How to Get Past The Gatekeeper (Cold Calling)

So one of the most challenging things about cold calling is when you call and the person you're trying to talk to doesn't pick up and you run into a gatekeeper. In this video, we're going to teach you how you should be thinking about gatekeepers. We're going to teach you the common mistakes people make when they're trying to get past the gatekeeper. And then we're going to give you an approach called the triple bypass to get past the gatekeeper. Let's roll the tape, folks.

The key to handling gatekeepers is to act like you are Drake's aunt. I know this sounds ridiculous, but I used to work at the USC ticket office when I was in college, and I was working a concert that week. And so we were getting inundated with hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of calls from Drake's ridiculous fans. I got calls from 42 teenage girls who were screaming and yelling, asking for front row seats when they were all sold out. I got calls from their 42 moms who were also screaming at me. I got 17 calls from the confused guys who were definitely stoned, who were saying, hey, man, come hook it up with the tickets. And so I got really, really good at gatekeeping with these people. The first few words they would say, I could tell if they were a beggar, a schmoozer, or someone who was going to try to finagle their wearing the tickets. And then one day on call number 302, I picked up the phone and I got a call from this lady, and she says, hey, I have tickets in section A, row one, seat five. I go, bullshit, there's no way. Those were literally the front row seats. I look it up, of course there's nothing on file. So I said, hey, it doesn't look like there's anything on file. And she immediately interrupts me. She goes, he said the head of the ticket office would have them on file. Please put me through to the boss. I go, you're literally gonna interrupt me and immediately ask to be put through to a manager. But I'm trying to keep it polite. And so I go, excuse me, miss. Like, I have access to all of the tickets. You mentioned that he put your tickets on file. Who's he? She goes, drake, I'm his aunt now. I'm like, okay, okay, I've heard every ridiculous excuse in the world, but this one absolutely topped the mountain. But the problem is, I didn't really know how to call her out on it. And so I said one of the dumbest things I've probably ever said on the phone, which is, are you sure? And Drake's aunt blows up on me. She goes, are you sure? Of course I'm sure. Asking me if I'm Drake's aunt, immediately my entire college career flashes before my eyes. I can already imagine Drake's tweet saying, this Armando kid from USC asked my aunt if she was actually my aunt. Lol. And so what did I do? I put her through. And I'm glad that I did. You know why? Because it was Drake's aunt. And the reason that I was afraid and that I thought it was Drake's aunt was not just because of what she said. It was because of how she said it. When someone owns the building, they walk right through the front doors, and if someone stops them, they're like, what are you doing? I own this place. And that came through in both what she said and how she said it. So the key to handling gatekeepers is frankly, to be a little bit abrasive, and you have to act like your Drake's aunt. And so you have to remember, folks, gatekeepers have two jobs. Their first job is to close the gate on people who aren't supposed to get through. But their second job is to open the gate. And that's what I had to do for Drake's aunt. And that's what you need to get across with your tone.

Right? And so when salespeople are dealing with gatekeepers, there's three big mistakes that they make. The first is that they try to befriend the gatekeeper. They call and they do what they did to you. Hey, man, hook it up. Or they're the mom. And they try to be super friendly and sweet. And you have to remember that. That your gatekeeper's job is to detect and reject pitches. They are not there to buddy up with you and risk their job by putting a friendly salesperson through to their boss. Mistake number two is that the salesperson tries to pitch the gatekeeper. Remember detect and reject. And they're not actually sitting there listening to your pitch. The gatekeeper doesn't have context for how your product actually might help their org. And they're just listening for does this sound like a pitch? Because my job is to shut the door on the people pitching. And then mistake number three that salespeople make with gatekeepers is the unethical one, which is they lie to the gatekeeper to get put through to their prospect. And this works. Sometimes lying sometimes works. Deceit works, but it will always come back to bite you. And we do not recommend lying. It's the wrong thing to do. And so instead, when it comes to gatekeepers, we use an approach that we call the triple bypass. We're you are going to dose information to the gatekeeper only when asked as a way to get put through. And there's three tries that you get in getting past the gatekeeper. With the triple bypass approach, try number one is the slide by. When they pick up an answer, just directly ask to be put through. Nothing else. That might sound something like, Armand goes, aubrey Graham's office. And I go, hey, could you get me over to Aubrey? It's Nick. First names only. I want to seem familiar. I want to seem like I'm trying to get to where I want to go. I'm walking right to the elevator because I own the I'm not sheepishly checking in with the front desk to show my id. Now, that will work with some gatekeepers, but it won't work with all of them. There are going to be some who press you for more information and they might say something like, what's this regarding? Okay, I've got to share a bit more information here, but here is not where I should lean on my product or my pitch or try to become buddy buddy with them. Instead, I'm going to lean on context as justification for why I should be put through. And that might sound something like, they go, well, what's this regarding? And so I'm going to say something like, yeah, I actually work with a couple other Scadden partners in the LA office. Would you mind letting them know it's Nick Sigelski again, I'm sharing a little bit more information. I work with other partners in the office, big office, but I do work with others. Would you mind letting him know it's Nick Sigelski? What I'm doing here is I'm showing, hey, we're focusing this conversation on getting me put through, not on you peppering me with questions. I always end with a question here to keep control of the conversation. Now, that will get you past another batch of gatekeepers, but the toughest ones are going to push you for more. And they might say something like, well, can you give me a little bit more information? Or, sir, what company are you with again? I'm going to share just a bit more information, but just like before, instead of leaning on my product or my pitch or my value, I'm going to lean even harder on social proof. And so I might say something like, yeah, we actually, we work with a couple other partners in the office. On their tax planning. It's Northwestern Mutual. I actually sent Armand a note the other day. Would you mind letting him know It's Nick again, Little bit of context, focused on getting put through to my final destination.

All right, so let's do this. Full roleplay, beginning to end, where I get to be Aubrey Graham or Drake's assistant. Ring, ring. Aubrey Graham's office.

Hey, could you get me over to Aubrey? It's Nick.

What's this regarding?

I've worked with a couple other Scadden partners in the LA office. Would you mind letting them know It's Nick Sigelski.

I need to see if he's available. What company are you calling from?

Yeah, we actually help a couple other partners in the office with their tax planning. It's Northwestern Mutual. Actually sent him a note the other day. Would you mind giving him a heads up? It's Nick.

That's a wrap, folks. So at this point, if you get through to the right prospect, now you have to do your cold call opener again. So we covered four cold call openers ranked worst to best in another video on this channel. Go check those out, because that is something that came from our book on cold calling. Cold calling sucks. And that's why it works. And so, folks, if you like what you got here, you can check out all the step by step breakdowns. You'll have data that supports the advice on every single step of the cold call. And you'll also be able to see all these scripts, talk tracks, word for word, so you can build them yourself. Go buy the book@30mpc.com book. And if you're not sure yet, you can also preview the intro and chapter one there.

Peace.