How to Identify Gatekeepers, Decision-Makers, Influencers, & Blockers

In days of old, the C-suite was accessible — salespeople and marketers could call or email them without much resistance. Now, decision-makers can isolate themselves with caller ID, email filters, and a host of intermediary employees to screen you and your outreach.

Those employees are most commonly referred to as "gatekeepers," and if you want to connect with a decision-maker, odds are you'll be connecting with one or more of them first.

Here, we'll explore what gatekeepers are a bit further, explore the concept of gatekeeper marketing, see some tips on how to work gatekeepers effectively, and explore the types of prospects gatekeepers might put you in touch with.

Dealing with gatekeepers is a fact of life across several sales roles, so it serves you to have a feel for how to best approach them. Before you can get there, you'll need to have some idea of who they usually are.

守门的销售额是谁?

看门人倾向于在大型公司或公司中拥有更多的影响力，该术语本身可以涵盖组织中各种不同的角色。在大多数情况下，他们是负责以某种身份处理高管的行政责任的员工。

They tend to work closely with decision-makers. They might be executive assistants, administrative assistants, secretaries, or receptionists. In some cases, the gatekeeper standing between you and a decision-maker could be even their spouse or a relative.

Now that you know where in an organization gatekeepers tend to stand, it's worth understanding how to cater to them effectively.

Gatekeeper Marketing

网守市场营销是有效地将您的信息或目标引向可能授予或阻止对关键决策者访问权限的守门人的行为。这是一个过程，您将努力在您和目标前景之间付出额外的步骤。

Let's take a closer look at some strategies you can employ to get past any gatekeeper you're confronted with.

1. Treat the gatekeeper as a resource, not an obstacle.

HubSpot Account ExecutiveChrissy Callentold me she considers gatekeepers less of an obstacle and more a resource when trying to reach a decision-maker.

As Callen says, "If it's a receptionist or an assistant, they hold so much power in what the decision-maker's day-to-day looks like — so lean into that. If they aren't in a rush to get off the phone, take some time to ask how their day is going and get to know them."

It might seem simple, but treating the gatekeeper like a human being is an important tactic when trying to reach executives. And it's the right thing to do, too.

Callen adds, "I find when you do this, gatekeepers will usually open up a bit more, and are more willing to give information as to when you should call back or the best way to reach the decision-maker."

2. Name-drop a connection

Andrew Dickelman，联合创始人兼企业销售主管结构，通过冷宣传负责数百万的收入。结果，他精炼了两种策略，这些策略在越过看门人时效果很好。

First, he suggests, "Name-drop someone they're likely to know (like someone in their sphere or someone who works for a bigger brand name). When meeting with gatekeepers and using this approach, I'd say something like,'Oh, I've been working with John Doe in your market, who [decision-maker] knows. He wanted me to connect — can you put me through to help make that happen?'"

Alternatively, if you don't have a strong connection to the decision-maker, consider how you might name-drop a publication related to their work.

As Dickelman advises, you might say something like, "``我一直在阅读/聆听/观看[决策者的一些最近作品，作为多个行业出版物的发言人，我想连接以进一步讨论这些主题。我现在可以和他们谈谈吗？"

进行研究没有什么坏处。您对决策者的了解越多，就越容易与看门人建立个人级别的联系，并证明您不仅仅是另一个冷来呼叫者。

3. Be polite and exude confidence.

QuotaPathSenior Account ExecutiveAlex Brennen告诉我，与看门人交谈时，关键的销售代表仍然有礼貌和散发出信心。

这听起来很简单，但是在实践中，它更具挑战性。也许是本月底，您还没有达到配额。结果，在与看门人交谈时，您可能会感到愤怒或沮丧。但这不是你想要的。

Instead, ensure you sound respectful and courteous. It's not fair to convey your stress to the gatekeeper — they're just doing their jobs, too.

4. Don't use the decision-maker's last name.

Mark Smith, a BDR atProposify, believes the key to getting past the gatekeeper is sounding confident over the phone. Additionally, he told me he's found success by asking for the decision-maker by first name only.

正如史密斯所说，“我通常的措辞是'Is [decision-maker] in the office today?'or'Is [decision-maker] around?'When doing this, never use the person's full name. I repeat ... never use the person's full name! If you're talking to a friend, would you address your friend by first and last name? No."

Smith adds, "If they ask for the last name, you should give it, but never lead by addressing your prospect by their full name."

5.不要撒谎。

One thing that could break the gatekeeper's trust — and ruin the success of a deal? Dishonesty.

Whatever you do, you don't want to lie to get past the gatekeeper.

AsDamian Schlereth, Business Development Manager atQwilr告诉我,“当interacting with a gatekeeper, there is one rule I enforce with our BDR's: don’t lie. Align the call with your email cadence content — lead with the truth and be firm but humble in your approach."

"For instance," Schlereth adds, "You might say,'Sarah, I'm hoping you can help me. I am supposed to be connecting with John Smith today but can't find his extension/we haven't been able to connect yet. Could you patch me through, please?'Be very polite, and acknowledge their help."

Ultimately, even if a lie might work in the short term, it's likely it could backfire in the long run. If your decision-maker finds out you've lied to her employees to reach her, she won't want to do business with you. If you lied about that, what else might you be lying about?

6. Have some background knowledge about the gatekeeper.

Cam Karosis, a HubSpot Growth Specialist, advises sales reps to do their research on the gatekeeper.

He says, "If you know who your gatekeeper is ahead of time, check out their LinkedIn. If the gatekeeper is slightly higher up and might be someone who's used software similar to yours in the past, look up their prior companies and see what tech they're using."

Karosis补充说：“这可能会触发过去的负面体验的记忆，他们不喜欢软件，或者对软件等的积极体验，您可以在通话中提出并表明您已经完成了研究bob电竞官方下载而且您不在那儿浪费他们的时间。”

7. Don't try and 'get past' gatekeepers … align with them.

Finally, when you cold call a business and reach a gatekeeper, consider how you might create rapport and build trust with the gatekeeper before you push for the C-level executive.

As HubSpot Account ExecutiveCarl Ferreiratold me, "Gatekeepers are humans and they are charged with protecting the time of their executives. So if you are a time-waster … unfortunately you will not get past the gatekeeper and will have to resort to pushy, sales-y tactics to bypass the gatekeeper."

However, Ferreira adds, "Gatekeepers can be extremely valuable if you win them and align with them as opposed to 'getting around' or 'bypassing' them. This is one area where a modern seller can differentiate from a legacy seller."

That's all well and good. But how do you align with the gatekeeper?

费雷拉（Ferreira）告诉我：“不要像对待守门人一样对待他们。那使他们不人道。对待他们就像您对待您要达到的首席执行官。。”

谁超越了看门人？

超越看门人并不能保证出售，在某些情况下，您可能与错误的人联系。仔细研究了看门人可能与您联系的各种潜在客户。

的决策者

一般情况下,这是管理者;签字的人s the check, re-allocates budget on their own, and says "yes" without conferring with anyone — in some cases, they might even conduct independent research on the solutions they're considering.

决策者通常将销售流程委派给另一种类型的潜在客户 - “影响者” - 直到进一步发展。在这种情况下，与影响者合作，但将决策者保持在循环中。表明您很乐意与他们的团队合作，但会定期与他们进行检查。

The Influencer

The influencer is traditionally a junior-level employee who's asked to research options before their superior is briefed. They don't have the budget or authority to make a final decision, but they do have the power to influence the decision-maker.

The influencer is usually your main point of contact at the company, and they'll pull in the appropriate stakeholders (such as finance or IT) throughout the sales process.

To find out how much power your influencer really has, ask questions like, "Have you done this before?,""您是否有信心决策者会遵循您的建议？", or"Is there anyone on your team who might hijack our conversations?"

这些问题的答案告诉您，您的影响者在向决策者展示解决方案方面的经验如何，并表示您在整个过程中需要提供多少帮助。

The Self-Proclaimed Decision-Maker

The self-proclaimed decision-maker is a toxic prospect. If they're offering unsolicited information, like"I make X amount of money","I carry a lot of weight around here,"or"The CEO and I are buddies,"chances are, this person has little influence and might be wasting your time.

无论是故意的，他们都会从内部购买过程中的其余部分向您门控。请注意那些志愿服务太多信息的人。

Ask this influencer how often they meet with the CEO to gauge exactly how much weight their word holds at the organization. If they don't meet with leadership regularly, they might not be worth your time.

您还需要找出他们带入公司的其他解决方案以及该过程如何工作。bob全站app如果他们以前没有采购解决方案，请考虑找到另一种联系。

Many times, salespeople have their own definition of a decision-maker, but it might not match that of the prospect. By the prospect's definition, they're the decision-maker because they're deciding what to recommend to the C-suite. This person is actually the recommender.

In this case, the prospect is not being deceptive. Don't dismiss the recommender, because they're extremely valuable to the sale. Ask why they're researching a solution and who's asked them to do so. Their answer will tell you who the real decision-maker is.

The Blocker

Often, the blocker has all the qualities of an influencer. They're junior or mid-level, are in charge of researching solutions for their team or company, and are your primary contact at the company.

But, eventually, the blocker will stop answering your phone calls. Your emails will go unopened, and the deal will stall. You've been ghosted — that's the blocker's specialty.

尝试辨别什么时候该离开公司，何时该只是在那里找到新的潜在客户。bob全站app如果您认为您正在与阻止者交谈，而业务中的其他人应该听到您要说的话 - 进行研究。

Track the company's hiring on LinkedIn to see when someone on a relevant team starts. Then, reach out to them to see if they'd be interested in hearing about your solution. Strike up a relationship with an executive and use that as leverage to engage someone new at the company.

Or simply use LinkedIn to track down someone else on the team and say something like,"I've been speaking with a colleague of yours about your need to lower export costs on overseas shipments. It seems like you might be the more appropriate person to speak with. Do you have a few minutes this week to jump on a call?"

Identifying who you’re speaking with and who you need to speak with is a crucial part of the sales process. Incorporate these questions into your strategy, and find more success with each person you talk to within a prospect’s company.

Learn to work with the gatekeeper.

Having to work past gatekeepers is a nagging but vital fact of sales life. While it might be frustrating to be turned away or put on hold by a receptionist or blown off by an executive assistant, you can't get demoralized or resentful.

Do your research, remain confident, and be polite when you connect with gatekeepers. Remember, they're people doing their job — just like you. If you can stay patient, remain professional, and build rapport with gatekeepers, you'll put yourself in a solid position to connect with decision-makers and set deals in motion.