Storming the gates is not just something relegated to the realm of history books and fantasy novels. There are knights in shining armour roaming the lands on quests, challenging the guards of castle keeps. The name of these fair paragons of virtue and nobility? Salespeople.
Yes, even the humble salesperson can be a glorious knight in the realm of online sales, and every good knight needs a castle, and a sales gatekeeper to beat. Naturally, you can’t go charging in on a literal horse wiedling a lance to achieve this, one must think a little more metaphorically instead.
Nine tips for getting past gatekeepers
Yay, verily, you only need a handful of techniques in your possession to get past the gatekeeper every time. Use these techniques mighty knight and surely you shall enter the realm of blissful and bountiful sales. Let’s start with one of those important techniques for any sales knight/hero/professional in any context.
Relax, breathe, and be mindful
You’re not going to slay any dragons or close any deals if you’re not relaxed, so before every meeting, call, etc, take a breather and find your center. Close your eyes, envision success and inhale, exhale.
You’ll be astounded at how effective meditation and breathing techniques are at helping you get past sales gatekeepers. Mindfulness is its own reward too, and frankly, if you come across as nervous you’re not going to achieve much success anyway.
Stay concise and on point
The key to getting past gatekeepers is to find a chink in their intellectual armour, which requires precision rather than blunt force. Therefore be concise and focused with what you say during your discussion.
Nobody likes bumbling or rambling during sales meetings and nothing is more likely to make the gatekeeper raise the drawbridge. Practice before your meetings, get a colleague to help you, and work out if you’re using five words when one would do.
Research is the armor you wear
In medieval times a knight would be equipped with plate armor, today, salespeople go into battle armed with research. Thanks to LinkedIn and other research sites it’s never been easier for you to research your sale gatekeeper’s company, so you have no excuse.
Use a dedicated data tool that can collate all the information you accumulate in the course of your work and deploy it in an easy-to-consume way. Then plan your meeting around your research, use statistics to astound your prospect, and get past the gatekeeper.
Remember, thou art a knight, not a jester
It’s always a good idea to inject your pitches and meetings with a little humor as this improves your chance of establishing an empathetic connection. However, remember you’re not a comedian and to get past the gatekeeper you require more than wit.
In fact relying on humour will make you appear glib and untrustworthy, so remember to tone it down and focus on the substance of your product. The key to winning the heart of a sales gatekeeper is to be trustworthy, therefore make sure you’re a knight and not a jester.
Become a prince knight charming
Humor is best used in small amounts but charm is always welcome no matter the amount. This goes beyond the classic examples of using your prospect/gatekeeper’s full name and title, asking about their day, indulging in chit chat etc.
Find out as much as you can about the sales gatekeeper you’re talking to, discover their interests, professional experience, education etc, anything you can use to your advantage. They’ll appreciate you showing an interest in their lives and thus make a sale more likely.
Never sell to a sale gatekeeper
Now this might appear somewhat contradictory given the job title but a sales gatekeeper is not for selling to. You’re looking to make it through the gate to meet the captain of arms, the prince or even the king instead.
With that in mind, remember that instead of trying to sell to the gatekeeper you’re actually trying to persuade them of yourself and your product. Focus on dazzling the gatekeeper with your track record of success and reliability, and leave the sales pitch for the king in the castle.
Ask to leave a voicemail with your target
Sometimes you can only get past a gatekeeper by accepting that you won’t be able to speak to your target prospect at the moment you want. You can however ensure that you will be able to further down the road by asking to leave a voicemail.
This is also a useful technique if you’ve called on the gatekeeper several times to no effect. Repeatedly asking them to connect you will irritate your interlocutor and make a final deal more difficult.
Time your connections for maximum effect
If one thing holds true for the modern sales industry as much as the medieval era it is that timing is absolutely crucial in all matters. As knights back in the olden days knew there were times to launch a military campaign, so must you understand timing your calls for maximum effect.
If you call earlier in the day or after closing hours there’s a good to fair chance your target will be in the office and not their sales gatekeeper. Even if you don’t reach your target asking the gatekeeper for information about their working hours can go a long way too, just remember to be friendly and polite.
Be prepared for hangups and failures
While a knight had to win nearly every battle he fought in the same maxim thankfully doesn’t apply to salespeople. Many of the sales gatekeepers you encounter will reject your advances and while you should always strive for success, you must not let this demoralise you.
Get used to rejection and learn how you can improve thanks to your failures, remember, if you fail 100 times but win once you’ve succeeded. Learning from your previous failures will vastly improve your chances of getting past the gatekeeper next time too.
Every sales knight needs their trusty squire
Every knight needs a trusted squire to go into battle and every salesperson needs professional quality tools to help them win deals. These tools need to be able to harness vast quantities of data, discern between sales gatekeepers and managers, prospects and leads, and streamline the entire sales process for you. You need your very own modern day sales squire, and Revenue Grid stands ready to serve.
Revenue Grid’s sales engagement tool Revenue Engage offers 10 times the engagement offered by similar tools with a far higher degree of quality and simplicity. Like the company’s other tools, Revenue Inbox and Revenue Guide, it is data driven and fully customizable for any business or company. Revenue Engage allows you to nurture sales sequences, mastermind overarching campaigns, automate your processes with AI, and it is fully integratable.
Revenue Grid has years of experience and can work with companies big and small across the land. The company can herald your triumphs and propel your sales profits to new heights, so make sure you drop by and check out what this trusty squire can achieve for your company. Visit the Revenue Grid website to learn more, and be sure to check the company’s blog too for the latest sales news and updates.