 |
| Search |
|
|
|
|
Cold Calling/Prospecting
Last Updated: May 5th, 2004 - 15:11:24
(Note: Dave Stein will be the presenter of our May teleseminar “Differentiating Yourself from Your Competition.” If you enjoyed Dave Stein's last teleseminar "How To Hire Top Salespeople", then don't miss this.
This is for salespeople whose competitors keep dropping their price or insist their product or service is the same.
Save $10 and receive our bestselling ebook "Please Return My Call… " at not cost by registering early.
http://www.salestrainingcamp.com/t_dsteincomp.htm)
What's the best way to get past a gatekeeper? Go through a different gate or change the timing of your entry.
Easy for you to say, you might say. But think about it. If I can make contact with an executive in a venue outside their protected habitat, I won't have to deal with a gatekeeper at all. Or if I can get access to that executive before the gate is being protected, I can expect the same result.
The answer to the tactical question of how to get past a gatekeeper has a strategic answer. Let's start with this: There are two species of gatekeepers. First there are the permanent ones--administrative assistants. Their job descriptions specify that they will block communication between you and the real buyer. You usually run into them when you are prospecting. (You must be sure you are working within the new laws which prohibit telemarketing in certain geographies.)
The second category contains situational gatekeepers, such as evaluation committee leaders or members whose mission it is to ultimately make a recommendation to the real buyer. Their power can be much more damaging to you than an administrative assistant. An admin may not let you through to the real buyer or may even, worst case, hang up on you. If the situational gatekeeper gets angry with something you do, such as attempting to go over their head, you can wind up eliminated from consideration. Fired.
Before we dig into how to circumvent gatekeepers, let's look at the symptoms of being blocked by both kinds of gatekeepers.
Symptoms of being blocked by the administrative assistant:
You don't have access to the real buyer
You find yourself directed to a low level person who has no influence over the buying process
Symptoms of being blocked by the situational gatekeeper:
No access to the real buyer
Inability to influence decision criteria
Inability to influence timing of an opportunity. You find yourself doing what the gatekeepers tell you to do when they tell you to do it.
Commoditization of your products and services due to your inability to differentiate yourself to anyone who cares
Being on the receiving end of a blind RFP that someone other than your prospect created
No visibility into what your competition is doing
A moving finish line resulting in deal slippage
Here are a few tactics used by sales professionals I've worked with over the years to get past executives' administrative assistants. Search the web and you'll find many, many more.
Don't lie. You may get past the admin, but when she finds out what you did, you've got an enemy on your hands with a lot of influence.
If an admin or receptionist says, "What is this in reference to," you're toast. You've got to avoid that by having a novel approach. "This is Dave Stein. I just read the article about Jim in Forbes magazine and have a business opportunity to discuss with him. Is he available?"
Sell to the gatekeeper. A 2000 survey by Menlo Park, California-based Office Team, a leading specialized administrative staffing service, revealed that 91% of executives consider their assistant's opinion an important factor in the employee selection process. Just five years before, only 60% percent of executives felt this way. My wife actually takes some time to bond with the gatekeepers. She finds a common ground. When you're finished, let them know you enjoyed the chat, especially because you know how busy they might be...
When the admin says, "Does Mr. Buyer know you," you need a compelling answer. If the admin has been instructed NEVER to allow someone like you to be put through in a situation like this, you may not have a chance. You'll need a plan B that must include selling to the gatekeeper. Some winners I know will send a letter to the gatekeeper with a letter to the real buyer attached. The letter to the gatekeeper reminds them of the call that was previously made and asks them to put forward the attached letter to their boss.
Here are some ways to avoid being blocked by the situational gatekeeper:
Refuse to provide any more information (or withhold your company's resources) until you've met with the real buyer. By the way, the likelihood of being eliminated from consideration decreases the further you are in the customer's buying cycle.
Have your boss call the real buyer for the purpose of requesting a meeting, which you will attend. The gatekeeper will be angry and so might the buyer, but you may get your meeting.
Convince the gatekeeper that they are absorbing more risk than is reasonable. Suggest that the real buyer get more involved so that if a wrong decision is ultimately made, they will share some of the responsibility.
Just go over the gatekeeper's head. Apologize later. That works better early in the evaluation process, when there is still time left to make things right with the gatekeeper.
Figure out how to meet the real buyer in another venue, for example, at an industry association meeting or an investor conference.
Ask an existing customer executive who may know this person to call on your behalf, suggesting a meeting.
Request information from the gatekeeper that they can't possibly answer. Suggest both of you call on the real buyer to get the answers to those questions.
Now you're probably thinking, none of these sound very appealing. One could easily get thrown out of the deal for trying any of these. You're right. I've gotten thrown out of deals for doing exact that. But the way I figure it, I probably didn't stand much of a chance anyway.
The Best Way to Avoid Gatekeepers
Are you someone who services existing customer demand? Do you make initial contact with your prospects only after they figure out they have a need, after they've collected some requirements and after they've issued an RFI or RFP? If so, you're going to find yourself on the defensive a lot of the time, unable to control your own destiny. You'll be dealing with gatekeepers and by the time you meet them, those gatekeeper will already have been given their marching orders. Keep vendors away from the real buyer. And remember this: Gatekeepers get fired for letting people like you through, just like salespeople get eliminated from the selection process for trying to get past gatekeepers.
Strategy
Consider adopting the prospecting strategy of creating demand for your product or service rather than servicing established demand. If you begin to pursue even a small percentage of new business in this way initially, you'll find that you can much more easily get access to the executives who will become your customers down the road--before the gatekeepers are ever given their marching orders. It takes time, patience, and a plan to sell in demand creation mode, but the winners will tell you it's well worth it.
©2004 The Stein Advantage, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
About The Author:
Dave Stein is the author of the best-selling book, How Winners Sell. He is the president of The Stein Advantage, Inc., a sales consultancy that coaches companies to win highly competitive sales opportunities.
http://www.thesteinadvantage.com
http://www.howwinnerssell.com
Contact Information:
The Stein Advantage, Inc.
69 Woodland Road
Mahopac, NY 10541
(845) 621-4100
© Copyright 2003 by SalesVault.com
Top of Page
|
|
|
Cold Calling/Prospecting
Latest Headlines |
|
