Every salesperson faces obstacles in connecting with the right decision maker. In fact, you may consider getting past gatekeepers to be the hardest part of your job. After all, we call them gatekeepers! While every situation is unique, some proven approaches exist for opening the doors.
In local media sales, you typically aim to speak to owners, managers or marketing leaders. Directly getting to them may be challenging. Sometimes, gatekeepers are in place because these folks get tons of emails daily from sellers. To pass through, you have to be creative and quickly define your value. It’s a lot of trial and error and can be time-consuming. To maximize prospecting time, you want to have sales plays in place that get you to the next level.
We talked to experts and put together this infographic of strategies for inspiration.
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, we’re all human. You can build a relationship if you focus on that and are organic and authentic. Never treat the gatekeeper as an obstacle. Instead, consider them as another decision maker who has influence.
