Getting Past the Gatekeeper

Let’s face it; you’re never going to make a sale to a business if you can’t get past the gatekeeper. If someone, such as an Executive Assistant, is answering your calls and then not letting you speak to someone who can actually make a decision to buy from you then you need to find some ways of getting past the gatekeeper.

There are many creative ways of getting past the gatekeeper. You may find that you come-up with a few ideas yourself once you spend a few months in sales. However, the one thing you should never do to help with getting past the gatekeeper is lie about who you are and what you’re calling for. Sure a lie may get you past the gatekeeper but once the buyer finds out what you did, you’ll have an enemy and will never, ever be able to sell to that company.

Instead of lying, you need to try something more original. Spend a little time researching the business so that you can say something like, “Hi, this is John Doe calling. I just read how your company is doing such and such and I would like to speak with Ms. X about an opportunity that might improve the transition.” Something like that often works.

Also, you could try to sell to the gatekeeper before even speaking with the buyer. If you can win him/her over then getting past the gatekeeper may be a breeze.

Finally, even if the gatekeeper doesn’t let you through, don’t give-up. Send a letter to the gatekeeper and attach another letter to the buyer. This will make the gatekeeper feel important and should, at the very least get a letter delivered to the buyer’s inbox.

Getting past the gatekeeper in businesses can be very difficult. However, it’s a necessity or you’ll never make a sale. To help with getting past the gatekeeper you need to be creative and persistent but you should never lie.

Additional Sales Tools:

Prospecting Software

Web Based CRM

small business crm

CRM Software