Getting Through Gatekeepers – Cold Calling

One of the most frequently asked questions on any cold callers wish list is;

I make lots of cold calls. Once I am connected to the decision maker (DM) I am usually successful in securing an appointment. However I find it difficult to work with or around the Gatekeepers! Do you have any suggestions or tips to help me get past gatekeepers?

Let’s first of all take a look at the role of a gatekeeper.

The role of a gatekeeper is to protect the DM from any calls that are simply nuisance value. Consequently the gatekeeper has to take decisions on whether or not your call is of sufficient value to be transferred to their boss. Consequently if you are to stand any chance of being put thorough to a DM, you must be able to convince the gatekeeper that you are one of or all of the following;

• You are important

• You are able to help the DM in his day-to-day issues/problems

• You are polite and business like.

Many protagonists suggest you should befriend the gatekeeper. Whilst I do not disagree with the underlying sentiment of this statement, I do ask that you consider whether or not the person on the other end of the phone is as capable and as passionate as you are to promote the reasons why the DM should actually meet with you. In many cases it would be better to be put through to voice mail. Whilst this is not an ideal scenario you can at least be assured that you will put across your message with the same level of commitment and passion as you would do so if you were connected directly. In fact in many cases I would even recommend this in preference to befriending the gatekeeper in the forlorn hope that they will  “sell ” you to the decision maker. I would even suggest leaving a voice mails could be a better option than simplt ‘sending information’ to the gatekeeper which is likely to end up in the bin or in the case of email be blocked out by spam filters. At least with voice mail you get the opportunity to leave a personal message with at least a good reason reason as to why the DM should consider meeting with you or at least take or return your calls.

Here are my top tips when dealing with gatekeepers;

Tip One – Never Tell Lies

Never tell lies to get through. Many sales trainers advise that it is OK to tell the occasional white lie – if this means you are put through to the DM. For example saying you are returning their call, when in fact this is untrue. This could land you in serious hot water with a DM if you are found out to be less than honest in dealing with gatekeepers. Do not pretend to be a relative or long-lost friend who is trying to reconnect. Do not say it is a personal call unless that is the truth. Good gatekeepers will always check your assertions and will probe with further questions before they decide to put you through.

I would always advise against telling lies in a sales situation. There are better ways to get connected to a DM without risking your integrity and the sale!

Tip Two – Sound Important

Most gatekeepers tread a fine line between stopping everyone except those who are in regular contact with the DM (white list) and letting through those callers who are of sufficient value and importance that it would be ill-advised not to transfer the caller to the DM.

Speak slowly and clearly and increase your chances of being put through. I know this sounds crazy but most executives speak slowly and calmly. Also use senior job titles. This may sound condescending but the bigger the title the more likely you are to get transferred.

Introduce yourself as follows;

I am John Smith (Name). I am the business development director of XYZ ltd. Can you put me thorough to Jim, Thanks?

Notice in this phrase we did not ask if anyone was available? We simply asked to be put through to Jim. This inferred that we knew Jim and that we were important.

Tip Three – Find out DM contact name before you make your appointment call.

This may sound obvious but there is no better way to alert the attention of a gatekeeper to a sales call by asking;

Can you tell me who is in charge of….responsible for…makes the decisions on etc? Closely followed by; Can I speak to Mr Smith? Is Mr. Smith available?

You may as well have said; This is a sales call. Please put me through to the person who makes decisions on………

When you are doing your pre-call research make an effort to obtain a contact name. Once you have a contact name call them at a later date.

Tip Four – Do not sell to the gatekeeper

Remember the objective is to speak to a DM. When the gatekeeper asks

what is the call in connection with” or “regarding”

keep your response to a minimum. The potential number of responses is wide and varied. The responses will be different based on why you wanted to talk to the DM in the first place.

There are three principal reasons why a DM might want to take an unsolicited call.

1. Potential to increase sales

2. Possibility to decrease costs/expenditure

3. Chance of improving productivity and or communication across the organization.

Therefore three potential responses could be

1. It’s about business development, Thank you!

2. It’s about managing business expenditure, Thank you!

3. It’s about improving productivity or communication in the organization, thanks.

Do not try to tell them who you are and why you are calling and why the DM would want to speak to you. This is more than likely going to result in a statement

Can you send some information and we will get back to you if there is any interest!

Remember you need to sell to the DM – not the gatekeeper.

Tip Five – Be Confident, Not Apologetic

So many telemarketers apologise at the start of the call. A decision maker does NOT want to hear someone making an apology for disturbing them. They want to hear someone who is confident – someone who can provide a solution to a problem or issue that is currently causing them some concern.

Tip Six – Be Creative

Find a way to get your message in front of the DM with no filter whatsoever!

Here is a suggestion that might be worthy of consideration. Send them a rose to their works address with a card marked private. This way the rose will get to them without being “filtered”. When they open the card the message might read.

What would you do you if your website could attract treble the number of visitors it does right now?

What would you do if you could increase sales by 20%?

What would you do if you could cut costs on your IT spend by 25%? Etc

The message continues. I will call you next week. Friday 23rd at 1230hrs to see if you are open to finding out how this can be done!

What are the chances of this call being taken? I suspect more than an outright cold call. Be creative and you might just increase your chances of the call being accepted without question.

Tip Seven – Expect to be put through

Your attitude and frame of mind plays a big part in your chance of success. The best cold callers fervently believe that they will be put through to the decision maker at the start of each call. This frame of mind sets them apart from others mere mortals who could only wish to emulate their success. Learn to replicate this positive frame of mind and you too will increase your chances of achievement.

Tip Eight – If all else fails get GK to talk to GK

If you are getting nowhere fast then it might be time to speak in the same language. The language of gatekeepers that is! Get your gatekeeper to talk to theirs.

Imagine if you get a call-  Hi this is (name) I am the PA of (Name, Position and Company). John has asked me to arrange a meeting with Name (Target). Can you please let me know the best way of arranging a meeting with Peter please?It may be just enough to secure you an appointment.

Happy hunting!