Sophia was doing some telesales training. She did a fair bit of cold calling, to sell cheaper phone calls.

When asked what her most difficult challenge was, she replied it was getting past the gatekeeper. She was referring to the secretary or PA who is tasked with keeping cold callers at bay. When asked why she find this the most difficult part, she said that the gatekeepers were often curt, even rude or obnoxious.

See if this sounds familiar:

Acme Widgets: “Good morning, Acme Widgets, how can I help you?”

Sophia: “Can I speak to the proprietor of the business please?”

AW: “What’s it about please?”

S: “I want to talk to him about a new range of drinks machines we have on offer.”

AW: “Sorry, she won’t be interested! Thank you! Goodbye!”

End of conversation.

Sarah’s complaint is “why can’t they just have the decency to put me through?”

What would happen if Sarah considered being a little nicer to the gate keepers? She went on to say how unimportant she thought they were and how some of them were trying to pretend they had more influence than they had.

The gatekeeper is the one person stopping you from getting to the person you want to speak to, so it make’s sense that we need to get the gate keeper on our side.

There are many ways of doing this.

Treat the gatekeeper like a new friend. Try to bring some humour or lightness into the conversation. Let them help you.

Smile before you pick up the phone…even when you don’t feel like it. Try saying the sentence with a grimace and then with a broad smile. Your respondent at the end of the line can HEAR you beaming. And that puts them in a more positive frame of mind.

Have the name of an individual to speak to. Do some research, get a name, and careful how you answer the question “What shall I tell him it is about”!

Be persistent. Not to the extent that you irritate but it is easier to put you through than keep putting you off.

Try pity. Tell the gatekeeper that your boss is insistent that you must speak to Mr Customer. The gatekeeper should know what that feels like!

Strictly you shouldn’t ’sell’ to the gatekeeper, which is true, up to a point. Well if you look at it, we’re not selling to the gatekeeper. We’re merely creating enough interest for them to want to put you through to the right person.

The problem we have, is that there are so many poor salespeople out there, that the gatekeepers are often irritated to death by sales calls, from people who are poor at what they do. When they do get a salesperson on the phone, who is courteous, professional, has an interesting voice, and a sense of humour, it’s a refreshing change. Be like that and you will stand out, and that is your first hurdle.

Remember, the gatekeeper has a tough job to do. Bring a little sunshine into their day, with a fresh approach and some humour.

Andy Szebeni is a sales trainer with A&P Training (http://www.a-and-p.com). A&P helps sales executives and management win more customers and it has its own telemarketing team to set appointments for A&P clients.