Getting past the gatekeeper has been an issue for salespeople for what seems like forever and there are a lot of ideas out there on how best to do it. (Many of which I do not agree with). Here are the methods we use with success.

1. Getting Past The Gatekeeper
Getting past the gatekeeper has been an issue for
salespeople for what seems like forever and there
are a lot of ideas out there on how best to do it.
(Many of which I do not agree with).
I’ve read be stern or forceful when you’re talking
with them and I’ve heard make them your friend.
There are a couple of things that I believe these two
different methods do not take into account.
1. Being forceful or stern may be construed as rude
and I can tell you first hand, you do not want
these people to think that you think they are
beneath you. This person has a strong relationship
with your prospect and making them mad is not the way to get to the prospect. In fact,
they’ll probably do all they can to make sure you don’t get in.
2. Make them your friend, this method can be done but you also have to think about
your time. If you’re making 30, 40, 50 or even 100 calls per day, you certainly do not
have time to shoot the breeze and try and get acquainted with every gatekeeper out
there.
So, the question remains, how do you get past the gatekeeper?
These are the two methods we use when calling.
1. This method is used when we’re cold calling and really don’t know who in the
company is our best contact. (I’ll go through this as if it were an actual call)
- Ring Ring.
- Gatekeeper: “Hello, XYZ company, how can I help you”
- You: “Hello, Is Mr/Ms. Prospect available?” This is (Your name) calling.
- Gatekeeper: “I’m not sure, is He/She expecting your call?
- You: You: “No, I was hoping he/she may have just 5 minutes to talk with me.”
- Gatekeeper: “He/She is not currently available is there something I can help you
with?”
- You: “Well yes maybe, I’m calling about (Insert your topic here) and was told Mr/
Ms. Prospect was the person I should be talking with, is that correct?”
- Gatekeeper: “Actually no, that would actually be handled by Mr/Ms. other person.”
- You: “Oh ok great, could you also tell me what would be the best time to contact
them?”
- Gatekeeper: “Yes, typically they can talk from 8-9 a.m. each morning.”
- Great I’ll give them a call then, do you happen to have their email address handy
so that I may send them a quick note about the call?
Note** As you can see, now you have the persons name you need to talk with as well
as an email address. (We’ll talk about the importance of the email address in a minute.)
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2. Getting Past The Gatekeeper
Also be sure to write down the name of the gatekeeper, now the next time you call you
can call them by name and tell them “We spoke the other day and you cold me this
would be the best time to call, is so and so available?”
I believe this comes down to respect, gatekeepers do a lot and talk with a lot of people,
while you don’t have to make them your best friend, everyone deserves respect and
giving it to them will help you get to your desired prospect as well as set you apart from
many of the people calling for the prospects time.
2. The second method is used when we already know who we need to talk to and we
have an email address for the prospect.
First, send the prospect an email, introduce your topic or product and tell them you’ll be
calling.
Second, call the prospect. Again I’ll go through this as if it were an actual call.
- Ring Ring.
- Gatekeeper: “Hello, XYZ company, how can I help you”
- You: “Hello, Is Mr/Ms. Prospect available?” This is (Your name) calling.
- Gatekeeper: “I’m not sure, is He/She expecting your call?
- You: “Yes” (You told them in your email you’d be calling, they should be expecting
you)
- Gatekeeper: “Just one moment, let me check” - “He/She say’s this isn’t a good
time, could you call back later?”
- You: “Certainly, can you tell me when would be a good time to get about 5 minutes
of his/her time?”
- Gatekeeper: “Yes, Typically Thursday morning between 8 and 9 a.m.”
- You: Great, thank you, I’ll call back then.
You should expect to make between 3 and 8 calls before you get an appointment but
stay persistent and you’ll either get the appointment to present your product or service,
or you’ll find out the company is not a good fit for you and you can move on to the next
prospect.
Also, many people tend to feel rejected when they hear that dreaded word “NO”, just
remember that this isn’t a personal rejection. It may simply be the person is busy and
doesn’t have time to talk to you right now.
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