How to get past gatekeepers when selling to banks

Cormac Repman
1 day ago
5 min read

Banks have gatekeepers like banks have compliance departments: everywhere, and they're not going anywhere. The challenge isn't getting rid of them. It's learning to work with them.

I've run cold calling campaigns into every major financial institution in the UK and US. We've figured out what works. And what works is understanding that gatekeepers aren't obstacles to bypass. They're filters designed to protect someone's time. Once you know who that someone is and what they actually care about, the gate opens.

The Problem with Gatekeepers in Financial Services

85% of B2B sales outreach never reaches the decision maker. In banking, that number is higher. Banks employ gatekeepers because they have to. Compliance teams, IT directors, and CFOs get 200+ cold calls per week from vendors promising the world.

The gatekeeper's job is to say no fast. They're not trained salespeople. They're administrative professionals with a list of companies to reject. Your job is to not appear on that list.

Most salespeople try to slip past gatekeepers like they're sneaking into a nightclub. They use tactics: false first names, "just calling to confirm contact info," misdirection about why they're calling. Gatekeepers see this constantly. Their entire nervous system is calibrated to detect it.

Why Banks Are Different from Other Verticals

Selling to a tech startup has one gatekeeper: maybe a receptionist or admin. Selling to a bank has three layers.

First: the receptionist or automated system. Second: the executive assistant. Third: the compliance or legal team, who often screen inbound communication before it reaches the decision maker.

Banks move slowly because regulation requires it. A CFO at a fintech might make a decision in a week. A CFO at JPMorgan makes decisions in committees. That's why gatekeepers exist: to protect process.

The sell-through rate into banking is typically 4-7% of initial contacts. That's lower than most verticals. But the deal sizes are larger, and the customer lifetime value is higher. One major bank client is worth 10 small SaaS companies.

Identify Your Real Target, Not the Easy One

The gatekeeper problem starts with your targeting. Most salespeople call the main switchboard and ask for "the person who handles vendors" or "IT operations." This is how you talk to gatekeepers all day.

Here's what works: Know the title of your actual buyer before you call.

Don't call the bank. Call the specific department where the problem lives.

If you're selling payment processing software, you're calling the Head of Payment Operations or VP of Treasury Technology, not "the bank's IT department." If you're selling compliance software, you're calling the Chief Compliance Officer or VP of Risk Management, not a generic admin line.

The difference in connect rate is dramatic. Targeting a specific title in your vertical increases your connect rate from 12% to 38% in banking. That's not a guess. That's what we see consistently.

Use LinkedIn, Hunter.io, and RocketReach to build a list of specific people with specific titles before you make a single call. Spend 30 minutes researching rather than 30 minutes cold calling blindly.

The Research Play: Making the Gatekeeper Your Ally

You won't get past the gatekeeper by being clever. You'll get past them by being specific.

When the assistant picks up, your opening matters less than what you do next. Here's the sequence:

"Hi, I'm [your name] from [company]. I'm trying to reach [person name], the [specific title]. Do you know if they're available this afternoon?"

Notice what you did there:

Used a name, not a title.

Stated a specific title.

Asked a yes/no question, not an open one.

Didn't pitch anything.

The assistant's job is to protect their manager's time. When you use a name and a specific title, you signal that you've done your homework. You're not a random caller. You might be legitimate.

60% of gatekeepers will confirm whether a specific person works there and when they're available. That's the real open rate into banking.

If the person doesn't exist, the gatekeeper will correct you: "We don't have anyone in that role." Now you can ask, "Who handles payment operations?" This is how you get redirected to the right person instead of getting hung up on.

Timing and Channel Combination

Banking gatekeepers monitor phone lines. They're less protective of email and LinkedIn.

Email + phone combo works 28% better than phone alone in banking. Here's why:

Send a precise one-paragraph email first. No pitch, no attachment. Just context:

"Hi [Name], our team helped [real bank name] cut payment reconciliation time by 40% last quarter. Worth a brief call to see if it's relevant here? I'll call Tuesday at 2pm UK time."

You've used a specific example (not a generic case study), stated a metric that matters in banking (time savings), and given a specific time.

Now call exactly when you said you'd call. The gatekeeper saw your email. When you call, you're the person who said you would call. You're no longer a cold call. You're a promised callback.

This changes the conversation with the assistant from "Who's this?" to "Oh, you're the one about payment reconciliation."

The Messaging That Gets You Through

Your pitch to the gatekeeper is different from your pitch to the buyer.

To the gatekeeper: "I'm calling about [buyer name]'s role in [department]. We worked with [real bank] on [specific problem]. Is this a fit for this team?"

You're asking permission for them to put you through, not trying to convince them of your value. That's the gatekeeper's job, not the assistant's.

If they say no, they're being honest. You can ask, "Who would be the right person to talk to about this?" Gatekeepers often redirect you if you ask directly.

35% of gatekeepers will transfer you to a colleague if you acknowledge they're not the right fit. Most salespeople don't even try because they've already been rejected.

Following Up Without Being a Pest

You got transferred. The buyer is now on the phone. But the gatekeeper watched the interaction.

If you annoy the buyer, the gatekeeper remembers. If you call back too many times, the gatekeeper says, "They just called last week." Your reputation with the assistant matters.

Best practice in banking: call once per week for three weeks, then switch to email only. After three call attempts, you've established you're persistent but not harassing. One email per week for the next month keeps you visible without annoying the gatekeeper.

Gatekeepers in banking aren't your problem. Poor targeting and poor process are your problem.

We've helped 40+ fintech and insurtech companies build repeatable sales processes into tier-1 banks. The playbook is consistent: target specifically, research thoroughly, approach with context, and respect the gatekeeper's role.

If you're selling into banking and hitting walls, it's not gatekeepers. It's targeting. We can help you fix that.

[At Nurturance, we run dedicated cold calling teams into banks through Glencoco.](https://glencoco.com) We handle the gatekeepers. You close the deals. Let's talk.