Being blocked by a gatekeeper is a beautiful thing…what? Yes, it’s a beautiful thing because the gatekeeper’s focus is on helping his or her company be profitable. If you perceive the gatekeeper as the enemy, you are not marketing from your heart. Be genuine in your desire to help the company you are calling. With the heart centered approach, you can regularly engage with, instead of trying to go around, the gatekeeper.
When a gatekeeper correctly does his or her job, he or she manages demands on the decision maker’s time. If you focus on doing the same thing, you will experience less and less rejection. And, do not let being rejected get you down. It is not YOU personally being rejected. Instead, it is the perceived TIME-WASTING interruption that is being rejected. So, whenever possible, don’t waste the gatekeeper’s time. Otherwise, there is little chance that you will ever be successful at connecting with prospects.
Let’s talk about connecting with the gatekeeper instead of trying to get past the gatekeeper. When you focus on saving the gatekeeper an unnecessary interruption, you engage with the company. By wanting to engage with someone, you focus on how you can genuinely help.
Solutions to connecting with the gatekeeper (and prospects) are out there! Here are some helpful tips:
What to Say to the Gatekeeper
- Alternatives
Rather than asking the gatekeeper for the person you want to speak with, begin by asking him or her the same questions you would ask your prospect. Speak to the value you want to help the prospect gain to improve life quality somehow.
Most company secretaries or “gatekeepers” will be informed to disregard any sort of sales calls. Their first instinct will be to reject any sort of “Hello, I’m from…May I speak to…”?Instead, grab the gatekeepers’ interest. Doing this, he or she might be more inclined to put you through. It’s not as if they are robots, they are indeed human.
- Gatekeepers have distinct powers. Respect the gatekeeper’s power limits.
It is the gatekeeper that can connect you with the right decision-making person. Understand that the gatekeeper probably has no decision-making powers, So, when the gatekeeper asks ‘Can I tell him/her what it’s regarding?’ – don’t try to pitch your offer to the gatekeeper. That is a time waster for both of you. It shows disrespect to that person, too. And, you irritate the gatekeeper doing this. Don’t sell to the gatekeeper!
- Sincerely Engage With the Gatekeeper
You can review a company website to see the company’s mission statement or of the person with whom you want to do business. This helps you see what their focus is. Make YOUR focus be the same focus they have. Don’t try to go around the gatekeeper. Instead, respectfully engage with the gatekeeper in an optimistic, positive and friendly way.
- Call and Ask for the Sales or Marketing Department
Instead of telling the gatekeeper to connect you with the company CEO, consider talking with the sales or marketing department. Talking with an actual salesperson can be an excellent approach to connecting with the company. You will be surprised to see how often a salesperson is willing to help another salesperson!
- Don’t Work From a Script
If you have notes about what you want to say, that’s one thing. But if you read a script, it will be obvious to the gatekeeper that you are NOT really interested in anything but a sale. Instead of a script, work from a plan of talking with the decision-maker.
How Do You Engage andConnect With A Gatekeeper?
If you’re having no luck engaging with gatekeepers, and need to employ someone to help you with this challenge, contact us. We can help you with that! Emailmeat [email protected]