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Education
StreetSmarts SM
Gatekeepers are people too
By Dale S. Laszig As you reflect on your own experiences with gatekeepers,
Castles Technology Co. Ltd. what strategies have you used to gain access to decision
makers? We had a variety of responses to this common
f selling is your chosen profession, sooner or later challenge in GS Online's MLS Forum.
you'll find yourself in front of a gatekeeper, some-
one who has the authority to control access to a Following are several highlights from our discussion
I decision maker. thread.
Who are these people, and what's their agenda? Why do Be assumptive
they seem so invested in keeping us from the people we
most want to meet: the ones who can say yes? Having confidence is essential in every phase of
selling, from the first time you meet a prospect
Yes is not a word that's in most gatekeepers' vocabularies. until you close the sale by asking for their business.
As Dan Kosch and Mark Shonka wrote in Beyond Selling CSandifer recommended announcing yourself with
Value, most gatekeepers are quite good at saying no. a certain degree of authority, a technique he learned
from Mike Brooks, who is known as "Mr. Inside Sales."
"Gatekeepers come in all stripes," they wrote. "Some
are overtly hostile, while others are a little more subtle CSandifer wrote, "When they ask who you are, say,
– smiling the whole time while ushering you out the 'Please tell (Prospect Name) that (your first and last
door. In many cases, the subtle, friendly gatekeepers name) is holding, please'. Just like that, redundancy
provide a more difficult challenge than their antagonistic and all. Say it with authority, like they should know
counterparts." who you are."
Multiple strategies Marinesteban agreed that being, can help get you
past the gatekeeper. He said he does it "quite often
There are many reasons why gatekeepers may want to and the more secure and determined you sound,
restrict our access. They may have a cousin or friend who the better it works." He added that he also asks the
sells merchant services, or perhaps they've been told to gatekeeper to direct him to the decision maker's voice
block all solicitors. mail.
We can empathize with their situation, but we still need Build your professional network
to get through that gate, and there are varying techniques
for doing just that.
JGarza advocates networking as a way of improving
access to decision makers. As you grow your
44
StreetSmarts SM
Gatekeepers are people too
By Dale S. Laszig As you reflect on your own experiences with gatekeepers,
Castles Technology Co. Ltd. what strategies have you used to gain access to decision
makers? We had a variety of responses to this common
f selling is your chosen profession, sooner or later challenge in GS Online's MLS Forum.
you'll find yourself in front of a gatekeeper, some-
one who has the authority to control access to a Following are several highlights from our discussion
I decision maker. thread.
Who are these people, and what's their agenda? Why do Be assumptive
they seem so invested in keeping us from the people we
most want to meet: the ones who can say yes? Having confidence is essential in every phase of
selling, from the first time you meet a prospect
Yes is not a word that's in most gatekeepers' vocabularies. until you close the sale by asking for their business.
As Dan Kosch and Mark Shonka wrote in Beyond Selling CSandifer recommended announcing yourself with
Value, most gatekeepers are quite good at saying no. a certain degree of authority, a technique he learned
from Mike Brooks, who is known as "Mr. Inside Sales."
"Gatekeepers come in all stripes," they wrote. "Some
are overtly hostile, while others are a little more subtle CSandifer wrote, "When they ask who you are, say,
– smiling the whole time while ushering you out the 'Please tell (Prospect Name) that (your first and last
door. In many cases, the subtle, friendly gatekeepers name) is holding, please'. Just like that, redundancy
provide a more difficult challenge than their antagonistic and all. Say it with authority, like they should know
counterparts." who you are."
Multiple strategies Marinesteban agreed that being, can help get you
past the gatekeeper. He said he does it "quite often
There are many reasons why gatekeepers may want to and the more secure and determined you sound,
restrict our access. They may have a cousin or friend who the better it works." He added that he also asks the
sells merchant services, or perhaps they've been told to gatekeeper to direct him to the decision maker's voice
block all solicitors. mail.
We can empathize with their situation, but we still need Build your professional network
to get through that gate, and there are varying techniques
for doing just that.
JGarza advocates networking as a way of improving
access to decision makers. As you grow your
44
