Getting Past the Gatekeepers
A man called the office and said, "I see that your church doesn't have a web site." "Yes, it does," I drily answered. In fact, the church's web site has been up for about two years. The pastor updates it on a regular basis. Now there was someone who had not done their research. The man on the phone stumbled over his words and could not recover his sales pitch after that. Needless to say, the call ended quickly.Receptionists, clerks, secretaries and administrative assistants are the gatekeepers of the office. If they have been on their jobs for a good period of time, they've learned how to turn back salespersons that cold call their companies or drop in without appointments. Sales persons seem to think they have a myriad of tricks to get through the door, but gatekeepers are aware of them. If sales persons want to be more successful in contacting decision-makers who may purchase their goods and/or services, they must understand a few things.
Do not overdo the "friendly" attitude. An overly peppy "Hi! How are you today?" will put a gatekeeper on alert that the call may be a sales call. The super-friendly tactic sounds even phonier in person. Be polite, but tone down the acting.
Leave a message. It is the gatekeeper's job to relay messages to their bosses, so tell them why you are calling. Do not be vague in an attempt to mask the fact that you are selling something. The boss always wants the gatekeeper to bring detailed messages to them. Gatekeepers are often unfairly blamed for a caller's failure to fully state the nature of their call. You can bet the gatekeeper is not going to be happy to hear from the salesperson again if that happens. They will automatically make it harder for the sales person to get through. Besides, a busy boss is not necessarily going to return the call of someone they don't know and don't know exactly what they want. Also, most bosses are aware of tricks sales persons use to get in contact with them.
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