What Do You Do About The "Gatekeeper"

7 replies
I was posting about this in another thread and I thought it was important enough to have its own thread. In offline marketing my biggest obstacle by far has been coming up with ways to get around the "gatekeeper" and get to the "decision maker". Some businesses seem to have more chiefs than indians and anyone of them can block you getting where you need to be, in front of who you need to see. Receptionists, secretaries, office managers, assistant managers, deputy assistant managers. Its endless. I'd like to hear any and all methods and solutions the offline marketers have come up with to deal with this.

Thanks Thomas
#gatekeeper #gatekeepers
  • Profile picture of the author Rus Sells
    Tell the gate keeper your name is IRiS but pronounce it like IRS. You'll be talking to the real decision maker in seconds.

    But seriously I you'll find the help your looking for here:

    Offline Marketing Discussions

    Tons of help for Offliners.
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    • Profile picture of the author myob
      In large corporations, gatekeepers can actually be your ally. Get names of managers, dept heads, decision makers etc. Then ask "who makes the final decision for buying ....?" Quite often the "decision maker" relies on recommendations from lower staff members who are relatively much easier to present your initial pitch to. You don't necessarily always want to just "get around" the gatekeeper. They will often tell you how to make a sale.
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  • Profile picture of the author Thomas Wilkinson
    Thanks, both of you. Actually I meant to post this in the Offline Discussions and I thought I did. That's what I get for having multiple windows open on two monitors. If I knew how to move it, I would.

    Thomas
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    When you hear someone telling you what YOU can't do, they are usually talking about what THEY can't do.
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    • Profile picture of the author Mike Parkin
      There's a pretty good article here
      http://www.internetviz-newsletters.c...60.cfm?x=b11,0

      I think the important thing is to understand you both know whats going on and try to get some kind of rapport going.

      When I did telesales years back I used to say things like 'my boss is making me call you again and i really dont want to waste your time so can you just tell me what you need from me - I was just a kid and I think they felt sorry for me Obviously different situations need different methods
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      Rockin' in the free world
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  • Profile picture of the author Steven Miranda
    Find the owner/CEO name and send them a letter or email.
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  • Profile picture of the author Lee MacRae
    I've been on the other side for years, having "gatekeepers" as well as people screening my calls. Some of my friends have even laughed and teased me me that I must be very important to have all my calls screened.

    The problem is there are so many people trying to get direct access to the decision-makers as soon as possible because they have that next important thing that he/she needs. Some days you could never get things done if you met with every one of them. You have to respect the reason people have gatekeepers or screeners. Often these are usually in companies that can be lucrative accounts for various products and they have a lot of people calling on them because others recognize that. Then again, some people are easy pushovers and protect themselves behind gatekeepers.

    What I used to do [and trained my people to do] was to approach the receptionist/secretary/gatekeeper and quickly explain what I do or what I sell and asked if I could get the name or a business card of the decision-maker so I could send them some information or try to set up an appointment later. it's rare that you can't get some type of information but sometimes they simply ask you for a business card [make sure you have some] and say they will pass it on.

    Once I had the name, sometimes I would send the information or sometimes I would simply call later and ask for the person by name. It's amazing how you can sometimes get straight through to the person you're trying to talk to. If they screen the call and ask what it's about, simply say you were trying to set up an appointment with the person. If you can't get one at the time try again in a month. if you had to leave your business card you can follow up later and see if the person was interested.

    Sometimes you can do this kind of "prospecting"by simply sitting at home and calling your potential clients. This can save you a lot of time and gas. Again you explain who you are and what you do and ask who you should talk to? How do you get to see them? Do they require an appointment? This is the kind of thing every salesperson has to do and frankly can separate the men from the boys and the girls from the women. This is the truth: cold calling and prospecting has ended the career of many a salesman!

    Whatever you do, don't start taking the gatekeeper chocolates or telling them how pretty they are today or some other goofy things I've seen and heard some people do. The "gatekeepers" often talk about the idiots they see and have to talk to. Treat them as a professional and be a professional. Just keep persevering.

    Frankly this is one of the reasons why many people want to create an online business... they can't or won't put up with the rejection and they can't deal with the need to work accounts like this face-to-face. Very few people touting off-line marketing ever tell you about this part of the business.
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  • Profile picture of the author Paul Myers
    Belongs in the offline marketing section.
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    Stop by Paul's Pub - my little hangout on Facebook.

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