Idea #13 - 3 Techniques To Get Past Any Gate Keeper
As a sales rep, getting past the gate keeper and through to the decision maker is the first step to making your sale.. so today i wanted to share my best sales techniques for getting past those pesky gatekeepers.
The gatekeeper is often the receptionist who has been told to turn away all those annoying sales reps that keep ringing and trying to steal the managers valuable time.
This person has heard all the sales pitches..it's their job and they know full well when a sales person is ringing.
To get past 99% of gatekeepers, i use these 3 techniques.
- Familiarity
I discovered this by mistake.. one day i wasn't paying attention and someone picked up the phone, instead of my usual sales pitch i just said - Hey it's just Joe here i was just after Chris please!
The receptionist, being so used to her usual gate keeping activities automatically assumed i knew Chris well enough to not use his last name, nor introduce my company.
I must be one of Chris's best friends and talk to him all the time!
- Ask the gate keeper for help
People love to help people when they can, especially if it doesn't cost them money! When you have a great product and you know this company needs it, ask the gate keeper for help. Try saying something like this:
Hi, i am hoping you can help me. I understand your company gets contacted all the time by sales reps, my company has a service that can instantly save your business around $90,000 a year in operating costs and i really feel it would be of great benefit to your company.
Is there some how i can get this information to your manager? So if i sent you an email, maybe you could have a quick look at it yourself and give me your thoughts?
Get the receptionist on your side and trying to help you.
- The Accounts Department
Finally, if you still can't get past the gate keeper and pitch your amazing product to the key decision maker, there is one sneaky last resort!
Most big companies have a switch before you get to the receptionist / gatekeeper. Instead of dialing 0 to get to reception, hit 7 or 8 or whatever it is and go directly to accounts.
Most times you will get through instantly, and this person has no clue about the phone procedures they just process the accounts. Simply say, oh sorry i think i got through to the wrong area, i was trying to get to Chris in management would you mind putting me through?
These are my 3 best techniques to get past those gate keepers, use these and use them well and you will increase your sales ratio dramatically.