How to Respond to a Sales Call
Sales calls to your home or work place are inconvenient, stressful and unavoidable. You don't invite persuasive salespeople to interrupt your day and hijack your time. And yet they strike expertly, using your politeness to suck you into their long-winded sales pitches. Rarely are you offered a product or service that interests you, meaning that 99% of the time, you need a plan of action to quickly dispatch unwanted sales calls.
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Instructions
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How to respond to an unwanted telemarketing sales call
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Answer the call. “Hello” is sufficient; you should not offer your name. The telemarketer will begin his sales pitch.
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Interrupt the salesperson at any point. You do not need to wait for a break in the telemarketer's presentation. Politely say, “Thank you, I am not interested.” Do not offer further information.
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Hang up. You do not need to wait for a reply from the telemarketer. You have already politely declined the sales offer, and now both you and the telemarketer are free to pursue to other business. Besides, at home you are relatively anonymous to telemarketers.
How to respond to an unsolicited sales call at your work place
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Answer the call. A simple “Hello. This is (your name).” is sufficient. The salesperson will begin her pitch.
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Decide if you need the information the salesperson is offering.
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Interrupt the sales pitch, if you are uninterested. Say something like, “Actually, we already have a vendor for that product, but you may mail us some information,” or “Actually, we have no need for that product. Good luck to you.” Unless the sales person is overly persistent, avoid hanging up in the middle of her presentation. In a business setting you are not anonymous, and you may end up doing business with that person in the future.
How to Respond to an Inconvenient Sales Calls from a Business Associate
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Answer the call in a friendly manner and allow your business acquaintance to explain his business.
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Interrupt at the first opportunity that is not too awkward.
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Explain that you are busy and ask if she can call back later. If you prefer to be contacted only by email or regular mail, say something like, “It's easier for me to communicate by email so that I have everything in writing. This way I won't forget the details of our conversation.” This saves you from unnecessary telephone calls. At the same time your business associate knows that you value the relationship, and he is saved him from embarrassment about disrupting your work day.
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Tips & Warnings
Remember that your time is valuable, whether you are actually paid for it or not. In that respect, sales calls are really unsolicited business transactions, and you are not obliged to engage in the transaction. As long as you are reasonably polite, you do not ever need to feel bad about dismissing a sales call.
Never use the phrase "I'm sorry," as in "I'm sorry. We have no need for that product," or "I'm sorry. I'm not interested," in your response to a sales call. An apologetic phrase like "I'm sorry" puts you in a submissive position in the interaction with the salesperson. Especially heed this warning in business sales calls. To break the "I'm sorry" habit and yet still be polite, substitute "Thank you, but...".
