Enemy at the gate

The following is based on one of The Covenant Group’s clients. All of the names and telling details have been changed.

Peter Schalken had developed a powerful business strategy to vault him to the next level. Unfortunately, he discovered a group of people determined to ensure he didn’t succeed.

A couple of years ago, Peter, a veteran advisor of twelve years, saw a business opportunity in his region: solving the financial issues of parents of college-bound kids. Such parents desperately needed help financing their children’s educations without putting their own retirement plans in jeopardy. Many faced the serious risk of not being able to send their kids to college at all or, frequently, not being able to afford the right schools. Peter considered it a shame that poor planning could cost a child the education they deserved. He threw himself into the issue of college funding, becoming an expert on the college system of grants and scholarships. With that knowledge and his expertise as a financial advisor, he developed unique solutions to help parents.

Peter began working with high schools to make presentations to groups of parents. He first approached two schools with which he had connections and found them supportive. The school guidance counsellors helped him organize the seminars and conduct mailings to the entire school lists. The parents loved his presentation, which was highly educational, rather than promotional. He also offered a free one-hour consultation with each parent to explore their situation. A number of the parents took him up on his offer, and most of those eventually became paying clients.

Peter was thrilled with these initial successes and, casting his eye toward the dozens of other high schools within his community and the hundreds more within his region had visions of a thriving business with almost infinite potential. Unfortunately, the next few schools he approached turned him down cold.

As Peter put it, “The guidance counsellors at these schools don’t know who I am. The schools have been hit hard over the years by scammers and unethical salespeople. They’re scared, so they say no to everybody.”

Fortunately, Peter had come up with the idea of sponsoring a life-skills presentation to the school body. Peter would pay for the event, a powerful, energetic presentation put on by a non-profit organization. In exchange, the schools would help Peter promote his seminar to the parents. Although he approached dozens of schools with this opportunity, only a couple agreed to work with him.

“My whole business plan depends on being able to get into as many schools in my region as possible,” Peter said, “but it looks like I’m locked out. These guidance counsellors are vicious gatekeepers. They treat me like I’m a snake trying to prey on their schools.”

We explained to Peter “We agree that you have a ‘gatekeeper’ problem. But we don’t agree that the gatekeeper is the guidance counsellor.”

Peter shot us a puzzled look.

“You are the gatekeeper,” We explained.

“What?” Peter said, incredulous.

“If that’s your attitude toward guidance counsellors, everything you do - consciously or not - in your interaction with guidance counsellors is going to support the opposition between you and them. Every time you mention the words ‘guidance counsellors’ your whole body manner and face change; you emanate negativity. They can see it as easily as I can.”

Peter conceded he probably didn’t hide his feelings well, but insisted he focused on how he was there to help the kids. “And that’s what’s frustrating. These guidance counsellors don’t understand that by keeping me out, it’s the students who get hurt.”

“Your passion for what you do is admirable, Peter. But you can’t keep hammering an approach that isn’t working. You have to think through the problem. Open your mind. You are in a complex-sale environment and your solution will have to have a level of complexity suitable to that environment. A simple, blinkered approach that takes the guidance counsellors head-on won’t work. Let's give you an example.

“A few years ago, a client of ours, Shelley, saw teachers as an overlooked market. Like you, when she approached the schools, she got the cold shoulder. We explained to her that schools have multiple stakeholders. Anyone who has the power to restrict your access to your market is a stakeholder. Furthermore, anyone who can facilitate your access is also a stakeholder. Your most effective strategy is to involve all the stakeholders. With schools, you have guidance counsellors, principals, board members, parent groups and many others. You’re not likely to succeed approaching only one of the stakeholders. You have to use the influence of multiple stakeholders and decision-makers to gain access. In Shelly’s case, she got her breakthrough when she saw the teacher’s pension fund as a key stakeholder. She worked with the school boards and the pension fund to help influence the other stakeholders. And when the fund sponsored her planning seminars for teachers - that essentially legitimized her for everyone. Within a few years, she dominated the market - largely because all the stakeholders loved what she did and wouldn’t let anyone else inside.”

Peter seemed encouraged by Shelly’s story, but still doubted he’d ever win the support of the guidance counsellors.

“Peter,” we explained, “who do the guidance counsellors respect and respond to. Is it the school principal? The board members? People at the colleges?”

“Getting the help of the school principal or people on the board might help, but the guidance counsellors can still put their foot down.”

 “What about the influence of other guidance counsellors? Do they listen to each other? Is there a bond between them?”

Peter nodded.

“Then you have to look at peer influence. That’s a key element in complex selling. Going above is not always the right answer or the only answer. Sometimes you can get your most powerful influence from peers, or even from below. You could use the guidance counsellors you’ve already worked with as influencers.”

“That might help get me in the door, but then I still have to deal with their objections. Frankly I’m intimidated by them. I really don’t understand why they don’t respond to my message about how I can help their students.”

“Because you are going to them with the wrong message.”

Peter shook his head.

“When you insist on how you can help the kids, you draw out the protective instinct of the guidance counsellors; they are there to watch out for opportunists. Instead, go to them with a message about helping them. How can you make their jobs easier - they’ll listen to that. As passionate as you are about helping kids and parents achieve their goals - you have to be as passionate about helping guidance counsellors.

“Remember, we are in a complex-sale environment. You will have to work harder and smarter to gain their support. One idea would be to develop a seminar for guidance counsellors, one that showcases how you can help make them more effective.”

“Sounds like a lot of work.”

“True, but without winning over the guidance counsellors, you don’t have a business. You can’t see the guidance counsellor as the enemy to be conquered. See them as the ally to be won over. It’s their support that will open the doors to hundreds, possibly thousands of parents for you. Once you crack them, just like Shelly, you will have a lock on the market. You won’t regret the effort then.”

Over the next few weeks, Peter found that the more he thought about how he could help guidance counsellor do their jobs better, the more excited he became about working with them. He developed a seminar for them and brought on a non-profit organization to sponsor it, adding to his credibility. He also found one guidance counsellor who had developed a presentation on childproofing, but who needed help getting the word out and organizing the events. He volunteered his time to help and quickly won her over. Instead of seeing him as a salesman, she saw him as someone who really cared about the kids. She became a champion of his cause, not only in her school but also among other guidance counsellors in the community with whom she had influence.

Within a few months, Peter saw the rewards of his new strategy. He’d broken through into a couple more schools but knew this was just the beginning.

Lessons Learned

Peter learned four important lessons about gatekeepers:

• The only gatekeeper in any sale is you, the advisor. When an advisor sees someone as a gatekeeper they are projecting their own fears and insecurities about working in a complex-sale environment.
• So-called gatekeepers are merely stakeholders in a complex sale. Consider them your allies, because once you win them over they will help protect you from the competition.
• The trick to winning over any stakeholder is to sell them on the benefit to them.
• Success in complex sales with multiple decision-makers comes when you become equally passionate about helping each stakeholder, not just one of them.

________________________________

The Covenant Group is referred to by many as where entrepreneurs go to become Business Builders. They are considered to be thought leaders and authors of the best-selling books, The 8 Best Practices of High-Performing Salespeople, The Entrepreneurial Journey, and The Business Builder.