Gatekeepers

“Gatekeepers are the enemy! If they would just stop blocking me from getting thru to their bosses, I would be much more successful!”

That is the attitude of many sales professionals whose job it is to initiate unsolicited contact with decision makers. They view executive assistants, administrative secretaries and lower level managers as problems… instead of what they could be – valuable assets. Most people mistakenly believe that it’s the job of a gatekeeper to keep everybody out… to prevent salesmen and other nuisances from bothering the boss.

That is not true... because like any great filter, it’s the gatekeeper’s job to improve productivity by keeping out the waste… and letting thru only the good stuff. Therefore, if you don’t have the ability to prove your value to a gatekeeper well enough to get thru, then that person did their job.

Possibly more than any other person in an organization, the gatekeeper knows the executive’s goals, priorities, headaches, hot buttons, schedule AND availability. Never trivialize, disrespect or fear them. Treat them as if you want them to become your very best friends… because you do!