Gatekeeper Partnerships
As you can see, with several of the previous possible call scenarios, you are going to be challenged to have a conversation with an intermediary, who can intentionally, or unintentionally, make your job a lot tougher. You need to engage these intermediaries in partnerships with you—either temporary or long term, depending on the situation. And you generally have only a few seconds to process that situation and strategize the best course.
Use as much care with these gatekeeper situations as you would with your customer, but be careful to avoid the old schmooze approach. Watch what you say, because there is a fine line between cheesy and “please-y.” Cheesy will get you nowhere; please-y can earn you a partner who can make your job a lot easier!
How do you know if you sound please-y or cheesy? Listen to yourself. Record your pitch and see if you think it sounds sincere. You can also ask a manager or colleague to help you critique your approach. Lastly, you could register for a phone-selling seminar and test it out. See what the facilitator thinks of your approach for a more objective opinion.
Strategy
Assuming you have a real person gatekeeper on the phone (versus voice mail), if you attempt the old-school approach of flattering the gatekeeper, you are in danger of sounding cheesy.
An example of cheesy would be saying (in your syrupy-sweet voice), “Oh, what a lovely voice you have, Mary.” This will sound insincere, and if this is a busy receptionist, you are wasting her time. Also, reaching a gatekeeper who is a male and in a nontraditional role, such as receptionist or administrative assistant, may throw you for an instant. The professional approach works no matter who takes the call.
In contrast, the please-y strategy seeks to deepen the professional relationship with the gatekeeper.
Salesperson: Angela, I’m sure you’re very busy. (Pause here just a second or two to see if Angela wants to tell you how busy she is.)
Gatekeeper: Why, as a matter of fact, I am. Tracking my boss’s paperwork for travel expenses takes a lot of my time over and above my regular work!
Salesperson: I can understand. Our company has some really easy-to-use software that even your boss might feel comfortable with. Would that help you at all?
You see, just the fact that you acknowledged the duress many receptionists and assistants are under will differentiate you from other callers who treat them like a PBX. It only takes a few seconds to be supportive, and support is always welcome, unlike flattery. Later, in that call or other calls, you can likely expect a cooperative reception.
For example, let’s say you are returning a call from a customer and reach a receptionist.
Salesperson: Keisha! Michael called me earlier. I’m trying to reach him, and I hope you can help me out. He said to call him at 10:00, but I haven’t been able to reach him. Do you mind paging him, or should I call this afternoon?
In this scenario the gatekeeper might feel sorry for you, appreciate your honesty, and find the contact for you or give you a better number—cell or other location. As a sales professional, you can differentiate yourself from others who call and aren’t professional.
A note here about formality is important. In other chapters, you have read that the more formal approach is better, meaning to call a person by Mr. or Ms. and use the surname. With receptionists and administrative assistants, however, we often only have their first name. They may answer the phone with, “Alexander Courtney’s office, this is Pat.” Or even say, “This is Kevin.” Thus, calling Pat or Kevin by a first name would not likely be perceived as being too familiar or unprofessional.
Activity:
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