Welcome to The Independent Operator, a blog series from Pavilion featuring insights for GTM leaders navigating fractional and advisory work.
Meet Neil...
Neil Weitzman is a longtime Pavilion Ambassador and the co-leader of our CAF (Consultant, Advisor, Fractional) sub-community. A seasoned fractional CRO and GTM operator. Neil brings tactical wisdom and unfiltered insights to help independent executives thrive. This article is part of The Independent Operator, Neil’s ongoing series for Pavilion.
Connect with Neil on LinkedIn | Linktree | Follow his GTM or GTMFO Substack or learn more at weitzmangtm.com
When you step into a fractional CRO seat, you inherit a paradox.
You are asked to rebuild a revenue engine, but you do not own the whole calendar. You are expected to drive growth, fix broken systems, and often hire the very people who will outlast you.
I have lived this from every angle. I have been the interviewee who sat through seven rounds for a role no one could define. I have been the corporate hiring manager trying to separate confidence from competence. And now I am the Fractional CRO who has to find builders fast and leave behind a team that can win without me.
Here is what those years have taught me about hiring when the clock, the culture, and the calendar are not fully yours. Read below and check out the fCRO Hiring Mandate in images here.
1. Story first. Scope second. Process third.
Strong people choose strong stories.Before job descriptions or scorecards, I sit down with the CEO and the hiring manager and write seven lines:
- Why we exist
- The problem we solve
- Who we solve it for
- What winning the next twelve months looks like
- What this person will own in month one and how that may evolve
- How we behave when things get hard
- Targets / quotas and how we built them and why we feel they are achievable
That becomes the spine of every posting, interview loop, and onboarding plan.
Years ago, I was told to “own growth.” It sounded really cool. But it meant absolutely nothing. Clarity is a recruiting advantage.
2. Speak like a human and go warm before cold
Jargon repels the very people you want on your team. Please rewrite every posting in plain English. Then skip the LinkedIn job boards and start with your network.
I often reach out to ten trusted champions in my go-to-network and ask each for two referrals. Then I ask the CEO to record a two-minute video explaining the mission and telling the company story.
Human first hiring. It sounds crazy to say that but so many companies do not do this well anymore.
I remember being a candidate and feeling drawn to companies that spoke clearly and simply. People are attracted to candor and simplicity. If your brand is smaller this is how you win.
3. Use video to filter for energy, clarity, and curiosity
Resumes list dates and accomplishments but anyone can write anything. Video shows us the human. It shows us communication skills and presence. I ask every candidate to record a video answering a few prompts
- Tell me your story
- Why does the problem we solve excite you
- Why are you a fit for us
- What is one question you would ask our customers next week
BTW - If they won’t do the video. Disqualified.
Then I score each on energy, clarity, and curiosity from one to five. You know who to prioritize inside thirty seconds.
As a former candidate, the exercise forced me to prepare. As a Fractional CRO hiring a team, it saves hours.
4. Interview on data, not vibes
I have seen the loudest voice in the room push through a hire because “she had great energy.” The deal board paid for that mistake for two quarters.
Use data-driven hiring and assign two competencies to each interviewer with fixed questions and a simple one to five score. Average the scores, set a bar, and only hire when the numbers clear it.
Use the Google and Amazon hiring method. Do NOT hire if anyone on the interview team disagrees.
Need a template for a data-driven hiring scorecard? Message me.
5. Tell the messy bits before they sign
Share everything. Transparency builds trust and increases retention rate.
Share runway, quota math, win rate, tech stack, and the top three risks you see today.
A-players get excited when they see the full field and tourists opt out.
If you don’t want to be honest about the business - ask yourself why and look in the mirror.
6. Treat candidate experience like brand experience
Do not ever ghost someone - this is their life, respect it. You were in this position once as well. Set a 48-hour response rule inside the hiring pod. After every interview, send a same-day summary that lists what you heard, what you promised, and the next step.
It takes five minutes. It pays for itself in reputation. I have been on the receiving end of silence, and I still remember the companies that did it.
Some red flags that say pass;
- Panels that debate “vibes” instead of using scorecards
- Fuzzy quota math or missing success metrics
- Founders who dodge truths
- Candidates who are focused on the title
- Teams that ghost finalists or stall decisions
You might not own the calendar, but you still own the standard. The fractional CRO who can find them, choose them, and ramp them will leave a footprint that lasts long after the contract ends.
See you next month with another unfiltered dispatch from independent operator life.
Until then, hire like an owner, set the bar high, and leave behind a team that wins long after you roll off.
