In the sales world, gatekeepers are often referred to in a negative light. You’ll hear things like, “Don’t get stuck in procurement – they’re just gatekeepers” and “You have to get past the gatekeepers or you’re just wasting your time.”
This is short-sighted advice because real gatekeepers are assigned by decision-makers. That being the case it’s typical for them to know what’s important to that decision-maker. Their job is to help decision-makers be more efficient and ensure that any meeting they book is worthwhile.
(Note: Gatekeepers are not the people who fake being a decision-maker. People faking it are barriers who are usually trying to inflate their position with you and their peers. Real gatekeepers know that their role is to find good information that their decision-maker will value and they’re smart about it.)
Why are gatekeepers gold?
Decision-makers rely on them – These people are information gatherers. It’s their job to assess the value of the seller’s proposal and decide whether their expected value is worth the time of the decision-maker. This is why they’re called gatekeepers and not gates. You help them do their job by giving them information that is credible, logical, and easy to digest and analyze – information they want to pass on.
Good gatekeepers open the gate – Real gatekeepers know that their job is not to keep the gate closed but to find reasons to open it. Decision-makers in that C-Suite, need valuable information. They need information that will help them advance their business. Real gatekeepers know enough about both the business and the decision-maker, in order to sift through all the information and pass on right pieces. Help them open the gate by helping them find those valuable pieces for their decision-makers.
Good gatekeepers win when you win – Gatekeepers want to get into the decision-maker’s office, too. The more value they bring to their leaders, the more time they’ll spend with those leaders. When they open the gate for someone who helps their decision-maker win, the gatekeeper wins too. This is a very important win-win opportunity in any sales effort. We get to this place by delivering helpful information to the gatekeeper, even when they’re not in the process of making a decision. Helping gatekeepers succeed earns you valuable advocates because they win when you win.
Good gatekeepers become decision-makers – Real gatekeepers have titles like Director, General Manager and Business Manager. They have full-time jobs in addition to helping their leaders sift through information to decide what is worth passing on. The ability to do quick analysis and make smart judgement calls is part of being a good leader. Ask anyone in the C-Suite if they’ve played gatekeeper during their career and you’ll get yes from all of them. In fact, you’re likely to learn that they’re still playing gatekeeper for other important people.
Gatekeepers are gold for salespeople because they’re gold for decision-makers. Find them, deliver value to them, turn them into trusted advocates, help them win and you’ll find yourself signing business in more C-Suites going forward.
©2015 Rick Wong – The Five Abilities® LLC
