How to Detect Gatekeeper Lies

Learning how to detect gatekeeper lies can be the difference between success and failure when you’re cold calling for new business.

Regardless of how well you master how to get past the gatekeeper, you’ll still have to accept that you won’t get through to your contacts every time.

There will be times when your contacts are unavailable, on another call, in a meeting, away from their desk, or out at lunch.

Based on experience from over 100,000 sales calls during my career, there’s a 50/50 chance the gatekeeper will lie to you about the availability of your contact.

This is why it’s important to learn how to detect gatekeeper lies.

I’ve witnessed plenty of comical moments where the gatekeeper has failed to adequately mute their phone while quietly asking my contact person if they wanted to take the call.

It’s infuriating when the gatekeeper says your prospect is out, and you know the person you want is there.

But you must not let this get to you.

Instead, have some fun with the gatekeeper and see how good you can get at lie detecting.

I will reiterate to you, your mindset is crucial when it comes to handling gatekeepers. If you believe they’re lying to you every time, you’ll frustrate yourself and make mistakes.

Mistaking a lie with an honest answer is easy.

The truthful reasons for your prospect’s unavailability are usually the same reasons used by gatekeepers when lying to you.

People are also very convincing liars when they do it often enough.

6 Signs the Gatekeeper is Lying

The following signs give a good indication of when a gatekeeper was lying.

1. The gatekeeper takes all your information and immediately confirms your contact is unavailable without checking.
2. The gatekeeper insists on taking a message multiple times in the same conversation, despite you having said you would call back.
3. The gatekeeper will pause, say “Ermmm”, or clear their throat before answering.
4. The gatekeeper asks you to repeat your question and is still slow to respond.
5. The gatekeeper contradicts themselves by telling you various reasons for the unavailability of your contact.
6. The gatekeeper tries to connect you to your contact but then comes back and asks what the call is regarding.

All of the above signs may indicate you have blown your cover, and the gatekeeper knows it’s a sales call.

These signs are not bulletproof, so don’t jump to conclusions too quickly.

The most efficient way of detecting if the gatekeeper is lying to you is to master some immediate questions in response to their reasons for your contact’s availability.

So, if the gatekeeper tells you that your contact is unavailable and asks if you can call back later, you could respond by asking any one of the following questions:

“Are they in a meeting?”

“What time are they free again?”

“Is there a better number to reach them on?”

Alternatively, if the gatekeeper tells you that your contact is in a meeting and constantly asks what the call is regarding, you could respond by saying:

“What time does the meeting end?”

“Do you know what the meeting is about?”

“Don’t worry about it. I will call back later.”

You may feel like some of the above questions are rude and intrusive, and indeed they can be.

But if you can adjust your tone of voice, select the right questions, and use your manners, you can ask almost anything without it coming across in the wrong way.

My favourite is always to ask if I can be transferred through to the contact’s voicemail, especially if I get told they are on the phone.

This one always catches the gatekeeper off guard if they’re lying.

What you should be listening out for is the gatekeeper’s response to your questions.

Some liars react angrily when challenged, while others will be more nervous and start to show some of the signs I mentioned earlier.

I recommend logging every call you make in your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system along with call notes, no matter how short.

If your role includes making hundreds of cold calls and handling gatekeepers all day, you should be making a quick note to remind yourself of the reason given for why you did not reach your contact, such as ‘Contact in a meeting, asked to call back tomorrow’.

This task may seem tedious, but it’s smarter than calling the same company daily and listening to the same lie about your prospect’s unavailability.

Once it becomes apparent you’re not going to get through a gatekeeper, you have two options.

1. Give in and move on.
2. Get creative with ways to reach your contact.

If you’re working in a role where call volumes are high, and deal sizes are small, I highly recommend moving on.

It’s easy to get stuck calling the same carousel of low-quality leads if you don’t learn how to let go.

Alternatively, if you make less than 50 calls per day and work with bigger deal sizes, it’s time to master some creative ways to bypass the gatekeepers.

Related Posts to How to Detect Gatekeeper Lies

• 7 Ways to Avoid the Gatekeeper
• How to Get Past the Gatekeeper