HanzoHasashi profile picture
HanzoHasashi profile picture

HanzoHasashi

Associate Account Executive

Valued Contributor
Catalyst
Good Citizen
+3

Your best cold-call elevator pitch for gatekeepers

once again I am asking you to share your thoughts. no BS and none of that "sell me this pen" crap.


What do you say to the prospect when they pick up the phone??


Give me your secret sauce, or get lost in the sauce.

😂 Sales Humor
🔎 Prospecting
☑️ Qualification Calls
11

33 comments

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funcoupons
WR Officer
15
👑
I don’t pitch gatekeepers. 
DungeonsNDemos
Big Shot
3
Rolling 20's all day
lol this is the true answer
HanzoHasashi
Valued Contributor
1
Associate Account Executive
an intellectual. who do you pitch to?
funcoupons
WR Officer
10
👑
People who sign the PO. Or at the very least, people with real pull with the people who sign the PO. Also, your mom. And I close her every time. 
HanzoHasashi
Valued Contributor
1
Associate Account Executive
insightful. and jokes on you cause my mom's the gate keeper 
justatopproducer
Politicker
1
VP OF SALES -US
This is the way.
0PercentCloseRate
Politicker
7
Oh boy
Simple: Don't sound like a xanax-addled kid with a fresh b-school degree when you ask for something.

"Hey there, could you forward me to [prospect]"
"May I ask who's calling?"
"Sure, it's [0percentcloserate] with [company]"

You have a reason for calling. Don't sound like you don't.

P.S. I assume you're not trying to pitch gatekeepers and are actually asking how to get past gatekeepers. Bless your soul if you think pitching gatekeepers is a good idea.
CuriousFox
WR Officer
6
🦊
The gatekeeper isn't the decision maker. Why are you pitching to them?
hh456
Celebrated Contributor
1
sales
i DeCiDe WhO sPeAkS tO mR. tUrKeYnEcK!
paddy
WR Officer
4
Director of Business Development
A gatekeeper is actually the best person to pitch a pen to. There's a good chance that Deborah is using an antiquated writing utensil with minimal speed and low ink mileage. You're welcome.
HanzoHasashi
Valued Contributor
1
Associate Account Executive
did you jus-
paddy
WR Officer
1
Director of Business Development
yes.
NotCreativeEnough
Big Shot
2
Professional Day Ruiner
why are you pitching a gate keeper? Gate keeper answers: 

Me: can you transfer me to extension 69420 please
GK: please Hold
Me: Pitches person I called to talk to

Not really that tough. If the gate keeper asks me why I'm calling its always the same answer "oh I'm just following up with him on a previous conversation" 

they say he isn't available? "no problem, do you mind transferring me to his voicemail?" Then leave voicemail. 
HanzoHasashi
Valued Contributor
0
Associate Account Executive
my last mentor told me that if you can close a gate keeper then your actual prospect will 9 times out of ten definitely follow suit. 

I love the voicemail leaving bit. 
NotCreativeEnough
Big Shot
1
Professional Day Ruiner
If that worked for them then good for them I guess. Personally I would rather spend my time pitching people who are actually buyers of my product though. Some guy's secretary who will never use the product and has no buying authority isn't worth my time to try and pitch to. 
HanzoHasashi
Valued Contributor
0
Associate Account Executive
figure i slip that piece of advice that i was given - not something that everyone swears by but my mentor had all the Debbies and Babs falling in love with him before he got to the ceo. 

but you're right, save that energy for the decision makers
NotCreativeEnough
Big Shot
0
Professional Day Ruiner
I can definitely see it working well for some products. I used to sell a tool that while the GK may not have been the decision maker, she's the one that would be primarily using it. So having her on my side was a huge win. Hell half the time I would demo her, make her fall in love with it, then she would bring it to her boss and ask for it and basically sell him for me. 

Just all depends on the product. 
SADNESSLieutenant
Politicker
1
Officer of ♥️
Hi it’s Sadness calling for coupons
funcoupons
WR Officer
2
👑
Coups here. Speak. 
SADNESSLieutenant
Politicker
1
Officer of ♥️
hi coups I'm calling you because I know you are the queen of the simp army and you enjoy torturing interning sdr's we just got a new diamond tipped whipped that I think would look great next to your metal tipped ones. It has much more punishing power which I know you will enjoy with your sick mind. We have it in black or white, which would you prefer?
funcoupons
WR Officer
2
👑
Red. My favourite color and also hides the bloodstains. Thank u. 
DungeonsNDemos
Big Shot
1
Rolling 20's all day
Why are you pitching them? They have no buying power.

It's ok to get their input, but I wouldn't pitch them unless they would be a strong influencer/champion/coach. 
Diablo
Politicker
0
Sr. AE
I dont spend much time with Gatekeepers, I dont pitch them but rather tell me where I am calling from.
HanzoHasashi
Valued Contributor
0
Associate Account Executive
nice and it works 50% of the time everytime?
Pachacuti
Politicker
0
They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy
What you are really asking is how to get around gatekeepers, not how to pitch them since they are not decision makers.

I try to go above them, way above them.  That way when/if I am relegated to dealing with them I can reference the conversation with the person way above them as motivation to let me through the gate.
HanzoHasashi
Valued Contributor
0
Associate Account Executive
no i really was asking how do you pitch to gatekeepers - 
at the end of the day they will ask you where you are calling from, whats your intent and whatnot.

you can give them an elevator pitch of your call or give them a whole essay and have them snore. 

but if you go way above them, im interested to know what you exactly do/say to get to the decision maker
Pachacuti
Politicker
1
They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy
Then you got your answer from everyone else. You don’t pitch them. I gave you a great workaround which has worked for me for years. Use it or don’t, Matters little to me.
HanzoHasashi
Valued Contributor
0
Associate Account Executive
Can you tell me what you did play by play to get past the gate keeper. I did ask that in the very end as I was intrigued by your approach 
Pachacuti
Politicker
0
They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy
(1) call into the prospect at a higher level in the organization.
(2) ask who deals with your product in their organization
(3) get relegated down the ladder
(4) call the person and tell them you were asked to give them a call from the person higher up in the company.
Nothings 100%, but it works.
E_Money
Big Shot
0
💰
"bring me to your leader"
hh456
Celebrated Contributor
0
sales
i dont get screened if that's what your asking. im calling to speak to mr. turkeyneck. they say, who are you? and i say, 'im grizzle, title, and im calling for mr. turkeyneck, can you please transfer me, thank you.' then stay silent till they do it.

works most of the time and if they decline and say, 'what are you calling about,' i'll get someone elses contact info call them directly say, 'sorry Chuck, i think i got transferred to the wrong guy, could you transfer me to tim? thanks' and stay silent.

i always get who i want to speak to and i 100% close the deal 0-15% of the time.
bendandsnack
Politicker
0
Account Exec
If a gatekeeper picks up the phone I hang up. I’ve made enough calls by now to know it’s a waste of time.

Dig up the prospects cell using Apollo or SignalHire, don’t bother with the gatekeeper
JediGuy
Personal Narrative
0
C.E.O.
It's not a good idea to pitch a gatekeeper. Your first objective is to find out who the decision maker(s) is/are and get them on the phone before you pitch anything to anyone.

With that said, "if your new and can't get past a gatekeeper," you might want to pitch them just to get the marbles out. 

The idea is to quickly hook their interest so that they can pass you on to the decision maker. Heck, I used to even pitch VM's if I couldn't get through. Practice makes perfect and it's better to cut your teeth a few times anyway you can so that when you do speak to the decision makers you will have your introduction and hook down smooth and you will come off as experienced and confidant.  

You miss 100% of the chances you don't take and practicing your introductory tonality and hook every chance you can is one of the best things you can do because that's what gets you foot in the door.  

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