Why Billy Always Gets Picked Last (And What That Teaches Us About Getting Hired)
Why Billy Always Gets Picked Last (And What That Teaches Us About Getting Hired)
Billy doesn’t get picked last because people are mean. He gets picked last because everyone already knows what to expect. That simple truth explains why so many professionals get seen, listed, and advertised—yet still aren’t chosen by clients.
This article explains why people get picked first, middle, or last on the playground and in business, and why visibility alone is never enough to get hired.
Why This Pattern Shows Up Everywhere
I see this pattern constantly with professionals who are listed everywhere, advertised everywhere, and still wondering why clients choose someone else. They assume the issue is exposure. In reality, the issue is how decisions are made once exposure happens.
The Playground Mental Model
Think about picking teams for a baseball game. There are always three types of players. The first player gets picked immediately because everyone knows they’re good. They’re proven and reliable. The second group gets picked somewhere in the middle because nobody really knows much about them yet. There’s no reputation—good or bad. Then there’s Billy. Billy gets picked last because everyone already knows he’s not great.
Here’s the key insight: being unknown is better than being poorly understood.
Why Reputation Determines Who Gets Picked
Billy gets picked last because his reputation precedes him. A brand-new kid with no track record often gets picked earlier, not because they’re better, but because uncertainty feels safer than a known bad outcome. The best player gets picked first because certainty reduces risk.
Now translate this directly to business.
Ads, directories, and SEO put you in line. They don’t decide who gets chosen. Clients still have to pick. And when two professionals appear similar, clients default to the safest option—the one who feels known, proven, and predictable.
What Clients Compare in the Real World
When someone compares two professionals, one might have a name, a listing, and maybe an ad. The other has something very different. They have articles that explain problems clearly. Videos that demonstrate how they think. Reviews that confirm outcomes. Repeated exposure that creates familiarity and lowers risk.
That second professional gets picked first—not because they’re louder, but because they feel safer to choose.
Why Getting Found Isn’t Enough
Getting found puts you on the field. It does not determine draft order. Reputation does. Certainty reduces hesitation. Familiarity lowers perceived risk. Demonstrated expertise beats generic visibility every time.
This is why so many qualified professionals feel invisible even when they’re clearly visible. They’re being compared, not discovered.
The Core Takeaway
Getting picked is not the same as getting found. Reputation creates certainty. Certainty creates action. Content is how reputation scales when people can’t experience you directly.
If you’re tired of being visible but not chosen, the issue isn’t marketing harder. It’s building credibility in a way clients can actually recognize before they ever contact you.
That’s exactly what Be-Picked exists to fix.