Chapter 8

Working with Screeners, Gatekeepers, and Assistants?

Notice that I did not call this chapter “How to Get Past or Go around, over, through, or under Screeners and Gatekeepers.” Yet that is precisely what much of the literature and instruction on the topic suggests.

What garbage that is!

I suggest the opposite. I could sum up my stance in a short sentence: Treat the screener as you would the buyer.

I personally don’t like the monikers “screener” and “gatekeeper.” They seem to imply something negative to me, almost as though it is their job to keep everyone away from the people you’re attempting to contact. However, I’ll use them here, since they are the common terms used to describe the people who protect decision makers.

First—just in case you have been or might be exposed to bad information about screeners—let’s take a look at some of the nonsense that has been taught about screeners so we know what not to do. For example,

“Don’t give them any information. They can’t buy from you.”

Wrong. Sometimes they can indeed buy from you, and often, they may influence a decision. The one thing they can do is make sure that no one will buy from you.

“Answer their question abruptly, and make a demand of your own. As in ‘I’m with AB Company. Will you connect me please?’”

Oh, so that will intimidate them into putting you through? Right. People generally don’t respond all that favorably to a rude demeanor.

“Just tell them, ‘It’s a business matter that I need to speak with him personally about.’”

You might as well say, “I’m a cheesy, self-important salesperson and I don’t respect you.”

“If they get too nosy, say, ‘Well, would Ms. Bigg approve of you denying her the opportunity to learn about what we have?’”

Not only would she approve but also she would probably give the screener a raise.

I have to wonder if the people suggesting this stuff have ever actually placed a sales call. What do people who advocate such swill really think—that screeners are imbeciles? Wimps who allow themselves to be intimidated by such strong-arm tactics? In most cases, the screener is your key to the decision maker’s door. That is, as long as you realize that he or she is not a barrier to be knifed through or steamrolled over. A person performing the role of a screener has one purpose in that job: to protect the decision maker’s time. Your task, when necessary, is to help the screener realize you are important enough to earn an audience with the boss.

And don’t you think screeners can instantly spot the shady tactics of callers who try to sleaze through? Please don’t fool yourself. They’re masters. And the more someone tries to scam them, the more firmly they bolt the air-tight door. Some screeners I’ve observed have hung up smugly, saying, “There, take that you son-of-a-_______!” Their perception of a caller’s value diminishes in proportion to the elusiveness of the techniques used by the caller. And the higher up your decision maker is in an organization, the more skilled and experienced is the screener at reading the importance of sales callers, therefore compounding the reason to approach the screener as the professional that she or he is.

What to Do

Some prospecting systems and trainers will encourage you to spend as little time as possible talking to screeners. But doing so would cause you to miss opportunities to Smarten up your calls in the process. Think about it: This person is very close to the decision maker and has lots of valuable information. So work with him or her and attempt to establish a friendly rapport.

On a first call to a prospect, I suggest using the social engineering process discussed earlier.

Examples:

Then, simply begin asking.

Beginning this way sends the following messages to the screener:

• You’re not like all of the other time-wasting salespeople who disregard the screener and try to bully or slime their way in.
• You actually are helping the screener do his or her job (by protecting the decision maker’s time).
• The screener begins to form a relationship with you, which moves you closer to getting her or him to assist you.

Don’t underestimate the importance of that last point. While doing research on a video program for getting to decision makers, I interviewed 50 screeners. In response to the question “How do you determine who gets put through?” the top answer was “People I like.” A reader of my e-mail newsletter, Lisa Strong, wrote this to me:

“I was an Executive Assistant to presidents and business owners of companies for years, and if you irritated me, you had zero chance of speaking with the owner. If I liked you, I would go out of my way to ‘talk up’ your company and made sure your correspondence was in his ‘to read’ file. Many times, when these owners were looking for new products or services, their Executive Assistants were responsible for doing the research and choosing the company that he should see. Therefore, treating whomever answers the phone with respect is in the salesperson’s best interest.”

Be Prepared to Sell the Screener If You Need to

There are those screeners who simply might be having a bad day. Perhaps they just spoke with a sleazy sales rep, and the resentment is still fresh, or maybe they just aren’t very nice people. It happens.

If the screener asks what the call is about and needs a better reason than the one you provide to put you through—then be ready. I’ll repeat that: You need to be prepared to matter-of-factly answer the screener’s probing questions if they are posed, and your answers mustn’t make her feel as though she’s shadowboxing with you. They must leave her unequivocally fulfilled. She needs to be satisfied that you have something of value for her boss.

Think again about the screener’s job. What happens when a less-than-ethical salesperson slithers through and wastes the decision maker’s time? He cracks open his door, peeks out, and in an annoyed tone demands, “Why did you let that bozo through?” This accounts for the need to help her look good in her boss’s eyes. So, when you get the “And what is this in reference to?” question, you need to respond—without hesitation—with your justification. For example, “We specialize in helping parts manufacturers in your industry increase their short-term cash flow while they’re waiting for their longer-term receivables to be paid. I want to ask him a few questions to determine how big of a problem this is for him, and see if it would be worth it for us to speak further.”

At this point, if you haven’t asked already, you might say, “In fact, there’s probably some information you could help me with.” And as with voice mail, this answer should be very similar to the opening statement you will deliver to the buyer. Most important, do not discuss your product or service; talk about the results. It’s very easy for a screener to say, “We’re all set” or “We’re happy with who we’re buying from” when a salesperson mentions she wants to talk about postage meters. It’s tougher to respond negatively when a rep says she has helped cut down other magazine publishers’ costs of sending out their renewal statements and direct mail letters.

Tips for Working with Screeners, Gatekeepers, and Assistants

Here are some tips you can use to be successful when working with screeners and assistants.

Use a Conversational, Yet Confident Tone of Voice

If you were standing in the lobby of their office, the screener would first size you up based on your appearance. They do the same with the way you sound, so don’t sound sloppy or unimportant. However, you also want to avoid crossing the line into condescension or cockiness. You can sound confident without appearing pushy or demeaning.

Here are some weak words and phrases to avoid.

These questions minimize your status and make it easy to give you the brush-off.

Get the Screener’s Name

Early in the conversation, ask for the screener’s name. Use it on the call, put it in your notes, and greet the screener by name on the next call. You seem to be much less of a stranger on subsequent calls, and, of course, we all love the sound of our name.

Get Personal Information about the Buyer

After building rapport with the screener, the next step is to gather personal information about the boss: what hangs in the office, what personal items adorn the desk, personal interests, hobbies, or passions—in short, any valuable information that can help you begin a relationship.

Ask the Screener about the Decision Maker’s Preferences

Don’t hesitate to find out from screeners how the decision maker likes to be approached and addressed. For example, some people enjoy a little small talk; others prefer getting straight to the point. Some are offended when you use their first name too early in a relationship; others get uncomfortable when addressed as Mr. or Ms. You can also ask the all-important question: “Are there any topics I should avoid when speaking with her?”

Listen for the Names of Others

Any time the screener—or anyone—mentions the name of someone else in their organization, immediately jot it down. Then, when it is your turn to speak (do not interrupt), ask, “You mentioned ‘Steve.’ What does he do?” Also ask the screener who the boss reports to. This can help you learn the decision-making hierarchy, helping you ensure that you are talking to the appropriate people in the decision process.

When They Want You to Send Information

Just as it is when a prospect says, “Send some information on that,” this might also be a screener’s attempt to get you off the phone. Or it could legitimately be the way the prospect does business. I suggest you question to qualify the intent of the request: “Actually, one of the purposes of my call is to see if it would be worthwhile to provide additional information. That’s why I’d like to speak with him first: to determine what he might have interest in.”

In the cases where the screener says the decision maker always needs to see material first, be the professional that you are and agree to work with them. My good friend, a longtime columnist in my Telephone Prospecting and Selling Report newsletter, Jim Domanski has some fine tips on how to effectively work with screeners when sending information.

• Address literature and other support material to the gatekeeper. We sometimes have a tendency to address our support documents to the decision maker, even after we have begun working with the gatekeeper. In addition to the fact that this is demeaning to the gatekeeper, there’s another reason to send material in this way: The gatekeeper rarely gets the same amount of mail that the decision maker receives. Therefore, a letter or package addressed to the gatekeeper is likely to be opened sooner.
• Handwrite the address instead of using a typed label. And if you can, put it in a plain envelope (rather than one with a company logo). Write your return address in the upper left corner, but do not include your own or your company’s name. It’s an old but still effective technique. There is a sense of mystery about a plain, handwritten letter or package. It gets opened first and is quickly remembered.
• Make your support material pretty ugly. The most important thing here is not to be visually appealing but rather to command the screener’s attention. So use a highlighter on key areas. Write in the margins. Circle important things. Draw arrows to vital facts. Use Post-it flags if you have multiple-page documents. The gatekeeper is busy and is probably not an expert on your product or service. Make his job easier by giving him areas to focus on.
• Forget the formal cover letter and use a Post-it note to accompany your material. Ceremonial letters with stuffy words like “further to our conversation of September 30th, please find enclosed,” well, stink, to be honest. Attach a sticky note with something like: “Shelly, here’s a brochure on the projector. To make things a little easier for you, I have highlighted some key areas. Looking forward to talking with you on the 6th at 8:15.”

It’s plain, straightforward, nothing fancy or complicated. But note the clearly stated benefit for the screener (saves time) and the casual way that the telephone appointment is reinforced.

Reference the Pretty Ugly Brochure

In fact, you can use the actual words: “Shelly, I’m following up on that brochure. It probably looked pretty ugly, but I wanted to save you some time.” If they opened it, they’ll remember it—because it was unusual.

(Jim Domanski is President of TeleConcepts Consulting, a telesales consulting and training firm. He’s also the author of Profiting by Phone and Add-on Selling. See www.TeleConceptsConsulting.com.)

Getting Your Messages to the Buyer

If the screener asks if you’d like to leave a message on voice mail, or if you have the option of having someone paged, respond with “How does she like to get messages?” This will improve your chance of more efficiently reaching the decision maker. Some people prefer to speak with the screener when they call in for messages and therefore attach more importance to the messages left with the screener. Some people simply hate to use their voice mail and may be lax in calling to check for messages. Again, a message left with the screener may yield better results. Conversely, the voice mail proponent might religiously retrieve messages. Either way, asking what’s preferred could give you that slight edge.

Will You Help Me?

Another method for working with screeners—regardless of whether someone has voice mail—is to simply ask, “Will you have a chance to see Ms. Bigg when she comes back?” When they answer affirmatively, continue with “Great. When she picks up my message, would you please tell her personally that I really would like to speak with her today? I have an idea that she might want to know about.” Because you’re enlisting the screener’s help—and acknowledging your awareness of his influence over the decision maker—you’re endearing yourself to him a bit more while simultaneously emphasizing the importance of your message.

Go to the Highest Level

When in doubt about where you should start to locate a decision maker, find the level higher than the one that typically makes the decision for what you sell. The people here can give you good information. Typically, you will be referred down. Then at the next level, you can say, “I was speaking with Karen at Mr. McNabb’s office, and she felt that Pat would be the person I should be speaking with.” It’s important that you don’t imply that Mr. McNabb said that she should buy from you; just let them know that you’ve come from above, and your call will implicitly carry more clout.

For Buyers on Vacation

Find out as much as possible from the call screener about the decision maker’s trip—especially when she’s planning to return. It’s probably not worth it to leave a message at this point, since she already has a big stack of mail, hundreds of e-mails, and 38 messages waiting for her when she returns, and your message will be number 26 in the middle of the stack. Instead, plan to call her when she returns, and give her a couple of days back in the office before you do so. If she returns on Monday, for example, you probably don’t want to get in touch until Wednesday. Then, when you do call, you can ask about her vacation and use your interest in her trip as a basis for building rapport.

Smart Calling Action Steps

What will you commit to do as a result of this chapter?