Speech as a skill is remarkably underdeveloped in the sales profession. It’s something people use every day, and forms the basis of every relationship, and yet it’s almost universally ignored as its own discipline. Salespeople study scripts and focus on the words that might possibly bring the best result. They focus on pitches, and on effective closing.
As a salesperson you come across gatekeepers every single day, and you’re probably frustrated with them by now. These are the people who stand between you and the decision maker: secretaries and personal assistants, and even receptionists or switchboard operators. There are hundreds of schemes and tricks out there to get past the gatekeeper, and most of them don’t sit well on anybody’s moral compass or will permanently sour your relationship with them. I’ve had experience in many markets across a number of fields, and I’d like to give you my top 5 tips on how to deal with gatekeepers.