Treat all gatekeepers with courtesy and respect.
If you have to make cold or warm calls to prospects, then you probably have to deal with your share of gatekeepers. These can be receptionists, office managers, assistants, etc. No matter what role they have, whoever stands between you and your prospect is someone you have to deal with first.
Most sales people struggle to effectively deal with and get past these so-called “gatekeepers.” And the majority of the time, the problems they have they bring on themselves. The reason is because most sales reps treat these people as obstacles to get past by using tricks or by acting authoritatively or by being downright rude. And you can imagine how that goes.
In addition, many sales people simply don’t understand some basic rules in regards to how to speak to gatekeepers, and so they create their own problems by giving incomplete information which just triggers the gatekeepers to do their job and keep them away from the decision maker.
Here is a common mistake:
Rep: “Oh hi, is Mr. Jones in?”
Gatekeeper: “Can I tell him who’s calling?”
Rep: “This is Bob.”
Gatekeeper: “Bob who?”
Rep: “Bob Smith.”
Gatekeeper: “With what company?
Rep: “The XYZ company.”
Gatekeeper: “Will he know what this call is regarding?”
Rep: “Ah, it’s about his (whatever the rep is selling…)”
Gatekeeper: “Has he spoken to you before?”
Rep: “Ah, no……”
Once a sales rep gets into that kind of dialogue with a gatekeeper, they will rarely win. Over and over again they will get turned away.
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The way to fix all this is easy: Always give your first and last name and the company you’re calling from right away. And this is crucial: always end with an instructional statement like: “Is Bob available please.”
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And by the way that’s crucial, too: always be polite and use please – two or three times.
Here’s an effective opening:
Rep: “Hi could I speak with Bob please?
Gatekeeper: “Can I tell him who’s calling?”
Rep: “Yes please, please tell him that (your first and last name) with (your company name) is holding please.”
If you do this right and with a smile in your voice, you’ll avoid 80% of the screening that you get now. Guaranteed.
In addition, if you don’t know a contact’s name, use the “I need a little bit of help, please,” technique. But always wait for them to respond before you ask for it:
Rep: “Hi, I need a little bit of help please.”
[Now pause long enough the gatekeeper to respond]
Gatekeeper: “What do you need?”
Rep: “I need to speak with the person who handles your _________. Who would that be, please?”
This is very effective if again you say it with a smile in your voice.
Last technique: Speaking of a smile, always put a BIG smile on your face right before your prospect (or gatekeeper) picks up the phone. It does wonders for how you project your attitude and opening line.
And, don’t be afraid of building a little bit of rapport with the gatekeeper as well. Ask them if they’re happy it’s Friday, or how Monday is going, or if they’re glad it’s hump day. Ask about the weather. Anything to be personable and to show them that you value them as people rather than just an obstacle to get around.
The bottom line is that top producers know how to interact with gatekeepers and know how to gain their trust and get them on their side. By using the techniques above, you can now begin doing that as well.