, which is available free. It doesn’t check everything but does a pretty good job
- If that’s not for you then there are loads of free tools available online that can check what you’re writing
- If all else fails, read your response twice before clicking reply just to make sure it sells you in the right way.
Be doubly careful that your profile has no spelling errors, as every Buyer sees this. You can review and update your profile by logging in here and then clicking Profile.

Sin 7: Not selling your business

It’s very easy to answer the specific customer requirement, without actually saying why the Buyer should choose you.
Remember yours may not be the only response and you want it to stand out.
Do you have a portfolio of your previous work? If so, include some pictures, or a link to the page on your website that shows what you’ve done with similar jobs before.
Do you have professional qualifications? Explain what they are, and why they mean you’re a great Seller to choose.
Do you have positive reviews on Bark or other sites? If so reference them – we automatically show your Bark review ratings to potential Buyers.
- Did you know you can get your customers (Bark or otherwise) to leave a review for you on Bark? All you need to do is send them the link from your Profile Page
- Why not send the link out to your previous customers now to build up your reviews right away?
- Also include the link on your website so you keep getting new reviews from your customers – Bark or otherwise.

Sell your business to win the Buyer's — Sell your business to win the Buyer’s

No Seller wins every time, but hopefully our tips can make sure it’s you more often. If, for whatever reason, you aren’t successful we recommend you follow up with the Buyer to ask why. Some will tell you and you can use this to adapt your future pitches and improve your chances the next time a Bark comes along – which won’t be long.

What are your tips for quoting? Feel free to share in the comments section.

Four things to consider when hiring a house cleaner

It’s probably fair to say that people who enjoy cleaning – whether that’s the morning after an eventful party or simply the regular upkeep of your house – are in the minority. So for many, having a professional do the job for you is a godsend. But it’s not always as straightforward as it may seem, so to help you make an informed decision first time round, we’ve included Bark’s top tips for hiring a cleaner below.

Trust

Unlike hiring a plumber or hiring an electrician, who are generally brought in for one-off jobs, the majority of people looking for cleaners will want a regular service. This means it’s likely your cleaner will spend a large proportion of time alone in your home, making trust imperative. While initial contact may well take place online, don’t be afraid to ask for a face-to-face meeting to get a better feel for them.

Recommendations

So the meeting with the person you’re interested in hiring goes really well – but don’t take their word for the quality of the work they do. It’s important to seek out endorsements and recommendations from third party sources. Look particularly for testimonials on channels that aren’t run or owned by the cleaner – such as directories, listings, and Bark.com – to get the best, impartial insight in to their standards.

Price

Is your cleaner being vague about their fees? Then your ‘spidey senses’ should be tingling! Cleaning, as a service is largely charged by the hour and tends not to differ immensely from building to building, apart from if you’re looking for more complicated packages such as a deep clean, additional ironing services or for your cleaner to bring their own equipment. An upfront answer should therefore not be hard to come by.

Leave the equipment to the pros... — Leave the equipment to the pros…

Trial run

You may get on with your cleaner well; they may be both local and affordable but if they don’t clean your house effectively, then what’s the point? Inviting professionals for a trial session is commonplace and will help you when making your final decision. At the same time, you’ll be able to show them where things are tidied and allows time for any questions.

There’s plenty more info in our cleaning checklist. And for more Bark.com tips and insights, why not check out our other blogs?

Nick Hewer Twitter Q&A – The Answers!

On 6th October 2015, we hosted an engaging Twitter Q&A with the highly successful businessman, Nick Hewer. Nick gave us an insight into the business world and offered advice for budding entrepreneurs on the hashtag, #AskNick.

Nick Hewer is well known as the host of Channel 4’s Countdown, and from 2005 to 2014 he appeared as Lord Sugar’s adviser on the British television series, The Apprentice. Nick has been working with Bark.com since our inception, so we were delighted to have him take over our Twitter feed, offering valuable business advice and providing career inspiration along the way. If you haven’t yet seen it, here’s Nick explaining how Bark.com works earlier this year.

Missed out on the Q&A? Don’t worry, because we have compiled Nick’s answers for you to digest below!

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After a fantastic Q&A, Nick signed off…

Thanks to everyone who got involved in the Q&A! Was your question answered? Is there anything else you would like to #AskNick? Let us know in the comments below!

And while you’re at it, make sure you follow us on Twitter and like our Facebook page or visit our blog to keep up to date with Bark news, tips and advice!

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You’re hired! Join Nick Hewer and Bark.com for a day of SME insight

We’re delighted to announce that Nick Hewer, former right-hand man to Alan Sugar and highly successful businessman is set to join Bark.com on Tuesday, October 6^th, for a day of expert advice and insight into SME success.

Nick Hewer, Kai Feller and Andrew Michael — Nick and Bark.com’s founders

After 10 years on The Apprentice, Nick retired from the show at the end of the last season, and is now working as a consultant for a number of small businesses as he continues to make his mark on the UK’s entrepreneurial scene (as well as, of course, presenting Countdown!).

He’s been working with Bark.com since our inception (here’s him explaining how Bark works back in March) and as part of our partnership, next Tuesday, Nick will be taking part in a live Q&A session on via the @barkteam twitter page, giving budding entrepreneurs and small business owners the chance to have their business queries answered by the man himself.

Kai Feller and Nick Hewer shake hands — The start of a great partnership!

Have a burning question? Let us know using the #AskNick hashtag and we’ll do our best to go through as many as we can. Or, if you just happy to sit back and absorb the insights, tune in from 1-2pm.

If you can’t make it though, not to worry – we’ll also be sharing Nick’s top tips for SMEs on our YouTube channel and via our blog, so watch this space.