The impact of lying to get through on a cold call.
People buy from people they trust, so don’t use techniques designed to ‘trick’ a gatekeepers. It is only a short term gain.
I saw a cold calling technique on YouTube the other day designed to get a gatekeeper to put us sales professionals through to the decision maker. It went something like this.
GATEKEEPER: “May I tell him what this is about?”
SALES ‘PROFESSIONAL’: “It’s personal.”
So let’s say we get put through and convince the decision maker we’ve got a great widget that he/she should look at, so we get an appointment. Later in passing, the decision maker asks his administrative assistant why she happened to put this particular sales call through. She tells him and our sales ‘professional’ is now dead on arrival.
This technique may work when the gatekeeper is physically detached from the decision maker or doesn’t report directly to that person, but that still begs an even bigger question. Does the means justify the end? Are we honest in our approach or not? If we tell a little ‘white lie’ here, do we stretch the truth somewhere else as well?
Gatekeepers can truly be our friend. They are not charged with keeping ALL sales professionals out. They are a filter for their bosses. It is beneficial to engage them in our selling process.
To learn more about gatekeeper strategies, see blogs dated 1/2/08, 1/9/08, 1/16/08 and 2/17/09.
Caponi Performance Group and Contact Science jointly market the telephone prospecting and cold calling solution called The Prospector’s Academy™ under the brand name Coldcalling101. It is the only comprehensive solution to solving the biggest barrier to success in most selling organizations – the inability to secure enough Initial Appointments to begin the selling process. We accomplish that through simultaneously addressing both the efficiency and effectiveness of the process. We can be reached at 214 483-5800 or at barry@coldcalling101.com.
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