funcoupons
WR Officer
6
๐Ÿ‘‘
Cell phones.

Company directories.

Telling Sheila to fuck off and patch you through before you pressure wash her with Kahlua.
poweredbycaffeine
WR Lieutenant
5
โ˜•๏ธ
Kinonez
Celebrated Contributor
4
War Room Enthusiast
Asking for their name before asking for the prospect's name helps sooo much! Just treat them nicely and with respect. No need for scripts, just be human.ย 
TheNegotiator
Arsonist
2
VP of Sales
Asking for the GKs name seems to hit different for them. Gamechanger.
Kinonez
Celebrated Contributor
1
War Room Enthusiast
It does wonders for sure!
UrAssIsSaaS
Arsonist
3
SaaS Eater
Act like you own the convo and that the DM is expecting a call from you. Too often salespeople come in so soft and just get bullied by gatekeepers.ย 
thebuckhunter
Politicker
2
AE
When they ask to take a message, say you'll call back later.ย 
Call back later.ย 
Keep calling back later and everytime ask for a direct line.ย 
Eventually, they will be so sick of you that they'll give you the direct line.ย 
TheNegotiator
Arsonist
0
VP of Sales
But be extremely polite, and if possible - genuinely entertaining along the way. GKs hate people too, and theyโ€™re just doing their job. If they find themselves liking you even without intending to, theyโ€™ll throw you a bone.
Diablo
Politicker
0
Sr. AE
There could be multiple strategies, if you know who you want to talk to - treat the gatekeeper with respect and bang they might try to connect. If you don't know who you want to talk with, ask them the right person and best way to reach them, sometimes it has happened that the gate keeper wasn't the decision-makers but users of the competiting product so you might get few important details including the pain points.
ChunkyButters
Tycoon
0
AE
Cell Phones
Calling outside normal business hours when gatekeepers aren't working
Directories / Extension numbers

If you have to go to a gatekeeper:
"I'm sorry I didn't catch your name" if they didn't say their name while answering
"Hi Ventox, I was trying to reach FunCoupons"
"Hi Ventox, is FunCoupons available"

"Hi Ventox, I was hoping you might be able to help me"
^^I use this one a lot. People have a natural instinct to want to help someone.ย 
Then I go into something likeย 
"I was trying to reach FunCoupons because I work with similar roles to do XYZ, is she the best person to speak with?"ย 
funcoupons
WR Officer
1
๐Ÿ‘‘
You rang????
UserNotFound
Politicker
0
Account Executive
I act like I'm calling for a parent, just a super casual "Hey, I'm callin' for Ventox" it's usually is met with a confused "whos calling?"ย 
To which I incredulously sayย "Oh?! this is UserNotFound" and I never mention a company name until they ask. This aint business bitch, talking to me is pleasure- yahurr'd?ย 

Another favorite is to purposely call into the wrong department and say "Oh no! I think I pushed the wrong button... [ask]"
bassinshaps
Politicker
0
Territory Sales Manager
Great tips my boss gave me when dealing with gatekeepers: (this usually only works with face to face) 1. ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS be extremely kind and accommodating. Even if theyโ€™re snarky or seem like they have an ego. Memorize their name, maybe try and figure out their interests if they have band posters or sports memorabilia on their desk or office. 2. Use their interests to get on their good side. If your company card allows it, get them a gift basket for the company, maybe a small collectors piece if they have sports memorabilia or a sort of collection. Donโ€™t say you got it for them, say that this is courtesy of (insert your company name here) and say we thought you would appreciate it. Gift baskets are cool too. 3. Repetition is important. Keep calling on that customer and being courteous of the gatekeeper and hopefully you get through. This is not 100% effective but it does work well. Itโ€™s important to be nice, but not creepy. If you get the gatekeeper on your side, youโ€™ll have a great chance of getting in with that customer and who knows, the gatekeeper could end up being a great reference for that opportunity the next time that customer looks to give out their business. I know itโ€™s worked on our receptionists at my place of work.
ProteinFart
Contributor
0
ISR
โ€œHey Sheila, Look, I know you probably get 30 dials a day trying to get in touch with John. I figure he wouldnโ€™t know what to do with himself if you took a sick day, so do you mind if I tell you what we do and you can tell me if itโ€™s something you guys are prioritizing right now?โ€ Or โ€œHey Sheila, Iโ€™m sorry, are you Johns PA? Great! You guys basically keep the house running and know everything, so maybe you can help me?โ€ *gauge response* โ€œI work with improving (insert business driver). I did a bit of research and saw that you guys are going through (insert event sheโ€™s likely heard John stress over). See, weโ€™ve helped solve some major headaches for (insert reference case from same industry Sheila likely knows) who were going through something similar. Do you think John would be happy if youโ€™d put me through to see if I can help?โ€ Iโ€™ve never really had huge issues with GKs. Unless itโ€™s like a front desk receptionist with a blanket instruction to never put calls through to specific people; they could get in deep doo doo.
40
Members only

What is your best way to defuse a gatekeeper?

Question
54
What's best?
42% Defuse
35% Overcome
17% Avoid
6% Ignore
221 people voted
17
Members only

Have you incentivized a gatekeeper?

Question
38
13

Pitch the gatekeeper?

Question
15
How do you get past the gatekeeper?
57 people voted