How to get past the gatekeeper: a strategy guide for B2B callers

A gatekeeper is anyone between you and the person you want to reach: a receptionist, an executive assistant, a practice manager, a team administrator, an automated phone menu. Their job is not to block you. Their job is to protect their manager's time and route calls to the right place. Callers who understand that difference get through far more often.

In Nousu's data from 218,000+ dials into Australian businesses, 14% of dials reach a live person, but only 6% reach a decision maker. More than half of the live answers are someone else. How you handle that someone else decides your numbers.

Gatekeepers hear sales calls all day, so they recognise the pattern within a sentence. The pattern is not cold calling as such. It is the signals that say this call is a pitch to someone who did not ask for it.

Australian gatekeepers are also quick to spot an offshore caller. In Nousu's data, the median time for an Australian buyer to identify an offshore caller is 11 seconds, and offshore teams reach a decision maker on 1.5% of dials, against 6% onshore.

1. Be honest. Say who you are and where you are calling from. Never imply a relationship you do not have. Gatekeepers talk to their managers, and one discovered lie ends the account.
2. Be specific. A named person and a specific topic sound like business. A vague request sounds like a list.
3. Be brief. One sentence of reason is enough. The gatekeeper does not need your pitch and will not pass it on.
4. Ask for help. "I wonder if you can help me" invites the gatekeeper to do the part of their job they enjoy.
5. Treat them as a colleague. Use their name, thank them, and log it so the next call starts warmer. Many gatekeepers become your best source of information about how the company works.

The principles work together. Honesty without specificity sounds vague, and specificity without brevity turns into a pitch. Practise all five until the call sounds like one professional asking another for a small, reasonable favour, because that is exactly what it is.

For script versions of these principles, see the gatekeeper section of the cold call scripts library and our post of 11 gatekeeper scripts. This guide covers the strategy behind them.

The switchboard is only one way in. Strong callers plan several routes and use whichever is open. If one route is blocked three times, move to the next instead of calling reception a fourth time.

The referral from inside

One of the most reliable routes is a genuine internal referral. If you reach someone senior who is not the right person, ask who is, and whether you can mention that they suggested it. Then use it honestly: "{{referrer_name}} suggested I speak with you about {{topic}}." Only say it if they did.

Draft your gatekeeper lines with the cold call script generator, which writes gatekeeper responses for your offer.

The lines below are deliberately short. They are starting points to put in your own words, not scripts to read. Full scripts are in the cold call scripts library.

Hi, it's {{your_name}} from {{company}}. Could you put me through to {{decision_maker_first_name}}, please?

(If asked what it's about) It's about {{specific_topic}} at {{prospect_company}}. I'm hoping for two minutes with {{decision_maker_first_name}} to see if it's relevant.

Hi, it's {{your_name}} from {{company}}. I wonder if you can help me. I'm trying to find out who looks after {{specific_area}} there. Would that be {{role_guess}}, or someone else?

No problem. When is {{decision_maker_first_name}} usually easiest to catch? I'll try then rather than leave a message.

Thanks, {{gatekeeper_name}}, I appreciate it.

That makes sense. In a sentence: we help {{peer_group}} with {{specific_problem}}, and I wanted to see whether it's on {{decision_maker_first_name}}'s radar this year. Would you suggest I send you a short note to pass on, or is there a better time to call?

An executive assistant is not a receptionist. They know their manager's priorities, calendar and preferences, and they often decide what reaches the inbox. Winning an EA's trust is slower than getting through a switchboard, but it is worth more.

• Ask the EA what their manager is focused on this quarter, and whether your topic fits.
• Offer to send a short note to the EA to pass on, written so it can be forwarded unchanged.
• Ask how their manager prefers to be contacted: some take calls, some only read email.
• Follow up with the EA, not around them. Going around an EA who has helped you closes the door for good.

Not every gatekeeper is a person. Large organisations route calls through automated menus, and many decision makers let calls go to voicemail by default. Each has a workable approach.

Voicemail timing matters. In Nousu's data, a voicemail on the first attempt makes a contact 15% less likely to be reached later. Our voicemail strategy post covers what to say and when.

Gatekeeper skill is learned on the phone, but it can be practised off it. The fastest improvement comes from short role plays on the four or five situations that come up every day, and from listening live to experienced callers.

Track progress by the gap between connect rate and decision-maker conversation rate, by caller. A caller with a normal connect rate and a low conversation rate needs gatekeeper coaching first. Our sales coaching guide has a simple weekly rhythm.

You can see gatekeeper performance in two numbers you already track: connect rate and decision-maker conversation rate. The gap between them is the gatekeeper problem.

If your connect rate is around 14% but your decision-maker conversation rate is well under 6% of dials, the issue is either the gatekeeper approach or the wrong roles on your list. Check which by reading the call notes: are you getting blocked, or reaching people who do not own the problem? Test one change at a time and compare the rate over a few hundred dials. The meetings per dial calculator shows what a lift at this stage is worth in meetings.