Janek Performance Group

FEBRUARY 16, 2022

Without question, gatekeeper is the most intimidating designation in sales. While they may or may not have influence, they are always important. Often, if the gatekeeper doesn’t like you, you’re not meeting the VIP you need, let alone presenting a pitch. Here are five keys to advance past a gatekeeper: No Funny Business.

Gatekeeper 116

Gatekeeper Decision Maker Influencer ACT 116

Hubspot Sales

OCTOBER 5, 2021

Sales development representatives and gatekeepers. only to get stopped by a gatekeeper. Gatekeepers — who are typically executive assistants, receptionists, or office managers — are the people who stand between you and the decision-maker with whom you're hoping to make a sale. How to Get Past the Gatekeeper When Cold Calling.

Gatekeeper 133

Gatekeeper Decision Maker How To Cold Calling 133

MTD Sales Training

OCTOBER 5, 2018

The person may, though, be a key influencer in the process, so you will want them to feel they have confidence in your approach and so build up trust. Doing that may well help you get to the next stage in the sale if the person does have influence with the final decision-maker. 3) Use the gatekeeper screen to get further information.

Decision Maker 242

Decision Maker Gatekeeper Face-to-face Influencer 242

Mr. Inside Sales

OCTOBER 19, 2015

One of the biggest mistakes many inside sales reps make is pitching the gatekeeper. To start with, the gatekeeper is just that – someone whose job it is to screen salespeople from getting through to the decision maker. Again, they are gatekeepers – not decision makers. So, what to do? In this case it’s O.K.

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Gatekeeper Decision Maker Sales Qualified Lead Call-back 120

Hubspot Sales

APRIL 2, 2021

Some are influencers that speak to the decision-makers and convince them to go in either direction, while others hold the final say on decisions. In this post, we’ll explain how to identify sales leads you may be in conversation with, and give insight from expert sales leaders on how to sell to decision-makers and influencers.

Decision Maker 122

Decision Maker Influencer Gatekeeper How To 122

Mr. Inside Sales

MARCH 17, 2023

And, if they are an influencer collecting information, then: “What is the timeline of the (decision maker) to put something like this to work for them?” And, to qualify the influencer: “How do you get involved in the decision process?” “If you like what you see, what is your timeline for moving ahead with this?”

Decision Maker 261

Decision Maker Face-to-face Gatekeeper Licensing 261

Sales 2.0

OCTOBER 7, 2024

The economic buyer The users The gatekeepers The coach I described these four types of people and gave you some tips on how to find the fourth type of person a “coach”. If you don’t know about someone that is involved in influencing your deal, you have no way of selling them. Brainstorm an action item to remove each “red flag”.

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Gatekeeper Maximizer Coaching Buyer 195

Mr. Inside Sales

DECEMBER 12, 2020

Then: “And also, I’m not the decision maker on this, I’m just an influencer. Key #2: When he says, “I’m just an influencer—not the decision maker,” I would have again addressed it right then by saying: “Thanks for letting me know. After this, I have to take this back to the board and let them know what I think.”.

Decision Maker 291

Decision Maker Face-to-face Call-back Gatekeeper 291

Bernadette McClelland

NOVEMBER 2, 2011

Have gatekeepers had some form of combat training? Focus on how to educate both himself and his customer and position himself as a true person of influence helping make the complex simple. Is customer loyalty really down? Are sales cycles either nonexistent or getting even longer? Do contacts suddenly go AWOL ?

Buyer 231

Buyer Gatekeeper Buying Cycle Sales Cycle 231

MTD Sales Training

JULY 9, 2019

5) Make friends with gatekeeper or secretary. Oftentimes, people on our sales courses ask for techniques to get ‘through’ the gatekeeper, or ‘overcome’ them. Try calling after normal hours, or delay an email to be sent at a very early hour, so they will see it first when they log on in the morning. We don’t subscribe to that view.

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Gatekeeper Decision Maker Call-back Up-Sell 276

Sales and Marketing Management

FEBRUARY 26, 2018

They’re off-the-charts busy, bombarded with sales messages, and gatekeepers keep them well insulated. In a recent RAIN Group Center for Sales Research report , we asked buyers how they prefer to be contacted by sellers and what influences their decision to connect with some sellers and not others. Gatekeepers are a different story.

Sales Meeting 185

Sales Meeting Meeting Gatekeeper ROI 185

Hubspot Sales

APRIL 9, 2025

And thats not factoring in your contacts internal influence. Trying to Go Around the Gatekeeper Some salespeople try to avoid the gatekeeper at all costs. However, the gatekeeper doesnt need to be your enemy in fact, he can be your ally. With that in mind, always treat gatekeepers with respect and courtesy.

Gatekeeper 52

Gatekeeper Decision Maker Ideal Customer Profile Real Estate 52

Score More Sales

DECEMBER 3, 2014

Have a discussion with a gatekeeper that makes him or her interested to forward you on. Lori Richardson is recognized on Forbes as one of the “Top 30 Social Sales Influencers” worldwide. You can download the free ebook here [link]. We’d love for you to check it out, get inspired, and make one extra call today.

Inside Sales 206

Inside Sales Gatekeeper Decision Maker eBook 206

Zoominfo

MAY 3, 2021

Gatekeepers have the title of buyer or purchasing manager. Influencers have a say in whether a purchase is made and what is bought. The bigger the purchase decision, the wider the range of influencers. They begin the initial research and often present the first buying signal. Deciders make the final decision on a purchase.

Hiring 264

Hiring How To Inbound Outbound 264

Mr. Inside Sales

AUGUST 7, 2020

Then: “And also, I’m not the decision maker on this, I’m just an influencer. Key #2: When he says, “I’m just an influencer—not the decision maker,” I would have again addressed it right then by saying: “Thanks for letting me know. After this, I have to take this back to the board and let them know what I think.”.

Prospecting 199

Prospecting Decision Maker Face-to-face Gatekeeper 199

Score More Sales

AUGUST 9, 2012

As a very successful inside sales rep, I never bullied the receptionist or gatekeeper, and even today, when need be, we pick up the phone and usually always reach our intended party. However, we know it is 2012 and buyers are on the web doing research about us and our industry counterparts. Also, post your thoughts about this one.

InsideView 214

InsideView Cold Calling Gatekeeper Webinar Metrics 214

No More Cold Calling

JANUARY 25, 2011

For more on why a real introduction—a referral—makes all the difference, read: “ How to Bypass the Gatekeeper ”. This is why sales people have been hearing so much about the value in nurturing campaigns and social media marketing, but little of it seems to apply to anything a sales person can influence. This is why Sales 2.0

Cold Calling 247

Cold Calling InsideView Referrals Social Media 247

Mr. Inside Sales

MARCH 25, 2021

are just a few of the other factors that influence sales. Skill level of the sales rep is the most important thing; however, there are other variables like the type of lead—inbound versus outbound; the territory; existing client or new prospect; the marketing and/or branding of the company, etc.,

Face-to-face 178

Face-to-face Gatekeeper Licensing Decision Maker 178

No More Cold Calling

JULY 26, 2018

As a result, they breeze right past the gatekeeper. They get “intel” about the buying process, who’s on the committee, who the influencers are, who has the budget, what’s the timeline, and who to watch out for. I jumped on this research, because I know how reps reach decision-makers. They get referrals.

Pipeline 184

Pipeline Closing Decision Maker Referrals 184

No More Cold Calling

MAY 28, 2017

Tim Hughes, one of the world’s top social selling influencers, recently interviewed me on this very topic. In this month’s guest post, Tim Hughes—author of Social Selling: Techniques to Influence Buyers and Changemakers —discusses social selling offenses and how to rectify them. Trying to get past the gatekeeper is a waste of time.

Referrals 136

Referrals Gatekeeper Social Media Cold Calling 136

Sales Training Connection

DECEMBER 5, 2013

Others are influencers who may not make the decision but can influence those who do. An influencer may be a potential user of the solution or a key advisor to the decision-maker. There are others who play the role of gatekeepers – they cannot say yes, but can say no. A few are key decision-makers.

Networking 112

Networking Gatekeeper Decision Maker Influencer 112

Pipeliner

AUGUST 18, 2018

Most of us aren’t lucky enough to have a gatekeeper. What is a gatekeeper in sales? A gatekeeper (at the risk of using an outdated term) is the person designated to keep a protective barrier or ‘screen’ around important or ultra-busy people. There are 3 reasons why gatekeepers still rock: They are paid to answer their phone.

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Gatekeeper Social Media Guarantee Territories 61

DiscoverOrg Sales

FEBRUARY 6, 2019

DiscoverOrg’s signature org charts look like this: These are my 5 favorite ways to use org charts: For inbound leads, to determine the sphere of influence. Tip 1: Use org charts to determine the sphere of influence of inbound leads. Check out our on-demand webinar: How to Leverage Gatekeepers to Reach Decision-makers.

Decision Maker 29

Decision Maker Video Outbound Influencer 29

Mr. Inside Sales

JULY 13, 2018

Prospecting by phone can be hard—gatekeepers screening you out, decision makers don’t want to talk to you, etc.—but This technique will help you overcome objections from: 1) Gatekeepers. 4) Influencers, etc. but it doesn’t have to be. Before I give you this sales prospecting technique, let me tell you how you’ll use it.

Cold Calling 143

Cold Calling Objections Sales Qualified Lead Prospecting 143

Hubspot Sales

JANUARY 14, 2025

Sales champions can influence prospects (without overselling). If you want to attract and engage a sales champion, provide transparent performance data (because gatekeeping sucks). One of the hallmarks of a sales champion is their ability to persuade without taking it too far.

Data 111

Data Hubspot Negotiation B2B 111

Pipeliner

APRIL 17, 2018

It read, “How to handle gatekeepers and reach decision-makers.”. Some of the very questionable advice offered was: Get around a gatekeeper by calling the company’s sales department or accounts department (or another location or division) and asking them to transfer you directly to your prospect. I was quite wrong.

Gatekeeper 53

Gatekeeper Decision Maker ACT Influencer 53

Sales and Marketing Management

JUNE 26, 2017

How can marketing further support the sales process if the decision-makers and influencers are unknown/anonymous web visitors? If 90 percent of your buying committee doesn’t fill out a form, they’ll never receive your email messages. You can’t risk serving them a generic experience.

Pipeline 185

Pipeline Case Study Decision Maker Ideal Customer Profile 185

Mr. Inside Sales

JUNE 25, 2021

When prospecting, has a decision maker or influencer or office manager ever told you: “Just email me some information.” You get the same brush offs when prospecting, the same objections when closing, the same ghosting when following up. We’re happy with who we’re using.” “We We aren’t interested.” I’ll have to check with my boss.”.

Face-to-face 184

Face-to-face Decision Maker Objections Gatekeeper 184

The Pipeline

JULY 20, 2015

Words impact and reflect you view of things and situations, and while many will argue that it’s just semantics, they fail to realize or acknowledge the degree to which words you choose reflect and signal your intent; something that your buyers pick up and are influenced by as much as anything. Right out of the gate, us vs. them.

Gatekeeper 120

Gatekeeper Decision Maker Up-Sell Objections 120

DiscoverOrg Sales

APRIL 25, 2017

Org charts decision-makers, identify influencers, and advocates who can champion your solutions or services. The rest of the time, they’re hunting prospects LinkedIn; trying to get past gatekeepers on the phone, only to be transferred around phone trees … or dialing wrong numbers.

Account Based Marketing 241

Account Based Marketing Case Study Data Campaigns 241

RAIN Group

FEBRUARY 13, 2019

Gatekeepers are tough. This article was originally published on the Sales Enablement Society. Sellers often complain that it's impossible to get through to buyers. Buyers are busy. Calls go to voicemail. Email goes to junk. The list goes on. While getting through certainly isn't easy, sellers who work at it do get through.

Buyer 73

Buyer Influencer Gatekeeper Sales Enablement 73

eGrabber

APRIL 9, 2025

They may not have final approval, but they can influence the decision. Some common challenges include: Gatekeepers: Receptionists or assistants may block your calls. Common issues include gatekeepers, too much or outdated data, complex company structures, and lengthy manual research that slows down the process.

Decision Maker 52

Decision Maker Ideal Customer Profile B2B Account Based Marketing 52

Miller Heiman Group

FEBRUARY 28, 2019

Stakeholder management is complicated—because it involves an ever-expanding number of roles who influence purchase decisions at an organization. According to CSO Insights’ 2018 Buyer Preferences Study , the average salesperson must now navigate six or more buying influences to close a single deal (which can take five months or more).

Gatekeeper 106

Gatekeeper Influencer How To Coaching 106

Increase Sales

MAY 15, 2013

It shouldn’t, but if you view the “EA” as just a gatekeeper, put there to make your professional life difficult, you’re missing one of the most important success factors in your quest to reach the CEO. In many ways, they are the true seat of power, because they wield so much influence and they have the time to engage with you.

Journal 144

Journal Gatekeeper Decision Maker Campaigns 144

Sales and Marketing Management

SEPTEMBER 4, 2018

Are you speaking to decision makers or gatekeepers or influencers? It may be true that “sales is a numbers game”, but consider whether you need to buy/develop/cultivate more leads or if you have plenty of leads but need to qualify them better. Do you know what to do when you encounter them?

Hiring 222

Hiring Decision Maker Ideal Customer Profile Sales Qualified Lead 222

Zoominfo

MAY 21, 2020

It’s hard to get decision-makers, department heads, and people of influence —the people you really want to reach—on the phone. If you don’t have their direct-dial phone number , you could plan to spend a lot of time negotiating with admins and other gatekeepers, or pressing buttons to navigate the phone tree.

Examples 264

Examples Account Based Marketing Decision Maker Ideal Customer Profile 264

DiscoverOrg Sales

MARCH 30, 2017

Sales reps aiming to displace the current provider were stuck dialing into dead-end corporate switchboard phone numbers, getting stonewalled by gatekeepers, never to reach their buyer’s voicemail box—let alone pitch their product to a decision-maker. The first good sales rep on site won exclusive mining rights.

Data 120

Data Lead Rank Decision Maker Account Based Marketing 120