Getting Around the Gatekeeper is Easy!

I can clearly remember the first time I got transferred to the HR department. I was a young, ambitious sales rep, ready to make my mark on the world. I proudly picked up my new headset, and started dialing. When the front desk answered, I boldly asked for the Manager of Labor and Delivery Department.

“Sure thing,” she said. I remember smiling and thinking to myself that perhaps this wasn’t so hard after all.

“HR, may I help you?”

I was confused for a moment. I paused and explained there must be a mistake. I was supposed to get transferred to the Manager of Labor and Delivery.

The lady laughed. In my face.

“Honey,” she said. “That’s the point. She probably doesn’t want to talk to you. Just tell me what you want to say and I’ll give her the information and if she wants to call you back, she can.”

That’s when I realized this wouldn’t be as easy as I thought. The gatekeeper can be really tough. He/she could be the assistant to the C-suite person you’re trying to reach, a front desk person, or simply the company operator. At first it might seem impossible to get around them.

But it’s not that hard. Here’s a few ideas (all outlined in my book of course 😜)

👉 Try calling before 8am or after 5pm. Often the person answering the phone works very specific hours, but your point of contact will work longer hours, so they might just answer their own phone.
👉 Tell the gatekeeper you want to SEND information to their manager. This is very non-threatening and you’ll be able to the get the name, spelling and often the email address. This is powerful information and allows you to hang up and keep trying, this time going directly to the manager through email, or even phone, now that you know the name of the person you’re calling.
👉 Ask the gatekeeper for help. Humbly explain you’re trying to get information to the manager and ask for advice. It’s amazing how often they’ll help if approached in this way.

For more ideas, check out my book or consider booking me for a customized seminar/keynote for your team.

What have you found that works? Tell me about it in the comments!