Last week while I was training my new assistant and reviewing her responsibilities, she asked me how she should handle calls from sales people. By the look on her face I could tell that dealing with salespeople wasn't a task she liked. It made me think about the ongoing tug of war between Sales Professionals, who are trying to get in the door, and the legions of gate keepers assigned the duty of keeping them at bay. 

I also considered that with so many people vying for my time, both inside and outside of my organization, if I met with every salesperson who called I would never get my job done; which, is exactly why I have a gate keeper. Her most important job is to protect my time so that I remain focused on the most critical tasks. Unfortunately that puts her in the unenviable position of saying no to salespeople, which of course, keeps a large cadre of authors, consultants and speakers in business creating libraries of books, audio programs and DVDs all designed to teach you "the secrets" to getting around gatekeepers. 

So is there a secret? Not really. The stark reality is that only a select few will ever get through the gate and their success will depend on a combination of good manners and savvy business acumen.  

Four PowerPrinciples for Opening the Gate

Be Likable:  Project a positive, cheerful, outgoing personality. Be polite and respectful. You are guaranteed to fail with gate keepers if you are rude, pushy and ill mannered. Leave us with a positive impression of you and your company.

Be Brief:  If you are likeable there is a good probability that you will make it to voice mail. Long-winded voice messages are guaranteed to be deleted. Just state your name, company, phone number and the purpose of your call. Tip: when you leave your vital information, speak slowly and say your name and phone number twice.

Hold The Cheese: Never use cheesy schemes to trick us into speaking to you. Tricks don't work. They harm your credibility and you'll end up on our "do not talk to" list. Just tell us who you are and why you are calling. Please don't ask me how my day is going or how I'm doing. This is a dead giveaway that I am about to be "sold" and it is disingenuous. You interrupted our day with your phone call and we're busy. Just get down to business.

Connect: Once you have me on the phone, ask me about my needs, problems and issues before telling me all the "wonderful" benefits of your product (this works with gate keepers too!) Listening is the key. Here's good news. If we do connect, you will get time on my calendar and perhaps a sale.

Deborah Koch is Senior Vice President of Marketing at Gibraltar Private Bank.