How to Get Past Gatekeepers

Gatekeepers won’t stop your sales momentum this year once you begin using these simple techniques.

Do you find it frustrating getting hold of people that you really want to talk to and you constantly get blocked? You know, in sales, it’s all about leads, getting new people. But how do you get hold of those people? You see, you really want to get hold of the main decision maker. But it’s so hard, isn’t it? They are  called gatekeepers. They’ve been placed in this position purely to stop people from harassing the decision makers. Now, if you going to come across as a sales person, you’re probably going to get a lot of resistance. Here’s what I would suggest for you to get past gatekeepers:

The first thing is, when you call, do the ‘Goldilocks’ effect. You know, with Goldilocks and the porridge, “it’s too hot, it’s too cold, and it’s just right. If you treat them with too much hostility or too much kindness, you won’t get anywhere. You need to be ‘just right’. Consider your tempo, volume and pace when you speak to them. Make sure that you come across a little bit hesitant or investigative. Don’t sound too arrogant or too abrupt otherwise you’ll get blocked. When you call, tell them who you are and the reason for your call. The gatekeeper is always thinking, “How long is this going to take? My boss does not have the time to talk to you for hours.” So what you want to say is it’ll take ‘less than’. Those are the magic words. It’ll take ‘less than’ 5 minutes.

Your timing matters. If you constantly call 7 minutes or 10 minutes past the hour, you’re constantly going to get blocked, People organise meetings to start on they hour, so try to call seven or 10 minutes to the hour, 1:50 or 2:50 in the afternoon, and you’ll get hold of more people. 

Watch this video to hear the rest of my techniques to get past gatekeepers: