Cold Calling: How You Can Get Past The Gatekeeper, Into The Executive Suites

Put pencil to paper and list every single sales-stopping-objection that spews from the mouths of gatekeepers. Know what youll find? Literally, dozens of objections that subtly challenge the appropriateness of you scheduling an appointment in the executives office.

Ah, but heres the good news...

When youre greeted with buyers resistance all you need to do is get rid of the resistance and youre left with a buyer!

You can kiss that hangdog look goodbye and wag your tail with excitement, because contrary to popular belief, objections are buying signals. You gotta know that when your prospects gatekeeper throws out an objection to your request for a meeting with her Top Dog, shes drawing the line with a double-dog-dare.

The gatekeeper wants you to convince her that her executive needs your product/service. Thats right, part of her job is to look for sales pros with products and services that her executive needs.

Objections to scheduling sales calls are predictable. Yep, you can count on the same objections to greet you again and again and again. More good news there are words to overturn these temporary obstacles to your sales calls. You just need to learn what they are and remember

Your success hinges on your ability to give those overturns as needed.

What words will grease the hinges and open the gates for your Top Dog sales calls?

Im glad you asked and am delighted to tell you. But hey, dont be deceived by the simplicity of the answers. Im serious. To value the complex simplicity of these effective overturns, youll want to be sure to write down the words you say when the gatekeeper gets in your face with these overturns.

Compare those words to the overturns that followthen do an effectiveness test. Thats right, make a couple of calls, use your current overturns. Make a couple of more calls and use the overturns below. I guarantee youll be surprised at the simple, yet effective, ways these overturns get you past the gatekeeper and into the executive suites.

Here we go

When you hear the words, We have to cancel our appointment with you. Dont wimp out like a lesser pup and say, Oh, okay.

Stay in the game, with these words

Great! Whats a good date to reschedule?

When a bulldog, gatekeeper says: Ill put you through to voice mail. Dont even let yourself be banished to voice mail jail with a pathetic response of Okay.

Hold your ground and say,

He isnt in? Great! Whats the best time for me to contact him by phone?

When the executive assistant, relays, The executive isnt here right now. Do you want to leave a message? Dont give an answer thatll keep you chasing your tail and running in circles like, No, Ill just call back later. Level the playing field.

Posture yourself as one big dog talkin to the office of another with these words

Great! Thanks for your help. My name is . . . my number is . . . Im calling to schedule a twenty-minute meeting to see whether or not we can save 20% of your (name your executive-level prospects significant expense). Whats the best date for me to follow up with you?

Then, when the Gatekeeper insists, Ill need to check this out with my executive first be thankful shes following through with your request. But dont forfeit control by saying: OK. Keep the ball in your yard with the words, Great! I appreciate your help. Whats a good day for me to follow up?

Theres appointment-scheduling power in these words.

Youll move to the head of the pack with an outrageous number of executive-level, Top Dog sales calls as you commit to keeping effective overturns to predictable objections on the tip of your tongue.

And know youll be able to consistently trot on through open doors when you understand and act on the knowledge that the difference between getting into the executive suites and sitting on the outside panting and howling at the gatekeeper is the words you speak during your prospecting call.

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Copyright 2006 Top Dog Consulting

Author/Publisher/Conference Speaker Leslie Buterin (like butterin bread), is a founder of Top Dog Consulting. She coaches sales executives and recruiters world-wide in techniques for changing the point of entry to the executive level. For your FREE mini-course Jealously Guarded Secrets to Cold Calling Company Presidents visit http://www.ColdCallingExecutives.com !Adrian Blog14854
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