Telemarketers & Appointment Setters: Courting the Gatekeeper

Appointment setters  and  professional telemarketers  often clash with gatekeepers who prevent them from reaching significant decision makers in their target market. However,  professional appointment setters  and telemarketers should consider these gatekeepers as valuable allies to reach their target decision makers and an influencing factor that could help convert  sales leads  into  sales .

Introducing The Gatekeeper

These employees are the designated vanguards of any company. Gatekeepers can be considered an innovator of business, especially when one takes into consideration the substantial level of influence that they have on their decision maker’s business network. This isn’t about the company receptionist, but the executive assistants in the organization. In countries such as Australia, executive assistants are expected and well capable of setting  appointments  for their senior executives. They decide which  b2b lead generation telemarketing  calls to give important company details to and which b2b appointments  to add to their superiors’ schedule, which means that a large percentage of b2b sales leads that fail to convert are the result of gatekeeper interference.

Tips for the appointment setter and lead generation telemarketer:

1.The first goal of appointment setters and  b2b  telemarketers should be to earn the trust and respect of the executive assistant for a particular  sales  lead. Converting the gatekeeper to champion the appointment setter’s cause will make the road to the decision maker shorter.

2.Being too pushy is never a good  marketing  strategy, whether for  sales leads  or gatekeepers. Soft selling to executive assistants is the best route that should be taken by  b2b telemarketing  professionals.

3.No one in any successful company has lesser time to waste than the executive assistant. Although they are assistants, they are often just as busy (if not more) as their executives.  Professional telemarketers  should learn to deliver their  telemarketing scripts  promptly and be direct to the point.

4. B2b telemarketing professionals  should discuss with the executive assistant about how their products and services can help them help their company. Gatekeepers aspire to please their executives, and being a part of an innovative business partnership that could bring vast benefits for their company is a highly attractive opportunity for them.

5.After the executive assistant has provided the details of the company or set the appointment,  appointment setters  and telemarketers should send him/her a short email as a token of gratitude .

6.Once  appointment setters  or telemarketers reach the decision maker, they shouldn’t readily dispatch of the gatekeeper. In fact, both  appointment setters  and telemarketers should continue developing their business relationship with them. These gatekeepers are well informed of the company organizational structure and can be important sources of information such as recent executive  appointments . Furthermore, they have access to the executive’s business network, which is most probably comprised of other  b2b sales leads .

Executive assistants are often stereotyped as “just secretaries”. Treating them differently than most people do - with respect - and earning their trust will prove highly beneficial for  b2b  companies. By turning these gatekeepers into guides, b2b companies will be assured of an advocate inside their  sales  leads’ company. Exceptionally skilled  b2b appointment setters  and telemarketers are masters of the art of courting the gatekeeper.