Top 4 Ways of Getting Past the GateKeeper

As BDMs the last thing we want is to be considered a telesales person. We want to win accounts and have clients that will keep buying from us. So a big question is, how do you set-up a good relationship from the beggining? When I speak to IT BDMs and Account Managers I'm always curious how they go about 'getting past the gatekeeper', especially for C-Level contacts. This 'gatekeeper' interaction can frame the relationship with the C-Level boss and a lot of different approaches are taken.



From everything I've heard here are the top 4 I've heard:

4. Ask for the person by their first name and say nothing else - e.g. "John Please".

• Why it's Effective: This is effective because it communicates to the gatekeeper that your time is not to be wasted. You state what you want and leave a pause for the PA to fill, ideally with "I'll put you straight through".
• Drawbacks: In order for it to work you have to sound quite curt. Usually the PA has good rapport with the boss, and he might ask their opinion about various people he deals with. The trouble is they might tell the boss about how rude you were and it could ruin your chances
• Common Objections: A clever PA will answer this with "He's in a meeting right now, who may I ask is calling?" and then "and what was the call regarding?"

3. Tell them you've lost the bosses mobile number and you need it urgently - e.g. "I'm in the airport and I've lost my blackberry. I need to call John when I land in Sydney, can you give me his mobile number?"

• Why it's Effective: You claim that you already have the bosses mobile number and most people don't like calling someone a liar. You're also in a troubled spot because you need to call the boss but don't have his number and you really need the PAs help.
• Drawbacks: This is a typical one used by people in Delegate Telesales and unfortunately has gotten a bit over-used. Also it relies on the PA not asking you for your information and then telling the boss to expect a call from you - the Delegate people will often give a fake name and do anything to get the mobile. If you want to be that unscrupulous go ahead, but many people prefer not to leave a bad impression on the gatekeeper.
• Common Objections: "Why don't you leave your details with me and John can call you when you land?"

2. Play dumb and ask the PA for their help - There are a lot of ways to do this. You can use a stutter e.g. "J-j-john, p-p-p, John, P-p-please" or "I've just started a business and I'm really hoping to get a hold of John. I'm not sure what the best way to do this is, can you help me out?"

• Why it's Effective: You play to the pity card and you ask for help. It's useful because most people like to feel helpful.
• Drawbacks: You can get given the runaround because the PA thinks you're easy to get rid of.
• Common Objections: "Sorry, John is very busy." and "Why don't you speak to HR/procurement/etc".

1. Ask the PA to help you out and put your proposal in front of the boss - e.g. "Hi Jill, I'm hoping you can help me out with something. I have this solution that could save $1M/20%/Half of your costs and I was hoping to put it in front of John. If I e-mail it to you, would you be able to put it in front of him and arrange a call if he is interested?"

• Why it's Effective: If you can build up enough rapport to get the PA to help you they will usually try their best. Because they control their bosses diary they will make sure to allocate time for your proposal. If there is a real value proposition in there she will make sure the boss hears about it.
• Drawbacks: They say yes to putting the proposal in front of the boss but never do it.
• Common Objections: "I'm sorry, I don't think John would be interested" or "John is really busy at the moment so maybe try another time".

There are two main strategies here a) talk down to the PA so that you sound like such an important person that they can't give you the runaround or through up too many objections, or b) get the PA on side and see if they will help you out.

Ultimately different strategies work for different people. But having known a lot of PAs they all agree - they will put a good word in with the boss if you can get them on the side.