Gatekeepers are one of the biggest obstacles a sales team will face, as they can prevent you from delivering your pitch to the people who need to hear it.
If you want to have a chance to sell your product, you’ve got to learn how to get through the gatekeeper first. A gatekeeper It’s the person responsible for deciding who can get through to the decision-maker, with the goal of preventing interruption from bothersome visitors and callers.
Many gatekeepers develop a level of hostility toward outside salespeople: however, they have a lot of useful information about the organization that could share with salespeople. This is understandable if you consider that salespeople frequently resort to trickery or outright lying to get past gatekeepers to reach the decision-maker.
Cold calling used to be a favorite lead generation tactic of B2B operations. It made sense when it was harder to gather information on clients. However, today it’s relatively easy to research whether a potential client can likely be converted to a sale, so rely on research instead of cold calls. It’s wise to identify the tangible business reasons for calling or meeting with an account before doing so; remember, your time is valuable.
Gatekeepers are there to block unwanted callers or visitors from getting to key decision-makers in the business. Don’t try and pitch to the gatekeeper, they are unlikely to have any involvement in the purchasing decision, and if they don’t deal with the same issues as the decision-maker. They are unlikely to understand the value of your solution either. At best, you’re wasting your time. At worst, you’re annoying them and damaging your chances of ever getting through in the future.
Once you’ve done your research and decided to engage with a potential client, it’s important to continue to qualify your leads as you being to engage them. When you go to a meeting, your potential clients are seeking out your help because you offer expertise in whatever vertical you serve. Finding a way to demonstrate that expertise while learning more about the client is a great way to impress them.
Never take a “no” from someone who doesn’t have the authority to give you a “yes”. You will never be able to gain control of gatekeepers if you believe they have more authority over your value proposition than you do. Realize that gatekeepers can be an excellent source of information and do not assume gatekeepers are your enemy instead they must be your friends.