3 sales leaders rejected me for trying to "close them" during a job interview....

I recently got rejected for a business development role for a global security and health service provider.

I was in front of the head of business development, the sales director and the head of account management.

They rejected me arguing that " I tried to close them" during the job interview...


what's wrong with them ?


๐Ÿ˜‚ Sales Humor
๐Ÿ‘ฅ Hiring
๐ŸŽ™ Interviews/Podcasts
18
oldcloser
Arsonist
10
๐Ÿ’€
โ€œLet me ask you a question. If I was willing to take that open role at a salary 10% less than youโ€™re offering, would you hire me today?โ€

Iโ€™d throw you out too
poweredbycaffeine
WR Lieutenant
7
โ˜•๏ธ
What did you say?
oldcloser
Arsonist
4
๐Ÿ’€
Yeah, sort of depends on the close.
jefe
Arsonist
5
๐Ÿ
Hard close, threaten to walk away?
oldcloser
Arsonist
4
๐Ÿ’€
With an Uzi
jefe
Arsonist
3
๐Ÿ
That's the way to do it.
Space_Ghost20
Executive
3
Account Executive
Wasn't it McAfee (John, not Pat) who said that if you don't go into a business meeting with an explosive strapped to your chest you go in at a severe disadvantage.
Justatitle
Big Shot
6
Account Executive
"Two things: You keep your liver-spotted hands off my beautiful mother. She's a saint! And then you sit down and you write Dale and Brennan a check for $10,000." If the close was anything like that I don't know how they said no.
oldcloser
Arsonist
4
๐Ÿ’€
Hired!
Kosta_Konfucius
Politicker
5
ERP Sales
Almost all want you to close the interview, they were either the minority that donโ€™t or something happened during the โ€œclosingโ€ that they didnโ€™t like.

Anything you said cause a reaction?
YoursTruly
Politicker
2
Account Executive (SaaS)
Take accountability. Itโ€™s not what wrong with them itโ€™s what went wrong in the interview.

The deflection tells me they were probably in the right.
Pachacuti
Politicker
1
They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy
Not knowing what you said makes it difficult, but I have been offered a job more than once because I tried to close them on the role.
ChumpChange
Politicker
1
Channel Manager
What was your close? Can't really comment without context.
Juancallclose
Catalyst
1
Director
Hmmm...I've seen people not get jobs because they didn't close. Depends on what you said. Did you close for next steps or did you jump to the end and say do I have the job? Big difference
1
That's not how interviewing works. They take their notes and discuss multiple potential hires internally before moving forward. They will call you back if they see alignment. It's not your job to close in an interview, it's to raise and identify green flags and identify your red flags that may disqualify the opportunity as worthwhile. You are free to comment on those flags along the lines of "I really like this about your company," or "I noticed this in my conversations."

But it would be stupid to try and close during an interview, not unless it is the final softball interview with the highest-level stakeholder and even then you've basically closed it already.

Interviewing is not a literal sales skill to the point you should treat your interviews like deals, but trying to close an interview does show you lack nuanced understanding of social dynamics and business processes that would serve you poorly in a sales role.
0
Right to the HM
58
Members only

Why do high-performing sales people quit the job?

Question
71
Why do high-performing sales people quite the job?
28% They donโ€™t love/believe in the product they sell
7% They fail at self-expectation management
41% Lousy/unbearable leader
24% Unfair Compensation / commission model
229 people voted
18
Members only

What advice would you give to an early in their career tech sales rep, who is interested in being promoted into sales management sooner rather than later?

Question
33
15

Rejected by recruiter for SDR position before any interview, despite having referral and track record. My inner-salesman is telling me to ignore the rejection and start reaching out to Sales Managers directly.

Question
16