If you work in the B2B sector, you are probably all too familiar with the frustrating process of trying to get past ‘gatekeepers’ and speak to somebody you have identified as a promising prospective customer within a company. Researching businesses and finding out who the decision makers are in relation to the products or services you offer can be tough enough, but when well-trained reception staff have been asked to prevent people in the office from being transferred sales calls or calls from people they don’t know, it can make all your hard work feel like it has led to a dead end. In some cases, it is especially frustrating because you feel the person you are trying to reach will be happy to hear about your offering or deal.
While there are various techniques sales and marketing people use to get past gatekeepers, they don’t always work, and can also feel a little dishonest. Instead, it can be better to try and find a different way to introduce yourself to your prospect that avoids calling reception at all.
Here are three things you could try:
Search for an Email Address
If you have the name of the person you want and the company they work at, you can search for any email addresses on the company domain that matches the name you want using a service like theemailfinder.co online. This will enable you to try and contact the person you are aiming for with an introductory email. If email isn’t your ideal way of approaching people, this can just be seen as a way to make your interest in the person known and should they reply. Hopefully, you will be able to get their phone number from their email signature and follow up with a call. Of course, if you want to be sneaky, you could try sending your email at an unusual time and hope to get an out of office autoreply with a number on it!
Search for a Mutual Connection on LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a great tool for getting new people into your network, and introductions via the platform are fairly common. If you don’t already use it, start by creating a network of people you know professionally. You may be surprised that you are only one or two people away from your target prospect and can ask someone you know to introduce you.
Connect on Twitter
While some people don’t really like people trying to make friends with them for professional reasons on social networks, Twitter is different. This is because everything is public and following someone doesn’t have to be mutual. If you can find your target, follow them and try and engage with them. You may be able to send a private message to them to introduce yourself and ask to set up a call.
These are just three ways to use the web to get into contact with prospects without having to get past telephone gatekeepers.
