The Artful DODGER

Getting past "the gatekeeper" creates a wealth of discussions and tips on how you get around them. To me, the corporate receptionist (aka gatekeeper) is a last resort and I see many sales folk take that approach to cut corners or not do their homework (i.e. research).


A corporate website has a wealth of information.  It typically lists key contacts, their responsibilities and how to get a hold of them.   That information isn't there to help research savvy sales pros.   It is simply and logically there because those same people are available for their customers or shareholders.

Personally, I also like taking a look at the company's news release section:  it identifies key contacts, new promotions, mergers, partnerships, purchases, new products, new endeavours, and financials.  You can use this treasure chest to your advantage.   Another tidbit on reading the financials or news release can hint at financial troubles that you may decide to avoid.  All your hard work may be wasted if they're going bankrupt or positioned to be sold ... that is, unless it tells you to approach the other company.

The best approach for me has been to go as high up in the organization as possible - if it means a craftful approach letter that offers compelling reasons why they may want my expertise in helping them: save time, reduce overhead, streamline process, with quantifiable examples of how I've done that with others.   Trust me, all your competitors are saying they're the best too!  They most likely are pointing out the same benefits or the less experienced are doing "feature dumps".  What you all may have in common is how quickly you are being shot down, being asked to forward a package (to get rid of you and that package more often than not ends up in a dumpster), or asks for a price (that tells you that you have no value and you are being commoditized).

Before you contact any senior level executive, you should have an idea of their company, their mission, values, industry and what is impacting their business.  You can artfully apply the information to your advantage to position yourself more as a colleague than as a sales person.  If you're like me and you do a lot of reading up on sales, there is a common complaint from executives who are approached by salespeople:  they know little or nothing at all about their company and see that as a disrespectful waste of their time.
 

Kevin Davis five-star sales book on Amazon "Getting Into Your Customers Head” is a great resource for the sales professional.  His newest release "Slow Down, Sell Faster" provides greater incentive to adapt your sales approach to that of your customer's needs.  You can check out his blog "Inside our Head" listed in the sidebar.

Don't worry if the upper level decision maker refers you down the ladder to someone whose responsibility it falls under.  It is called "topped down selling".  Regardless, it is a lot easier than trying to dodge a gatekeeper who takes pride in "getting rid of annoying salespeople who interrupt the boss' day" ......