How to Manage Prospect Gatekeepers Who Act Like No-Neck Bouncers

When I was a lad going to college in Boston, I worked at night in nightclub as a bartender to help pay for college and to have plenty of play money. The club was called Kix Disco and was located near Fenway Baseball Ball Park right off of Kenmore Square.

This was a huge club that seated over 700 people in the main room and had a separate backroom for jazz aficionados like Dizzy Gillespie to showcase their talent.

On any given night, even during the week, this was a hopping place to be. So being a young pup at the time and getting paid to play at the place that my friends hung out seemed to be a smart idea.

On a busy weekend night, we had standing room only and the line to get in rolled around our building, snaking its way into the adjacent alley.

Like salespeople standing at the door of a prospect opportunity, customers flocked to this club hoping to get in. But standing in front of the doorway, were four very large no-neck bouncers, all standing six foot four or larger. Called non-necks for obvious reasons, these wise gentlemen were the senior negotiation specialists of our company.

Usually delicate in their words (but not always in their actions), the no- necks managed the ebb and flow of traffic as the customers tried to get in. Because of fire laws we had a building limit of 1400 people, but that number of attendees seemed to stretch way beyond this building's limit often on a hot spring night, when the music and margaritas flowed. On busy nights, they decided who entered this cavernous place of play and who was not the right fit that day.

So what does this have to do with sales?

A sales process is not always a pretty, white glove, dignified environment where sales cycles happen in identified sequential sales steps as forecasted. Selling is often a get-in-the-mud rumble-in-the-jungle process where you have to fight to win deals.

Like no-neck bouncers standing at the door, prospect gatekeepers make judgment calls on your suitability to enter their private club -- aka their bosses' appointment schedule.

To get through -- you need to be persistent.

"Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go." William Feather

Prospect gatekeepers want to know, are you a vendor or a peer to their boss?

7 Techniques to Get Past Gatekeepers

1. Friend Method. When you call a large company, one method to get past the gatekeeper is to introduce yourself to them, and treat them as if they were the executive. Stroke their ego and ask for their help.
   
   
2. I-am-a-Peer Method. If the gatekeeper will not help you and tries to pawn you off to some other executive, say politely, but confidently, Our firm only works with [INSERT THE EXECUTIVE'S TITLE] and our clients include Company X, Company Y, and Company Z. That's why I called Mr./Ms. because she is the [INSERT THEIR TITLE AGAIN].
   
   
3. The Bribe Method. If multiple attempts to get through the gatekeeper have failed, send a business book to the executive (and separately to the gatekeeper) with an inscription that says you thought they might enjoy the book and if they have time, you would like to chat. Then call again and talk to the gatekeeper about the book you sent and about the possibility of meeting with their boss.
   
   
4. Mini-Boss Method. When you encounter a gatekeeper who insists she knows what her boss wants, you have a secretary taking on the image of a boss. So treat her like her boss - tell her how you can help the company and then add one of the other methods listed here.
   
   
5. Pain-Reliever Method. When a secretary tells you to send your information, tell her that many of your relationships are personalized based on the corporate needs and you do not have generic information and that's why you called to chat with their boss, to see what their needs are.
   
   
6. A Brochure Request by the Gatekeeper. Never send a brochure to an executive - they will not read it. Instead send a one page letter unfolded, with short paragraphs and bullets on how your offering can help the prospect (or send an email in the same format). Then call 2 days after they get it and then ask the gatekeeper to help you set up a meeting.
   
   
7. The Only-A-Secretary Method. If the assistant asks you for details on what you do (so she can make a judgment call for her boss), speak firmly and respectfully and say that you don't mean to be rude, but you only work with the executive who is the [INSERT THEIR TITLE] -- does she make those kinds of business decisions? (Be careful - this is a very aggressive approach - but it can work as a last option to get through.)

Learn to manage the no-necks that stand at the door and you will enter more private clubs and sell more.

Writers Resource Box