How does it work?
Your referees will be sent an email asking a few questions regarding your workplace performance; it only takes a few minutes for them to complete – then you are sent the reference to activate on your profile.  The review form takes into account your delivery against the contract objectives, integration with the business and your capabilities to work out an overall performance rating.

After you have secured a contract via Crackerjacks you can start building on your rating, which is developed by your initial referee’s comments and others who give you performance feedback.  By having this feedback function you can enrich your profile by including qualitative comments that businesses have made about you.  Keep in mind that one not-so-great review isn’t going to destroy you, so don’t despair – you do have the option to suppress some of it.

Ratings span from ‘New’ through to a ‘3 Star Crackerjack’.  A 3 Star Crackerjack is at the top of their field, a 2 Star Crackerjack is a very good performer and a 1 Star Crackerjack can get the job done.  If you have “New” this means you have had no feedback yet.

What does this mean for me?
Having these ratings allows you to stand out from the other contractors on the site.  When a business searches for contractors, the ones with the highest ratings appear higher on the list.  So stand out from the crowd and make it your priority to develop a high performance rating!

As a Crackerjacks contractor you will be skilled and talented – but most importantly you will have a proven track-record in your profession. Like you, we have a focus on quality, this is why it is crucial to complete your profile and enter your referee’s details.

By doing this your profile can be activated and will enable you to establish a rating.  The more positive feedback you receive – the higher your rating rises.  This is a great opportunity for you to stand out to businesses browsing through the listed contractors.

So get cracking and complete your profiles, if you have not already done so!

As a marketer, it’s my experience that the basic principles of selling are the same no matter what the product or service. It’s my firm belief that you go through the same process to sell beer as you would a stop-smoking campaign, a heart medication, passionfruit yoghurt, a recruitment campaign for prison guards, cleaning liquid, accounting software or life insurance. While the products are radically different, the process and approach is pretty much the same.

So based on that assumption, selling yourself to a company wishing to engage your services shouldn’t be any different. So lets run through some fundamental marketing concepts that might help you as you create a CV, a work-based social networking profile, personal website, or as you go through the interview process.

Define Your Competencies

Who are you? What are you good at? What are the key skills you have? Can you define a job title for yourself? Can you define your perfect job title?

The most important conversation you can have with a prospective employer or client is to simply articulate what you can do. If you can’t put that into words off the top of your head – sit down and write a list now.

What Is Your Point Of Difference?

Setting yourself apart from the competition should be the focus of any interview or sales job. What are you the best at? What can nobody else offer? Do you have a unique combination of skills? Have you won awards nobody else has? Are you the best at what you do? Are you the nicest person they’ve met all day? Are you more passionate than the rest of the applicants?

Remember that interviewers want somebody to jump out from the crowd. If you can sell them on the reason you’re a better choice than the rest of the me-too club then you’re in with a shot.

Be A Brand That People Love

Kevin Roberts of Saatchi & Saatchi believes brands should aim to be Lovemarks. He defines a Lovemark as being a brand that engenders “Loyalty beyond reason.” Can you create preference for yourself by making people like you? It sounds simple, but if you walk into someone’s office with all the credentials in the world but they think you’re a not-nice person, you’re unlikely to win a piece of work. If you take an interest in their world, their day, and smile then you’re in with a chance.

Value brevity. Be concise.

Get an elevator pitch. The concept is simple – you should be able to explain to someone why they should hire you or use your services in the space of a short elevator ride. Work out your pitch. Don’t waffle. Work out the most important things that you have to offer. Learn to articulate your competence and point of difference in a concise manner. Don’t bore people, dazzle them.

—————————————————————————–

Piero has contracted to Crackerjacks since early in the sites gestation period working on the branding, communications and advertising via his agency The Whisper Shop.