Do I have to return sales calls?

You aren't required to answer sales people pestering.

In fact, you could make a point of not doing business with pests and let them know that when they get past your receptionist.

Spam filters work well on the email issue.

If I pick up the phone, I will give them under 30 seconds to make a point and then get rid of them. If I get a voicemail or email, I will listen and not respond if I am not interested.

I was a software salesman once, you can't take it personally.

The one time I was really offended was when I attended a show and entered my name in a draw. The company who had the booth sent out an email to everyone who didn't win telling them so. One of the people who received that email harvested all the addresses and sent us another business invitation. I was upset that company a paid good money for a booth, held a draw, and company b stole the email addresses. I told the person from company b in no uncertain terms that as someone influential in my company I would make sure that we would never do business with someone with that kind of ethics.

James

In general, I ignore cold callers, but if I have opened the door to conversation, then I will respond, even if it is to say "No interest."

For a cold caller on telephone, I will break in at the first pause and say "Thank you for calling, but I am not interested." and then hang up. Voice mails and e-mails I will delete without thought.

At a conference, I will typically only visit booths that I have some interest in. I will not give out my conference pass card, business card, or any contact information unless I want follow up information. I tend to come out of conventions with a nearly empty shopping bag, because I only visit booths that I want a follow-up call from.

Be selective in who you give contact information to. If you are truly interested in something, be prepared for a follow-up call and demonstration.

You don't have to return sales calls. And there's no reason you have to follow their lead when you take sales calls. If I'm not interested in discussing a product or service with a sales caller, I come right out and say so.

I often interrupt and say something like, "Look, I'm really not interested, and I don't want to waste my time, and I doubt that you want to waste yours. So since this phone call is a waste of both our times, perhaps you'll do better with the next guy on your list." That usually keeps unwanted sales calls in the 10-15 second range.

I'm usually very blunt and to the point, but never rude -- unless they persist, that is. Then, depending on what they say and how they say it, I'll either just hang up or go into the verbal edition of my idiot link.

My phone is for my benefit, not anyone else's. And the same applies to my time, only more so.

We have a handy little feature on our phone system, Send to voicemail. If I don't recognize the number, it gets sent to voicemail. 90% of the time, it's someone cold calling. If I'm interested in what they have to say, I call them back, if not, I don't.

But you might want to in some cases.

Most of the time I ignore them. But some people are persistent. For them I give them one chance to listen to me tell them I'm not interested and if they call again I sternly remind them of the last call. At that time I throw in the word 'harrassment' which has always worked so far.

Also, with caller ID, if the phone rings Private I don't answer. If it's a number I don't recognize, I don't answer. I let my vendors know this, to be sure they leave messages in case they call from a new number or if I have a mind lapse and forget who they are.

I was once a telemarketer. Hated every minute of it because I knew I was bothering someone that didn't want to be bothered.

Now that I'm on the other side, I'm glad we have a receptionist. If I don't recognize either the name of the person, or the company they are calling from, they go straight to voice-mail. If they are a product we were interested in anyway (and sound like at least a [i]half-way[/i] decent person - and by this, I mean not like a complete slimeball of a sales-person), I'll give them a call back. Otherwise, I am an entire IT department, which leaves me very little time to deal with sales calls.

to get to your phone then no you don't need to talk to them. And, you are not the one being rude when that happens.

I agree with Mae on the voice mail. It's a good way to screen the calls and still gives you a chance to call back if it does sound like you might be interested. Otherwise the delete button works great too.

I usually tell them at the conference that I'm "not interested in a sales call - you guys just have neat toys."

I don't usually hear from anybody unless they have a drawing of some sort that asks me to leave a card if I'm interested. And I don't have a problem telling those I do hear from that I'm not interested.

Sure NOT. Why should you.
I myself get hundreds of those a week. Even spam-filters don't get all of them out. My rules, in my email-program, filter all the email-addresses not in my address book to a read(brows) later(never) folder.

Unless you have time to spare, I sure don't have, you can think about the ones y'll maybe are in need of someday. But how can you tell if this will be.

The ones that think that your company will benefit (and you will(according to them) otherwise they wouldn't have contacted you) from their products, and they from you, will contact you again. You can take those from there.

Rob

... with what is new or better.

If they are stuck on "keeping to budget for IT in line", then no.

In the context of my business I have to be on the phone with people all day, cold calls, warm calls and long standing relationships. If a potential client decides that they don't want to return the call I have made to them.. I move on , I learned early in my career, every call is worth $ to me. But I am never offended when calls and messages go unanswered.. it's part of the game...in this day and age, I have learned it's better to build a network , than be a pest. Let's face it... if they have to lie to you to get your attention .. you don't want to do business with them anyway !!
My two cents worth... have a great day .

The guy who called with an accent so thick he could have been from another planet, and said "Hi, my name is Jason McCall." (Or something like that.) I gave him some friendly advice. What the heck, we're all in this wacky life together. He entertained me.

My voicemail is full of these calls. I rarely pick up the phone unless I have to. Even if a sales call slips through the cracks, I usually tell them to send me something through the mail.

I just don't have time for the calls anymore.

They are not much more than used car salesman, forget em. I should know, I was one of them :))

I own my own business and I get tons of calls everyweek. Sometimes I can't even get to my clients phone calls because everyone wants me to use their services or products. The way that I usually get them is by telling them to send me a media packet and a contract for me to look over. Then I go through the contract with a fine tooth comb, have my partner read it, and then we go back through the contract and highlight all the crap in the contract that would not benefit our company. Once I had called back someone that was trying to get me to get a credit card machine. He and I got into it so hot that he got upset and asked me whether or not I had any faith in my business. I told him that it was not a thing about faith in my business, but rather knowing the difference between faith and foolishness. Then I told him that my faith in by business is none of his business and that his only business was to make sure that he doesn't call me anymore. Nevertheless, it is better to tell them upfront that you are not interested and don't want to be troubled or contacted. Also let them know that you need their services at a later date that you will call them.

Simply when I get one of those calls, I don't wait. When I've established what kind of call it is, I say "I'm sorry, I"m not interested" and hang up. I simply don't have time to talk to them.

Responding to these sales calls is nothing more than a judgement call. There really is no proper protocol. While you can't avoid these people, there are some things to help minimize the irritation. I never give out direct contact information. The email addy I use has an auto responder message nicely stating my contact personal requirements. My ROE (rules of engagement) if you will. The phone number I give is for voice mail. If a sales person has to resort to deceit to get to see me then I personal have no compulsion to be nice.

I only talk to sales people who represent company from which I have requested information, or who have a product I am interested in.

Any others that get through, I tell sorry but I have no need or interest at the present itme. If that changes I'll give you a call.

If you can avoid giving all of your contact information, do so; it can cut down those sales calls a lot.

You have to do whatever it takes so you can get your job done.

I've been where you are. It was very hard to be rude, but if you don't learn it now, you will eventually. Only call the vendors you are interested in. Otherwise, it's a waste of your time and theirs. I don't believe they really expect IT managers to return their calls anyway. It's not personal, it's business.

Ignore them.

I generally give everyone a couple of minutes to present what they do or have to offer even if it does relate to what I am doing at the time. It is surprising how many times someone has presented something, that at the time seemed of minimal value, turned out to be very helpful in the following weeks. Get the main idea, keep the contact information, but if they get pushy well then it is time ignore them.

I agree with Donstrayer: Answering ever call can be a large timewaster. If I do not recognize the caller ID on the call, I will let it go to voice mail. You would be surprised how many cold callers do not leave a message. If they do, you can delete it without causing offense (if that sort of thing bothers you :). And there is always the possiblity that the product/company can be useful. Admittedly, not most of the time.

I get a lot of calls in regards to salesman attempting to get me to buy expensive toner cartridges for my printer; or saying that we have a standing PO for the cartidges, and wouldI like to have that filled at this time.

I simply tell them that I have a service contract with the HP, therefore I must buy my cartridges from HP. But if they will honor that contract, then I will buy from them.

All of them have said a quick goodbye after they hear that.

For any business to succeed, a sale must be made.
The same cannot be said for IT. In the total scheme of things and as much as we may dislike owning it, IT is not the most important department in the company.

Although I now happen to be in IT, I was in sales for a time. For all of us, whether in IT and/or sales, I hope each person gets treated as well or as poor as one treats others.

The company secretary will ask me if I want to talk to such and such from wherever - and most times I ask if my mail address can be passed on to the caller, as I am very often busy.

Most callers will then email with the details of their sale - some do not and keep pestering our switchboard, or refuse to leave details, which is a strange thing to do.

I must admit that some of these calls have been very productive. Some people have called after I have taken part in an online survey, or have downloaded information packs through emedia rapid request email alerts. Some of these have resulted in great cost savings for my company.

Others - such as reps from course providers, are quite rude to our receptionist when I am 'unavailable' - I even had to write a strong email message to one asking them not to call again. One sales rep rang every day for two weeks and refused to leave any details with the receptionist and would not email me with her details. She was also quite aggressive. When she did ring and I was free, I discovered her sale was completely pointless - and she was taken aback that my company was not interested!

I have found that those sales people who are genuinely interested in providing a better service for your company are often calm, intelligent and polite. They usually respond well to questions (without any umm and err and ahhh etc), do not get flustered, and are not aggressive. However, run of the mill sales people can be spotted immediately by their tone.

I usually respond to emails either in the negative or positive accordingly, and have learnt to be quite firm with those people who are trying to get you to buy something even if you do not need it.

Talking to these folks has resulted in some positive moves for our company, and those definitely outweigh the useless time-wasters.

So I have to say, yes - talk to them, you might get a great deal on a product, or an enhancement to your existing infrastructure.

As an IT manager, I too get alot of calls, and probably from the same sources that have sold your name to the solicitors. Personally, I feel since I did not solicit information, I am therefore not obliged to return the phone calls. We all have our vendors we like to work with and have built up a trusting relationship because they deliver the right equipment / software on time and in a courteous manner - these are the people I work with.

Also, as I'm the type of person who doesn't like pushy sales people. If they get through to me, I just tell them point blank on the phone, I'll contact you if I want a competative bid, but for now I have a working relationship with a group of vendors and don't require your services, please take me off your list.

Annoying... isn't it! I download for educational purposes, and when I get a call, almost guaranteed, I just say so. In your position, I'd tell them politely, but without wasting any time, I'll call YOU... if I want to. "Thank you"...

Absolutely not. This is a pet peeve. We've had sales people call us, and if they manage to get us, we let them tell us what their product is about. In one case, we'd signed a contract, and had already started installing a huge system, when a salesperson called. When we told him we weren't interested, he called administration, threatened a lawsuit for unfair competition, the whole enchilada. We ended up listening to him, letting him buy us lunch, then had great joy in telling him that the contract had been signed, we'd now installed, and since he couldn't do healthcare specific, then we couldn't use him. Thanks for lunch, chief.

If someone shouted in your face years ago that e-mail was the next biggest wave, would you go with that company? If they were incredibly rude to you, would you deal with them on any level?

The "smart" sales person knows when to start, and when to quit. The stupid ones don't get the sale. It's really just as simple as that.

There are plenty of companies that offer much the same services*. I choose the best product with the best representatives. Afterall, I will have to deal with them alot afterwards! I'd better be comfortable with them. There will always be someone down the road with the same or better product, so what makes that company's reputation, representative or product better than everyone else? What sets them apart?

They better at least represent the company well if they want me as a client.

Just as you are judged by your appearance, (IE a potential employee showing up to an interview in jeans and a NIN t-shirt, the interveiwer will assume you are a slacker and not hire you), so are products judged by their sales people.

[i]*Unless you are M$... Then you created a monopoly the rest of us are stuck with likely until the end of time.[/i]

The greatest advantage of VOIP is that you can answer your office calls anywhere there is an internet connection, I see that as a tremendous value for any business that has a decent amount of volume, especially Law Firms maybe you should have let the sales person educate you more there is a reason why it is one of the fastest growing segments in Technology.

If one of the attorneys are home or out of town working out of a hotel, the other employees and Senior Partners, etc don't have to track them down they simply push the exact same extension button they always did and connected to them just like the person is in their office. Unless there is a surplus of time in your office or everyone is always present and accounted for it could be useful not to mention save time. For attorney offices that split cases with attorneys in other states to satisfy local bar requirements its an invaluable tool.

I say this and I don't even sell it, I'm just aware of all its possibilities.

They should have to go through some form of answering machine or a secretary whereupon it is you who decide's who you want to talk to.
Being a nice guy and wanting to be polite, we try to answer any and all that come our way.
However, you've hit the nail right on the head when you said that "they interfered with you doing your job". You weren't hired to be at the beck and call of theses people you were hired to get a job done. This is your first duty and by definition, must be your first priority.
I would concentrate on that and not worry about these sales people, after all, they don't seem to mind the fact that they are wasting a lot of your valuable time.
I would choose a day when I decide who I want to callback and then let it be known to one and all, don't call, I'll be far too busy.
Organize your time and above all, stop trying to be so nice, we all love nice guys, especially salespeople, they use them shamelessly in their relentless pursuit of sales. Stay nice but don't play the fool, let them know what You want, you're the client aren't you, you pay? Your the Boss.
Nough Said
Good Luck
Regards
Aaron

I am the cold-caller. What gets me is that I usually represent companies that you have never heard of who have great products, services, or solutions. When you stop me, you stop the flow of entreprenurial spirit and yes, you are probably losing out on something that could really help your business. I happen to have strong knowledge of technology and more importantly the business landscape and can probably tell you a few things about how to improve processes. Not all salespeople are "clueless" or "uneducated", although that is true in some cases. When you do not return my call or email which I have taken a great deal of time to think about and craft, you waste my time equally. If you are so busy doing things, then I also assume you are not strategic and not someone enabled to make a decision anyway. Those who present ideas or solutions to help the business usually are promoted to higher levels, we - the pesty salespeople - can help you. View us as the enemy, we are, view us as a resource - you too can be a CIO.