---
title: "How To Get Past Gatekeepers"
canonical_url: "https://www.broadley-speaking.com/resources-insights/how-to-get-past-gatekeepers"
last_updated: "2026-09-29T10:40:09.009Z"
---
How to get past gatekeepers in B2B sales, and reach the decision maker, starts with a request the assistant can repeat. Say who you are, which company and site you are calling about, who you need, and why this week. Ask how they prefer to pass that on. Send the same purpose by email, and use LinkedIn when that person reads messages there. The assistant can forward a true, short request. A fake name, an invented referral, or a script that hides who you are gets a complaint, a blocked domain, and no second conversation.
## State the purpose in the first sentence
A gatekeeper decides whether the call, the email, or the message is worth a decision maker's time. Give them the facts for that decision before you describe a product.
Cover four points, in this order:
- Your name and company
- The account, and the site if the company has more than one
- The person or role you need
- One reason tied to that account, such as a supplier review, a site change, or a role hired to fix a known problem
Then stop talking. The useful reply comes after they have heard the reason. A product tour in the first minute gives them nothing to pass upstairs.
Write the reason so they can say it back. "I am calling about the supplier review at your Midlands site. I need ten minutes with the operations director who owns that review." That sentence can go in a diary note. A line about helping companies like theirs cannot.
## Treat the assistant as part of the account
Reception, an executive assistant, or a coordinator knows the diary, the current priorities, and who else sits near the decision. Ask for their name. Use it on the next contact. Ask when the decision maker takes calls, and whether a short email is the better route this week.
If they decline, ask what is missing and who else should hear the request. Write the answer down. The next call should start from that answer. Calling back as if the first conversation never happened marks the account as difficult, and the assistant will say so.
[Appointment setting](/services/appointment-setting) holds this standard. The meeting is with someone who has a stake in the problem, booked because the purpose was clear, with the assistant included in the path.
## Use phone, email, and LinkedIn for one request
One channel is one chance to be missed or cut short. Phone, email, and LinkedIn can carry the same purpose in the same week, so the gatekeeper and the decision maker see one story.
- Call and state the purpose in the first sentence. Ask for the assistant's name and the route they prefer.
- Send an email the same day that they can forward as it stands: who you are, the account reason, the ask, and a time window.
- Use LinkedIn when that person is active there. Repeat the same reason. Leave a cold pitch out of the message.
Three touches that say three different things look like three vendors. Three touches with one reason look like a request they can place.
On a named account, [account-based marketing](/services/account-based-marketing-services) keeps that story in front of the rest of the buying group. The assistant is then passing on a request other people in the account have already seen, which makes the forward easier to justify.
## Keep deception out of the pursuit
Access that depends on a lie does not last past the first meeting. Leave these out:
- A fake name, a fake department, or a claim that you are returning a call they never made
- An invented referral, or a line that you already have time in the diary
- A request for a direct number while pretending to be someone else
- Any script written to slip past the assistant and surprise the decision maker
Those moves sometimes reach a phone. They also produce a complaint to the switchboard, a blocked domain, and a decision maker who will not take the second call. The assistant remembers how the meeting was booked. So does the person you wanted to meet, once they hear it.
Say who you are on every channel. If you cannot explain the booking to the salesperson, the client, and the person in the meeting, do not use that line.
## Prepare the named account before you call
Named-account preparation is what you hand the gatekeeper. You already know the company, the site, the role, and a reason that belongs there.
Before the first call:
- Name the account and the site
- Name the role, and the person if you have a current name
- Write the reason in one line the assistant can repeat
- Note who else in the buying group you already know, so the call is about this account
[Selling to buying groups](/resources-insights/selling-to-buying-groups-how-to-win-when-6-10-people-make-the-decision) is the map behind that list. The assistant is often the route to one seat. The deal still needs the others. If they will not connect you to the director, ask which other role should take the first conversation. That answer tells you who can move, and it respects the boundary they set.
[Market qualification and pipeline development](/services/market-qualification-pipeline-development) applies the same test before a seller spends a cycle on the account: fit, a problem someone can describe, and a next step. A meeting booked on a false pretext fails that test, and it should stay out of the diary.
Once the assistant has passed you through, [telemarketing techniques that work](/resources-insights/telemarketing-techniques-listen-more-speak-less) start with listening: the problem, the buying group, and whether a next conversation should happen. Related writing sits on the [Resources & Insights](/resources-insights) page.
## Frequently asked questions
### How do you get past gatekeepers in B2B sales?
State your name, company, the account, the person you need, and the reason, in the first sentence. Ask the gatekeeper how they want that passed on. Follow the same day with an email they can forward, and repeat the reason on LinkedIn if that is where the person reads messages. If they decline, ask who else should hear it and when to try again.
### How do you reach the decision maker ethically?
Tell the truth about who you are and why you are calling. Use the assistant as the route to the decision maker. A clear purpose and a named account give them a request they can defend. The decision maker should be able to hear how the meeting was booked and still want the conversation.
### What should you say to a gatekeeper?
Lead with your name, your company, the person or role, and one reason tied to that account. Then wait. Offer a short email they can forward. Ask for their name and the better time or channel. Save product detail for the person who owns the problem.
### What should you avoid when a gatekeeper controls access?
Avoid fake names, invented referrals, pretended callbacks, and any script meant to slip past the assistant. Avoid calling back as if the first conversation did not happen. Ask what is missing, who else is the right contact, and whether email is the better path this week.
### How do named accounts change the gatekeeper conversation?
You call about a specific company, site, and role, with a reason that belongs there. The gatekeeper can place the request with the decision maker. A generic offer about helping businesses like theirs gives them nothing to pass on. The preparation is the technique.
### How should phone, email, and LinkedIn work together?
Use them for the same request in the same week. The call states the purpose. The email is the version the assistant can forward without rewriting. LinkedIn repeats that reason for people who read messages there. One story, three paths, so a missed call does not end the attempt.
### When should the meeting be booked?
Book the meeting when the decision maker, or someone who shapes the decision, has a real reason to take it, and the assistant has passed a true account of who you are. [Appointment setting](/services/appointment-setting) keeps that rule so the diary matches a conversation the seller can continue.