Getting past the Gatekeeper can be one of the most daunting tasks for any telemarketer. With the right strategies this can be simple, this document is a great resource with a step by step process which will increase even the most effective telemarketer. http://www.helpcoldcall.com

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GATEKEEPER SALES PROCESS
A Proven Sales Method by Hundreds of Telemarketers
Published by Ben Blanch
9/1/2009

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GATEKEEPER SALES PROCESS
A Proven Sales Method by Hundreds of Telemarketers
Introduction
This document has been designed based on a working outbound
call centre which generates thousands of appointments per month
in a very saturated market. All information has been tried and
tested and is responsible for a business that started in a bedroom
and now supports a 400 square metre building packed with
telemarketers. Follow the steps below and you can have similar
success.
Through the experience of building our team we have identified
that there are two Sales Processes when cold calling. The first
relates to the Gatekeeper (secretary) and the second relates to the
decision maker. Too often Lead Generators or Telemarketers
assume that because a certain step (generally Rapport Building)
has been completed with the Gatekeeper that it mystically
transfers from the Gatekeeper to the Decision Maker. This is
completely illogical however a common practice.
The first rule of Gatekeepers is “Always
assume they will try and stop you
getting through to a decision maker”
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 1
STEP 1: INTRODUCING YOURSELF 3
STEP 2: RAPPORT BUILDING 5
STEP 3: CLOSE 6
GATEKEEPER SCENARIO - EXAMPLE 7
SUMMARY 8
RECOMMENDATIONS 9
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Step 1: Introducing Yourself
You must always without fail use your full name when approaching a
Gatekeeper. They are trained to ask questions and probe you to identify
whether their employer would want to speak with you. Generally if a product
can be tele-marketed it generally already is and quite frequently which
causes several calls per day to the same company from multiple suppliers.
There a few reasons why you need to use a full name. I have found through
14 years of Telemarketing that when you use a full name it deflates the first
question secretaries ask which interrupts the general pattern they are used
to. Gatekeepers also follow a specific process and it is important to break it
before they start with their standard questioning. In many cases the
secretary will not probe any further as they do not like leaving their comfort
zone or regular pattern. Once they are in question mode they don’t stop until
they know everything. This does not mean that they will not ask further
questions however it is a good start.
When you only use your first name a number of issues arise. How many
John’s, Michael’s and Jenny’s are in the world. The history of Telemarketing
as not been a good one, prospects/customers have been mislead and lied to
and potentially lost money on information provided by telemaketers. There
is zero credibility when only using your first name and zero chance of a
prospect/customer tracking you down in a medium to large size business.
There is an immediate defense mechanism in people when there is no reason
to trust what a stranger is telling you.
You must never reveal where you are calling from in your opening statement
and preferably not at all through the Gatekeeper Sales Process however if
asked it is important not to alienate them so you should answer.
Gatekeepers don’t always know the real objection of why their employer
doesn’t wish to speak with you so you cannot overcome the secretary’s reason
for not putting you through. The employer has commonly instructed no calls
of your nature should be put through. No secretary will risk their job simply
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based on your objection handlers. The best method of getting through is
avoiding the objection in the first place.
You must also capture the secretary’s name and use it. Even though the
secretary has given you their name it supports the familiarity you are
portraying as they don’t know if you already had their name prior to them
mentioning it.
When dealing with the Gatekeeper so many telemarketers and managers feel
that the utmost professional approach is the way to go. My experience has
taught me that this is rarely the case. You must mirror the customer and
breakdown the professional side as if you come across as the professional the
gatekeeper will mirror you and focus on their professionalism. This promotes
the asking of questions and their process being followed to a tea which as
demonstrated earlier in this document raises a number of issues i.e. finding
out what your call is regarding. When you are passionate about your service
or product or the person who owns the service is listening to your call we
generally go into professional mode and fail. The product or service has
nothing to do with your conversation with the
gatekeeper, getting past them determines if you are successful. You must
always be polite and not unprofessional eg. Don’t use profanity or offensive
tones and language.
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Rapport Building Step
Telemarketing is not all doom and gloom and deception. If you learn the art
of Rapport Building your success rate will sky rocket. There is no better tool
to breakdown the fact that you are imposing yourself on the Gatekeeper and
attempted to get to their employer.
Gatekeepers receive multiple calls a day sometimes an hour. There would be
nothing more frustrating than dealing with Telemarketing calls when you
have other duties to perform. The second a Gatekeeper identifies you’re
calling to Sell or Promote something they become defensive as it is there job
on the line.
It is vital to identify something familiar to the Gatekeeper within the first
few seconds of the call. You can do this by looking at the general population,
what does every person like? You may use the weekend as a rapport building
statement however this is not enough. You may start with your introduction
following a polite how are you? It is difficult for Gatekeepers not to respond
with return how are you? as you may be a customer or important person to
their employer. When they do this you can say “it’s Hump Day, Wednesday is
already here and the week is all downhill from here. This works extremely
well as they generally giggle and they are receiving a call that is very
different to the majority that they receive. It is always much nicer when an
enthusiastic, friendly and funny voice is on the line as opposed to a dry boring
informative voice. You must engage the Gatekeeper, follow on with “I think
I’ll be having a couple of red wines tonight it has been a long week. Are you
ready for a few reds when you get home tonight?” If they don’t drink red
wine ask them what there poison is. The more too and fro you can do with
them the more of a relationship you form. If their first impression of you is a
good one you will receive an automatic trust from them.
If the Gatekeeper continues to converse don’t be afraid to keep going. Never
cut them off and ensure you finish the conversation. Don’t drag it out, control
the call but pick your moment. The moment is generally the first whole one
to two second gap without speaking when neither person has asked a
question. Your next question should be the Gatekeeper close.
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Close Step
You must have an implication that the decision maker is familiar with you
but never lie. You can do this by sounding familiar with the Decision Maker
eg. You can ask if the person (by first name only) is at his/her desk or ask if
“that trouble maker (by first name) is floating around the office”. This
provides a connotation of familiarity especially if they are the owner or
manager as the personality build of these individuals requires people skills,
an aspect of flair and generally trouble making as they can get away with
more and it is often used when attempting to motivate.
If the person isn’t available you must always strengthen your next call. Ask
when they think he/she would be available and the best time to call. Don’t
ask them to tell them you called because they will feel the need to ask further
questions as they will have to physically speak with their employer and they
know that they will ask what it is regarding. The next time you call they will
know your calling to sell or promote something and won’t put you through.
Always leave on a good note when the Decision Maker is not available.
Remember Gatekeepers have a job to do to and it is not personal.
Selling without closing is just
conversation – structure your
conversation and gatekeepers
will close themselves
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Gatekeeper Scenario Example
Hi Jenny, Joe Smith here, how are you?
Good thanks - how are you?
Its’ Hump Day, Wednesday is already here and the week is all
downhill now. I’ve got to say I am in need of a couple of red wines
tonight? How about yourself?
Oh, I don’t think I would ever say no to a red
A women after my own heart, I am a Cab Merlot man myself, let
me guess you are a Shiraz girl aren’t you?
You know I don’t mind Shiraz but to be honest I like most reds.
Excellent to hear, say is Joe at his desk?
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Summary
This document is the Gatekeeper Process only. Some aspects of
this process are similar to the decision maker process however
many key areas differ. Using this exact approach on a decision
maker will probably not work as you need to be 100% upfront and
credible to expect a sale without any or little buyer remorse.
If you use these techniques when dealing with Gatekeepers you
will succeed in your cold calling efforts. You must always remain
flexible with all approaches as no one approach will work on every
prospect. We have chosen this process as it has an extremely high
success rate.
This document has been written as an internal training document
and also made available to the business world as an EBook due to
its proven success rate.
For more EBooks relating to the Sales Process please visit –
www.helpcoldcall.com
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Recommendations
Like anything that we do we must follow a process.
Whether you are a doctor who needs to follow a process to perform their
duties e.g. Introduce, Build Rapport, Ask Questions, Diagnose and Treat or
an pilot who needs to draw up a flight plan, organize fuel, start the plane,
raise landing gear on take-off, lower landing gear on decent and land the
plane we must all follow a process or we will generally fail.
Can you imagine a pilot or doctor not doing these things?
Cold Calling and Sales are the same, if you miss a step for whatever reason
you will fail more often then not. You may not crash a plane or miss
diagnose however your employer may terminate you if you are not
successful which can be just as tragic depending on your lifestyle.
Do whatever it takes to motivate yourself to follow each step, keep in mind
the consequences if you don’t follow the steps and work out which is worse,
following the process or not being employed.
There is only one answer you should conclude.
Good Luck and happy selling!
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