GATEKEEPER TRAINING

Gatekeeper
The gatekeeper is essentially a locked door standing between you and
the person you need to speak with. If you don't explain yourself in the
right way, your message will never be delivered.
 Know the Gatekeepers (GK)

● Front-Desk Receptionist ● Executive Assistants

● Switchboard Operators ● Automated Phone Trees

Front-Desk Receptionist

One of the more common gatekeepers that you will encounter when teleprospecting is a
front-desk receptionist. This is the person that is usually sitting in a lobby of an office
building and is responsible for answering a general phone number as well as receive
visitors and deliveries to the building.

There are few things to stay aware of with this type of gatekeeper and the first is that they
will usually be very focused on screening out salespeople and that will usually be driven
by a clear instruction or objective to do so. If they get the slightest sense that you are a
salesperson that is teleprospecting, they will often start screening you out (or at least not
be real helpful).
Switchboard Operators

These are gatekeepers that are usually only responsible for routing calls. The good news
with this type of gatekeeper is that they will usually have a low level of motivation to
screen you out as there goal is to route calls and usually have not been given an instruction
to screen out salespeople.

These gatekeepers will have little knowledge of the organization and the depth of their
knowledge will be limited to the information that they can accessing in the company
directory system that they have access to.
Executive Assistants

A lot of the gatekeepers that you can encounter are administrative assistants that are
aligned with the decision-makers. When teleprospecting at an executive level, you will
often have your calls answered by these individuals as the prospects that you are calling
often have their phones or call routed to their desk.

These gatekeepers will do a thorough job of screening out salespeople, but the key word
there is “thorough”. In other words, they might ask questions and learn what a salesperson
is calling about before determining what best to do.
Automated Phone Trees

The last type of gatekeeper is the auto-attendant that answers and tries to route your call.
These can be big time wasters when teleprospecting so trying to avoid them by getting
direct dial numbers or extensions is the best way to go.
Common Questions Gatekeepers Ask

What is this regarding?

“I have some important details to tell him/her about the project we're working out. I was
going to send it via email but wanted to take a few minutes to explain some of the
important points.”

Do you have an appointment with him?

"I don't have an appointment, but can you please tell him that Blair is on the line? I would
appreciate your help.”
Is he/she expecting your call? Have you ever contacted him/her before?

"No, not specifically, but can you tell him I’m calling about (XXXX).

Im happy to hold. Thank you."

“I sent him/her some information (on specific date?)

and I’d like to follow up to see how he/she wants to proceed.”

“Yes, we last spoke (on specific date).”

The person left the company or no such person is working here.

“I was working with (-------’s) team before. Normally I speak with someone from the
(______) department.

Could you please direct me to the appropriate contact? I would appreciate your help.”
POC not available/busy

"I know that (name of DM) is extremely busy lately, can you please help me to find a time
on his calendar that won't interrupt his (activities)."

"I realize that (name) is incredibly busy with meetings. Is it possible to get time on his
calendar on a day when he is a little less booked?"
Not sure who is the Decision-Maker
"I’m not sure who the right person is for my call. Could you please help me figure out?"

“Could I talk to someone from (Department) please?”.

“Do you mind if I get the details? I would appreciate more details"
Verify the details

“Do I have his email address correct?”

“ Is he still in charge of the XXX?

“ Does he have a direct line we can call?”