[Music] chapter 17 the gatekeepers the first gatekeeper you'll encounter the receptionist gatekeeper is not Vito's personal assistant but someone who feels calls for a living typically at the front desk receptionist gatekeepers handle a lot of phone traffic given the advent of press star-one to hear a directory technology on most of our business phone systems and the rise of email and texting and other social media business communications and the like it seems that with every passing year there are fewer and fewer receptionist sitting in lobbies answering phones and opening up snail mail even so all it takes is one receptionist to stop you dead in your tracks before you pick up the phone to call Vito you must master a few simple facts about receptionists gatekeepers they are not the highest-paid employees at Vito incorporated their job is to be polite and route calls as quickly and accurately as possible to the appropriate individuals at Vito incorporated they are trained to protect the time of key individuals that means they are trained to pick up on any uncertainty in your voice or what you're saying they can smell an unsolicited sales call a mile away how do you deal with these folks let's make a Vito call and hear what an ideal interaction with the receptionist gatekeeper sounds like it's v-day you did all the research you selected 20 Vito's who match the persona of your best customers and if you don't have any customers yet then match the persona of your ideal prospects forgot the names and pronunciations of both veto and vetoes private assistant Tommy you sent your veto letter a few days ago and you faxed it exactly one hour before your scheduled time to call now it's be a veto day two minutes before the time you promised veto and Tommy and your action PS that you would call you start punching veto incorporate its number the reason you're calling two minutes early is simple being on time for veto calls as opposed to any other kind of call means you should be a little bit early the phone rings and here's what happens next receptionist gatekeeper of veto Inc veto incorporated how may I direct your call your response please connect me with Tommy and Miz in Port tantas office this is will will prosper thank you veto rule number 23 when interacting with the receptionist gatekeeper you must close with the words thank you spoken briskly and confidently notice that in this critical first exchange with the receptionist gatekeeper you're giving three critical bits of information and a specific and quite intentional order first you're sharing Tommy's name and here's the reason the receptionist gatekeeper knows that Tommy vetoes private assistant plays a bigger game on a bigger field at veto incorporated and is really the first line of defense when it comes to veto and protecting vetoes precious time second you're sharing Vito's name here's the reason saying Vito's name confidently makes it clear that you know what's going on you're signaling to the reception is gatekeeper that you're well informed that you know who's who and that's important third they're sharing your own name and here's the reason receptionist gatekeepers are going to ask for it anyway you must give these three pieces of information in this exact order the bottom line is this if you follow this sequence actually doing the receptionist gatekeepers job for him or her now let's assume that the gatekeeper receptionist says this what's the call about you've got two choices when it comes to formulating a response here response one ms important--i is expecting my call at 9:30 would you please put me through thank you you must close with the words thank you spoken briskly and confidently response to my call to ms importantto it's about increasing shareholder value reducing cycle time and eliminating eighty 7.9 million dollars in direct cost now it appears as that I'm running a little bit late for my call would you please connect me thank you once again you must close with the words thank you spoken briskly and confidently assuming that you were thinking breathing and speaking while channeling your own inner veto you will find that this approach will virtually always get your call put through without further interrogation if you sound like Vito you will be connected directly to Vito's office by the way if what I'm advocating here seems forceful controlling or manipulative I suggest that you take a moment to stop and think about what your organization's veto would sound like if he or she was interacting with a receptionist gatekeeper and wanting to be connected to the CEO president or owner of any company what's next you're about to enter Vito's private suite next we'll talk about what you're going to say to Tommy Vito's private assistant Tommy is never ever to be mistaken for treated like her otherwise mixed up with the receptionist gatekeeper these are two totally different players at Vito incorporated and the sooner you recognize that the better off you'll be and the bigger your Commission checks will be Vito's private assistant Tommy good news the closer you get the Vito the easier the process gets once the reception is gate keeper puts your call through to Tommy's line one of three great outcomes will happen first Tommy will answer the phone second voicemail will answer the phone or third Vito will answer the phone I'll cover the first of these options in this chapter and then in the next chapter we'll cover what to do if you hit voicemail and the chapter after that I'll give you more ammunition for the moment you finally hit pay dirt and make voice to voice contact with Beto Tommy picks up the phone the phone rings once the phone rings twice and then good morning miss importantes office this is Tommy how may I help you remember Tommy holds the key to winning vetoes precious time and attention either directly as in you get to talk to Vito or indirectly as in Tommy talks favorably to Vito about you in recognition of that critical fact I want you to take the following critically important step the moment you hear Tommy's voice Vito rule number 24 when talking with Tommy forget that Vito exists that's right for all intents and purposes Vito just left the planet that's why I want you to say your opening statement to Tommy with one small exception and one small addition the exception is pretty obvious you'll be using Tommy's name instead of Vito's name the addition is that with Tommy you will be using your name and your company name because Tommy will need to know this to make a mental connection with you and your letter what you say might sound something like this Tommy thanks for taking my call this is will will prosper with zip line the CEO of the world's largest electronic manufacturer increased shareholder value and reduce cycle time by sixty three days while eliminating as much as eighty seven point nine million dollars in direct cost in just one hundred and forty four days this is touch on issues that are of concern with you during this quarter notice you are not mentioning Vito notice that you are treating Tommy as though Tommy were Vee here's what will happen next Tommy will make a mental connection about you your letter its headline and your opening statements hook and shortly after doing that will probably answer your question with something that sounds like this shareholder value reducing time to market and cutting expenses is always important to mis importante look what just happened you asked if something was important to Tommy and Tommy replied with what's important to Vito I have heard this happen hundreds of times but guess what if you make the common mistake that most sales people make of asking Tommy what Vito thinks even though you're supposed to be operating under the assumption that Vito has left the planet this is what your conversational sequence will look like when you say this is touch on an issues that are of concern to MS and poor tanta during this month Tommy's response would be send me some information on what this is all about and if Miss importante is interested she'll give you a call you can pull out your bugle and play taps for yourself because you just threw yourself under the bus you ignored Tommy's valuable insights and neglected to salute Tommy's uniform general rules of engagement with Tony do not ask to speak to Vito this will have the effect of dismissing Tommy do not ask whether Vito is in Tommy will automatically say no even if Vito standing right next to Tommy do not ask whether Vito got your letter this request has the look and feel of Tommy working for you and that's not good either do not lie to Tommy about anything do not say you know someone when you don't do not sidestep any question that Tommy asks of you do not dig for information without giving information do not overstate or inflate anything like who your customers are or how many you have or the results you've been delivering do not pass some any out dating misleading or inaccurate information to pronounce Vito and Tommy's name correctly if you have to make a couple of calls beforehand to ask someone else at Vito incorporated about the correct pronunciation do so do follow Tommy's advice and guidance listen carefully and take notes do answer every question Tommy asks give information before you ask for it and do ask very specific questions follow up with a handwritten thank-you note immediately after your first conversation with Tommy and immediately is like the same day you can also send an email as long as you also send a nice handwritten note via snail mail during the call Tommy like Vito may point you toward someone else specifically at Vito incorporated as I hope you remember this is called a shunt there are good shunts and bad shunts I'll show you how to tell the difference and turn bad ones into good ones later on in the book if you want to get on the fast track and get all those c-suite appointments you've worked hard for and deserve so you could sell more faster and crush your quota in the process then all you need to do is go to our site Vito sales training com click on the take action tab scroll down to you see the Vito University logo and check it out and in the meantime have yourself a masterful rest of the day bye-bye [Music] you