What is ServiceLance and why should I use it? What's in it for me? What are the Benefits?

In fshort, ServiceLance is a free marketplace for exchange of all kinds of services. It is a unique platform that enables both Seekers and Providers of Services to interact in an online environment. Just like in the offline world where Service Seekers are free to look through the businesses and shops of Service Providers and contact them to get their works done, ServiceLance has created a replica of the offline world in an online environment which makes it many many times easier and quicker for both parties to exchange services from the comfort of their homes and offices.

As a result there are many advantages to using ServiceLance as a platform and some of the broader advantages are highlighted below.

Benefits for Service Providers

• Uncompromising exposure to potential buyers of services

• Free presence on the internet whether or not you have a website of your own

• As buyers head to the internet for easy access to services, they are less likely to search for specific web sites of Providers

• Healthy and competitive community environment that is geared towards similar interests and talents

• Enhances professionalism while creating more opportunities for business and career advancement

• Quick and efficient communication of requirements and expectations for both parties

• Deal directly with the points of contact for available jobs rather than having to reach them with difficulty

• There are no rentals to pay for physical premises and you can run your entire services business online for free if you wish to do so

• Reduces the cost of acquiring Clients tremendously since Jobs come to Providers instead of Providers looking for jobs

• Allows Service Providers to pass on commercial gains to Clients by saving on Marketing and Overhead costs

• You can provide services even if you don’t have access to credit cards

• Allows both Businesses and Individuals to provide services (Note: Individuals may be restricted against providing services by local laws in certain countries)

• An extremely easy and efficient way to earn a decent living in the current economic recession

• We can go on and on the benefits are unmatched in the industry and the possibilities are truly endless. Refer to Service Provider features to view the benefits that come with the empowering features of ServiceLance.

Benefits for Service Seekers

• Easy access to several providers, their profiles and contacts, on your fingertips.

• Choice of Service Providers whom you want to invite for quoting: All / Individuals Only / Businesses Only

• Heaps of time saved by not having to contact each of the providers to request quotes on your jobs

• Allows you to concentrate on your life and work while the professionals perform services for you

• Easy to compare quotations from Providers to make commercial and value judgments before awarding

• Acquire services on specific budgets that you decide

• Deal directly with the Service Providers without restrictions

• Easy evaluation of Business and Individual profiles

• Easy management of quotations and awards of jobs

• Easy access to both Businesses as well as professional Individuals

• Easy to integrate within current business practices of acquiring services

• Extremely simple to use at both Individual and Business levels

• Virtually eliminates the cost of acquiring services

• An extremely easy and efficient way to acquire services in the current economic recession

• We can go on and on the benefits are unmatched in the industry and the possibilities are truly endless. Refer to Service Seeker features to view the benefits that come with the empowering features of ServiceLance.

Many Service Providers have had to close their businesses and new entrepreneurs are finding it extremely difficult (if not impossible) to make a substantial impression in order to market and sell their services. It is inevitable that Service Providers (both businesses and individuals) are looking for cheaper and more efficient alternatives for conducting business and making a living. The ripple effects of the economic recession have displaced an unprecedented amount of skill, talent and professionalism and ServiceLance provides a venue for all Service Providers to establish themselves in a free and competitive environment.

And, by the way, did we mention that ServiceLance is free oh yes, ServiceLance is absolutely free to use, for everyone.

Extravagant!

Is ServiceLance really free to use?

Yes, it is absolutely free to Seek and Provide services on ServiceLance – no strings attached and no catches.

Almost all websites on the internet today appear to provide free exchange of services but when you look under the hood you will discover charges for posting jobs or providing services or for both. The structure of charges vary from site to site and many sites charge commissions on the value of jobs and place a large amount of restrictions on posting of contact information for both Service Seekers and Service Providers. ServiceLance has cut through all the clutter and made the exchange of services simpler, efficient, non-restrictive and free for everyone around the world, hence making it the way it should be.

In making the service exchange free and accessible across the globe, there have not been any compromises on features and functionalities at ServiceLance. In fact, ServiceLance hosts a number of additional options and configurations in addition to the features relating to basic exchange of services.

Take a look below to see what ServiceLance doesn’t cost anything for. You should note that many of these features are the exact same functionalities that other sites charge for.

WHEN PROVIDING SERVICES

No fees for providing services
No fees to get found and contacted
No fees for Job Alerts
No fees for quoting on jobs
No payment mode restrictions
No limits on number of quotes
No fees for winning jobs
No hiding of provider details
No commissions involved

No transaction fees
No escrow setups
No need for credit cards

No restrictions on direct contact information

No restrictions on direct communication

Not limited to specific countries
Not limited to specific currencies

WHEN SEEKING SERVICES

No fees for posting jobs
No fees for awarding jobs
No payment mode restrictions
No commissions involved
No transaction fees
No escrow setups
No hiding of provider details
No fees for searching providers
No need for credit cards

No restrictions on direct contact information

No restrictions on direct communication

Unmatched!

What is the difference between Freelancing and ServiceLancing?

Online Freelancing today utilizes global platforms to enable making money from home with skills such as website design, software programming, writing, etc. Hence, it focuses on services that can be delivered globally without the necessity of the skilled people being present in the local geographical areas of those looking for services. This makes freelancing limited in the categories of skills that can be offered and excludes services of a physical and local nature.

Online ServiceLancing, on the other hand, is an extension of the Freelancing model. It enables service-based offerings such as financial services, construction, plumbing, gardening, cleaning, carpentry, and services of similar nature to be exchanged online for local geographic locations. It does not limit itself to individuals or self-employed professionals, and even businesses of all sizes are able to participate. This enables a whole range of skill categories to establish reputations, make money and increase revenues using the internet. The ServiceLancing concept is expected to catch up quickly due to its capability of opening new means of additional income, as people and businesses are getting further affected by the economic recession.
 

Aha!

What can users not do on ServiceLance?

a) ServiceLance is only meant for exchange of Services between 2 or more parties. It is therefore not intended for sale and purchase of physical goods or products.

b) ServiceLance is not intended for exchange of sexual services of any nature.

c) ServiceLance is not for exchange of drug services or for exchange of illegal services of any nature whatsoever, without exclusion or exception.

Need we mention that ethical behaviour is expected in the use of the site? All visitors and users of the site are bound by the terms of service and we apply these terms very strictly in order to maintain a safe and healthy environment for service exchange. This can only be achieved through your kind cooperation.

Makes sense!

Is ServiceLance restricted to specific countries? Which Geographical locations can I seek and provide services in?

ServiceLance has integrated a Worldwide Geographical Database which intends to not limit its reach to any specific geographic area and it is therefore possible to seek and provide services throughout the Globe. However it is possible that there may be certain populated cities that have been inadvertently missed out and we strongly encourage that you let us know the missing country or city and we will gladly make it available for you.

Aha!

Which service categories are available on ServiceLance?

ServiceLance caters for a hhhuuugggeee set of categories. If there is a Service that is provided out there, ServiceLance is most likely to have a service category. A great amount of effort and research has gone into putting up the available set of categories. When posting jobs or creating provider profiles, ServiceLance uses keyword technology to automatically suggest categories that may be relevant to the keywords you enter. This allows the user to quickly access the relevant categories without having to scroll or browse through many large category lists to select the appropriate ones. But hey, if you prefer to browse, we don’t stop you, just select the correct options when posting the job or creating the provider profiles.

 All of the service categories are grouped in order to provide an unduplicated, non-overlapping and intuitive structure. The following parent categories are currently catered for and there are several sub-categories available for each of these parent categories.

• Accounting, Finance, Investment & Tax

• Advertising, Sales & Marketing Services

• Printing & Copying Services

• Agriculture & Livestock Services

• Engineering, Architecture & Interior Design

• Art, Handicraft & Culture

• Vehicular & Automotive Services

• Construction, Handymen & Professional Trades

• Professional Cleaning

• Business Consulting

• Office Admin & Support

• Computers & IT

• Academic Teaching & Sports Coaching

• Events, Weddings & Parties

• Health & Wellbeing

• Beauty & Fashion

• Household Services

• Lawyers, Barristers & Solicitors

• Real Estate

• Travel, Transport & Logistics

• Writers, Editors & Speakers

Each of the above categories has several sub-categories which can be seen when filling out the forms for posting jobs or creating provider profiles. If you still find that there is a missing category, just let us know and we will be glad to add it for you.

Phew!!

Can the Service Providers really be contacted directly?

Absolutely, undoubtedly – finally there are no more restrictions. ServiceLance provides the flexibility to all of its Service Providers to choose and display whichever contact information they prefer. This contact information is then made available so that Service Seekers can establish direct contact, hence making life easier for Service Seekers and maximizing exposure for Service Providers. Service Provider contact information can vary from profile to profile and is therefore profile-specific.

There are two ways Service Providers can be contacted, as follows.

a) Via the contact information as chosen to be disclosed by the Service Provider (phone, mobile / cell phone, email, etc)

b) Via ServiceLance messaging functions

No more of “can’t show this”, “can’t do that”!

Can the Service Seekers really be contacted directly?

ServiceLance provides Service Seekers with additional levels of privacy. Service Seekers are only contactable via the site when they have posted a job on ServiceLance. When a Service Seekers posts a job, they are provided with complete flexibility of which contact information they want to make available for that job. Service Seeker contact information can vary from job to job and is therefore job-specific. This contact information is automatically removed from view after the job has ended, awarded or cancelled. The Service Seeker username is never displayed to anyone.

There are two ways Service Seekers can be contacted, as follows.

a) Via the contact information as chosen to be disclosed by the Service Seeker (phone, mobile / cell phone, email, etc)

b) Via ServiceLance messaging functions

Finally, it is possible!

Isn’t publishing of contact information a concern of Privacy for Service Seekers and Service Providers?

For Service Providers: Publishing contact information on ServiceLance is no different to service providers providing their contacts on their own web pages or contact cards. The difference with ServiceLance is that Service Providers receive far more desired exposure in a competitive environment and therefore are able to perform more of their professional and profitable work. There is no restriction on the maximum or minimum requirements for contact information and all Service Providers are free to choose which information to make available for others to see. In the event of Service Providers keeping their contacts completely private by not displaying any contact information (which we do not recommend), there is always the ability to use the messaging feature in ServiceLance. Need we highlight that Service Exchange is practically not possible without the ability of both parties to contact each other, whether online and offline.

For Service Seekers: ServiceLance provides Service Seekers with additional levels of required privacy. Service Seekers are only contactable via the site when they have posted a job on ServiceLance. There is no restriction on the maximum or minimum requirements for contact information and all Service Seekers are free to choose which information to make available for others to see. Service Seeker contact information can vary from job to job and is therefore job-specific. In the event of Service Seekers keeping their contacts completely private by not displaying any contact information (which we do not recommend), there is always the ability to use the messaging feature in ServiceLance. This contact information is automatically removed from view after the job has ended, awarded or cancelled. The Service Seeker username is never displayed to anyone.

Alright then!

Can I Provide and Seek Services from within one account, or do I need separate accounts to perform each activity?

You can perform both activities from within one user account. You don’t need to manage multiple accounts and remember multiple login details any more.

Yeeaaahhh!

Can I provide multiple services within my account or do I need separate accounts to provide multiple services?

You can provide multiple services within one account. In fact ServiceLance takes a step further and allow you to have multiple profiles within the same username.

ServiceLance allows providing of multiple services in a very structured fashion, without the need for multiple accounts. At ServiceLance, we understand that jobs often fit into more than one category. Our multiple category selection facility enables Service Providers to ensure that they don’t miss out on any opportunities.

ServiceLance has categories that have been grouped by trades and professions to make them as relevant as practically possible. Categories are split up to 3 Levels. End Categories are those that do not have further subdivisions of available categories within them. Service Providers are free to choose multiple categories within any of the End Categories to establish their Provider Profiles.

ServiceLance also supports powerful advanced functionality where users can manage multiple Provider Profiles within the same username. ServiceLance is therefore capable of letting you manage your entire capability or businesses or even both all together from within just one login. How much more power can you ask for? You’ve got it all at ServiceLance, at your fingertips, for Free.

Awesome!

Is there no limit on the number of quotes a Service Provider can submit?

Service Providers are not restricted for the number of quotes they can place and they can place quotes on any number of jobs they feel they can perform. ServiceLance understands that any job can only be won by one Service Provider and it is hence paralysing for Service Providers to have restrictions on quoting in competitive environments.

ServiceLance even permits re-quoting on jobs. Changing your mind is no more a problem. Service Providers are permitted to re-quote a job for a maximum of 3 times. This allows Service Seekers to post clarifications to their jobs and provides flexibility for Service Providers to update their quotes to reflect implications of any clarifications.

Nice!

How do I trust the Service Providers that enlist themselves on ServiceLance?

In principle, ServiceLance is not different to any other means of service exchange. It is strongly recommended that all Service Seekers establish personal contact with preferred Service Providers, clarify any requirements, establish trust and conclude comfortability before awarding jobs or engaging into any agreements. ServiceLance facilitates trustworthiness through the following ways.

a) Enabling sharing of contact information: All users are free to communicate with each other directly without restrictions. This is one of the major features of ServiceLance which facilitates trust and dependability within the ServiceLance community.

b) Rating System: As the ServiceLance community matures, Service Providers will perform more and more jobs awarded by Service Seekers. Service Seekers have the capability to rate Service Providers individually for each job and drop off comments on performance. This alone goes a long way in establishing trust within the community and facilitates frictionless service exchange.

ServiceLance is therefore bound to be a trustworthy venue for service exchange.

Wow!

How do I trust the Service Seekers that post Jobs on ServiceLance?

In principle, ServiceLance is not different to any other means of service exchange. It is strongly recommended that all Service Providers establish personal contact with Service Seekers, clarify any requirements, establish trust and conclude comfortability before performing jobs or engaging into any agreements. Enabling sharing of contact information is one of the major features of ServiceLance which facilitates trust and dependability within the ServiceLance community.

ServiceLance is therefore bound to be a trustworthy venue for service exchange.

Wow!

How do Service Seekers pay Service Providers? How do Service Providers get paid?

This is entirely dependent on agreement of the parties involved and each can use any mode of payment personally preferred, i.e. cash in hand, online payments, bank transfers, etc, etc. ServiceLance is not concerned with how the money changes hands and we do not charge any commissions for service exchange. This puts both Service Seeker and Provider in a position of extreme advantage to enable service exchange, especially in countries where online payments are difficult or even impossible to process. This also makes online service exchange accessible to people in places where credit cards are not commonly used or accepted. Simply agree the price and terms, get the job done and pay each other in any way you prefer.

Isn’t this cool?

How do Service Providers find out about available jobs? As a Service Provider, how do I find jobs that I can perform?

ServiceLance turns the table up side down when it comes to jobs Jobs automatically find Service Providers instead of the other way round that most people are used to. Whenever Service Seekers post jobs that match your profile, we send you information about these jobs straight to your email inbox. These job alerts are also easily accessible after logging into your account.

But hey, the excitement doesn’t end there. We make job listings available to everyone via our Find Jobs feature. If you spot a job you can do, just create a relevant Provider Profile and quote for it. You might just win it. It really is that easy.

You kiddin me?

Nope!

What should I do in the event of a dispute? Does ServiceLance get involved in resolving disputes?

Unfortunately, not as yet. ServiceLance currently does not provide Dispute Resolution services. In the event of a dispute or disagreement, we strongly encourage that any grievances be resolved amicably between the parties in a professional manner.

Professionalism is not only for degree holders. It is a character trait for populace!