Stop being afraid of the guardian
One of the reasons people stop cold calling is fear of the gatekeeper. Guardians seem to wield extraordinary power over the minds of cold callers.
Wardens are receptionists and part of their job is to prevent others from wasting the time of the person who pays their wages. Unfortunately, vendors often view Guardians in such a one-dimensional way that they end up giving them all their power.
Recently, one of my clients, who is a very powerful and successful man in his own right, expressed how fearful he was of the guardians. I asked him why and he couldn’t explain it logically.
He seemed to believe that the doorman had all the power instead of viewing the receptionist as someone who is simply employed to do a job and has no interest in preventing him from talking to a decision maker.
When asked to reconsider the situation and remember that he was the CEO of a successful company, he realized that he had been giving up his power to a guardian. Giving away our power occurs when we allow others to make us feel less than who we really are. When we allow anyone, including a guardian, to change the way us we feel like we are also giving away our power.
The guardians are not our enemies. In fact, it would help us to make friends with them and treat them with respect. Whenever I come across a hostile Guardian who seems intent on being as brusque as possible, I choose to strike up a conversation with him.
Asking questions helps keep the conversation going and allows you to be in control of the conversation. Depending on the type of organization you are calling and the nature of the call, it is wise to do your research before you call so that you can ask the right questions.
‘I see on your website that you don’t offer… Is it something you’ve tried or…?’ or ‘Do you know anyone else who might be interested in…?’
With a rude or abrupt Guardian, the trick is to make sure you never succumb to their emotional tone. I describe it as ‘don’t fall down the ditch with them’. I even asked one of those guardians once if everything was really okay because she sounded like she was mad. That certainly defused the situation and her tone changed immediately.
Always treat guardians as if they were your best friends. Use your first name whenever possible. Use humor to diffuse any tension, and always make sure you treat them with the utmost respect.
If you continue to view receptionists as your adversary, they will live up to that reputation. It is wiser to view them as a potential advocate and even a silent business partner. Don’t be afraid of the goalies. They are not in this world to sabotage the success of your business. Begin to change your perception of these hard-working, often poorly paid, but very important sources of information and holders of the key to the door you want to open.