The Best Closers Don't Interview. And That's Exactly Why They Bomb Yours.

I don't love the idea of there being such a thing as "best closers."

Best for what? Best for who? Best on one offer is EASILY "meh" on another.

There are way too many variables to reduce a "great fit" to "have you closed before, yes or no?"

Buuuuuut, if we are going to generalize, something I DO see from reps who tend to be consistently successful?

They almost never interview.

They move through their network, usually pretty quietly. Their buddies vouch for them and offers open up because their reputation walked in first.

I've had multiple people tell me they haven't interviewed in forever and wonder how they'll do. My response is always the same: "That's a very good sign."

The PROBLEM here though is that when they DO find themselves interviewing, the fact they haven't done it in forever doesn't get taken into account by the hiring manager.

The manager is still looking at their stupid "scorecard" scratching their heads wondering why this "killer" is clunky and stumbling over their interview answers.

It's because, genius... they haven't been interviewing. They've been too busy, ya know, producing results? Which is why you wanted to interview them in the first place.

But now? You're too busy second guessing yourself and DQ'ing left and right because the rep had two left feet on your manufactured interview dance and didn't "present well."

Interviews are synthetic. They're performative. Aaaaaaaaand they're fake.

And you're using someone's performance in that fake environment as your measuring stick for how they'll perform in a real one? Make it make sense.

And then to boot... that same hiring manager goes and hires the professional peacocker who crushed the mock call, said all the right things, but can't even close a door.

And then wonders why their "killer" is the one getting smoked.

Someone being bad at your weird, manufactured audition doesn't mean they're a bad fit for your company. You're just measuring the wrong things.