What's the best way to get past the gatekeeper on the telephone?

Question

I work in a business needing to reach V.P.'s, CEO, etc. and was wondering if it best to suck up to the executive assistant or just press on and do not leave messages.

Answer 1

Everything about your question is telling me that you view these "gatekeepers" as obstacles to your right to talk to the bosses. And if that's coming through to me, that's coming through to them, just like it does with every other sales caller who refuses to acknowledge who has all the power in these exchanges -- the gatekeeper. That's why they're keeping the gate: to run interference and defend the functioning of the company.

Even micro businesses get at least 25 of these calls every week, and all 25 callers treat the assistant or receptionist in the exact same, dehumanizing way. Once you're known to them, they'll remember how you treat them and go to a competitor just to spite you. I own my own business and answer my own phone, and because I'm usually mistaken for a receptionist I know first-hand how these conversations go.

Befriend them. Ask about their day. Call and chat without any intention of "getting past" them. Stop in after a few calls. GET THEM TO LIKE YOU -- they have unlimited access to the people you're begging to see for five minutes. If they like you, and feel liked and respected by you, they'll advocate on your behalf if your product or service is worthy. You might not even need to talk to the VP or CEO -- what you're selling might be handled by someone else in the company, but by refusing to deal respectfully with the single most important contact you have there right now, you'll never find that out.