What if all of the information in parts 1-3 doesn’t work? Well you could forget it, go home, resign, pack your bags and apologise for taking your salary over the last few months, empty your personal belongings from your desk, kiss ‘goodbye’ the person you have always fancied but never told them you did.
 
Well no, there are a few more tactics before we go that far. One is to be persistent.  Someone once said to me “If you can’t get through to the person you want, you aren’t calling enough”.  Think about it, the Receptionist or Secretary goes on lunch, goes to the bathroom, has days off, so do not give up. If you have a troublesome gatekeeper, phone at twenty minute intervals between the hours of 12:00pm and 2:00pm (hiding your number) and I’ll bet at one of those timeslots he or she has gone on lunch and you have a new gatekeeper. Now imagine if that had happened and you found out the name of the tricky gatekeeper, then when you get the new one you can say ‘Oh hello, that isn’t Sally is it?’ and when they say no you can simply respond with ‘I didn’t think so, I usually deal with Sally. Can you put me through to Tom Jones your Finance Director please, thank you?’

Now I’m not suggesting that the tactic above or the other few I am about to mention become part of daily life – I’m simply trying to ensure you get through if it’s vital that you do and after more traditional methods have failed. One of the more tactical things you can do is phoning a random number that relates to that company and asking them to put you through to your contact as you have obviously have been misdirected. “Is that Tom’s phone – no? – Is that ext 647 –yes? - That’s strange, that’s the number I have been given for Tom Jones – could you look up his number for me? –Thanks.”

Alternatively, you could ask your random number to put you through....that way when your target contact looks at his phone it will be an internal call and not from reception and they are more likely to pick it up knowing it isn’t an outside caller.

Another option? Get a direct number for almost anyone in the target department and then, out of normal business hours, phone all the numbers around it getting voicemails. Bingo! You now have your target’s direct line – no more gatekeepers!

However the best advice I can give you is to be consistent, be persistent and have the right information and, by that, I mean the right level of information to help your gatekeeper put you through. You can even tell them they will be putting you through! “Good morning, in a moment or two I am going to ask you to put me through to Tom Jones in your finance dept. When you do will I get Tom directly or does he have a secretary?”  .....and by choosing either Tom or telling you they have a secretary they are accepting that they will be putting you through!

Don’t forget when you are put through to a level three gatekeeper just tell them who you are and what you want and suggest that they may wish to ask their boss if he might want a conversation with you.

I’m sure the four sessions we have covered will increase your success rate. Practice really does make perfect so do keep trying. Good luck.