We all have heard of gatekeepers. Kotler taug­ht us this first and then every business-to-busin­ess marketer talks about this species.

Gatekeepers are people who protect the decision maker in an organisation from the troubles he faces while selling his products and services or anything else. These include the security at the entrance, receptionist, telephone operator, special assistant, executive assistant, secretary or whoever at the first stage in a company who will do the screening. In a typical industrial marketing scenario, one needs to get past the gatekeeper in order to make contact with the right person for a pitch.

The gatekeeper is a very dangerous person, because he or she can say "no" but can't say "yes." That is why, for example, when you are talking to the gatekeeper, you should give as little information as possible. The less they know the better off you are.

Here are a few ideas to get past the gatekeeper:

n Take a direct hit; be offensive: You must use your verbal offensive line to help you break through. A good gatekeeper asks you many questions before you are allowed to talk to the boss. The more questions you answer without getting rejected the closer you are to the goal. Respond to the question with the minimal amount of information then follow up with a request.

Secretaries know that an important part of the job is to screen calls. Often they do not feel they have done their job suitably unless they ask some questions. And if one or two questions mean they are doing a good job, asking three or four means they are really going the extra mile. Only after these secretaries/gatekeepers feel that they have done their jobs properly, and assuming you provided no information to make them shut the door on your face, do you stand a chance of getting through to the decision maker.

For example you might say, “This is Pranab calling for Sanjay. Please put him on.” Notice that it ends with a call to action.

"Which company are you from?" (Sounds familiar?)

"I am with CustomerLab. Please tell Sanjay I am holding for him."

"Is he expecting your call?"

"I don't believe we have set up a specific time, but please let him know I am on the line."

"And what is it regarding?"

"Let Sanjay know that I have the answers to the marketing questions."

"Does he know you?"

"You know, I don't think we have met personally, but I do have that information for him, so please let him know I'm holding for him."

Notice that Pranab responded to each question with minimal information. By allowing the gatekeeper to ask a lot of questions, the caller has enabled the gatekeeper to feel that he or she has properly screened the call. At the same time, Pranab did not put the call in jeopardy by giving enough information to get disqualified. Even with this technique you can still get sacked some time, so you need some other plays.

n Reach through a different route: If the direct hit approach does not help you get past the gatekeeper, sometime a different route works. Try reaching your prospect by calling a different department. If, for example, you want John Abraham in finance department, try calling production or sourcing department, asking for Abraham. They will tell you that you have reached the wrong department. Ask them to transfer you directly to Abraham’s office. Sometimes you will get transferred directly into the office. With the electronic systems in most offices these days, try punching any extension number to try this route. That way, you save some money by not waiting for an operator.

n Top-down approach: One method many people have tried successfully and that is particularly effective at times is to call the office of someone higher up in the company. If you are trying to reach the vice-president, for example, then call the CEO’s office. The CEO's secretary will inform you that you have reached the wrong office and usually offers to transfer you to the right party. A call transferred from the boss's office stands a better chance of getting through.

n Be an early bird: If you are seriously trying to reach the decision maker, try starting early. Sometimes this works very well if the person you are trying to reach is an early bird. Try calling very early in the morning. Often, busy executives get to the office by 8 or 9 am, long before their secretaries or other gatekeepers show up. And when their phone rings, there is a very good chance they will pick it up themselves. You may also try the same technique in the evenings since most of these people are likely to work late. This is true of weekends as well; especially in India. This also might work at lunchtime when the gatekeeper steps out and leaves a substitute in place.

The writer is CEO and MD of CustomerLab Solutions