Get past the gatekeeper without lying

A different way to see the gatekeeper

The executive assistant, the receptionist, the office manager: these people take dozens of prospecting calls a week and are told to protect their boss’s time. They are doing their job, and doing it well. SDRs who treat them as an obstacle to push through get blocked for good: the name is written down, and the next call never gets through.

SDRs who treat them as allies get something else: the right time to call back, the name of the right person, sometimes a direct transfer. The difference is not a trick. It is the attitude in the first ten seconds.

The five rules that get you through

These rules hold for every gatekeeper, from a small company’s front desk to the office of a large-company executive.

• Tone: calm and warm, as if you were calling someone you know. A hesitant or pushy tone triggers the filter instantly.
• Precision: the decision-maker’s first and last name, said naturally. “Hi, Tom Berger from Nexalis, I’m trying to reach Dana Whitfield.” Not “the person in charge of…”.
• Honesty: if asked what the call is about, say it in one true sentence. Never imply Dana is expecting you or that you know each other if it is not true. A lie that gets found out closes the door for good, and it gets found out the same day.
• Ask for help: “Would you know when is the easiest time to reach her?” The assistant knows the calendar better than anyone, and people rarely refuse to help someone who asks politely.
• Leave a useful trace: if you do not get through, leave a fifteen-second voicemail with your name, your reason in one sentence, and the time you will call back. No “call me back”: you are the one calling back.

Gatekeeper-free hours

The gatekeeper keeps office hours. Before 9am, between 12:30 and 2pm and after 6pm, many decision-makers pick up their direct line themselves, because the assistant is away or the front desk is closed. It is not a hard rule, but it is a habit that costs little to test: keep your most protected targets for those slots.

Check the line you dial, too. A switchboard number always leads to the gatekeeper; a direct line or a business mobile, which enrichment tools find more and more often, simply avoids it. Stage 2 of this track covers data sources.

When the answer is no

A “she doesn’t take this kind of call” is not the end. Say thank you, ask who handles the topic if it is not her, ask whether an email would have a better chance of being read, and at which address. You leave with information instead of a refusal, and next time, your voice will be recognised.

The full script, with twelve situations and their answers, is in the blog article “Cold Call Gatekeeper Script: 12 Techniques to Reach the Decision-Maker”.

Go further

• Cold call gatekeeper script: 12 techniques The full script, situation by situation, with the answers.
• Cold calling compliance checker Legal calling hours and rules, country by country.