The Agony of Saying NO to a Sales Call

 I don’t know if it’s just for me or for the others as well who are tilted towards the sales function. But I find it rather difficult to say a NO initially to a sales call that I get. I know what you are thinking now. It’s the sweet deceptive  female voice that does the trick eh? Trust me; I am never gender specific on this. (To my old friends – I’m a changed man now Okie??) Being in sales, I know exactly how much of an emotional roller coaster sales calls can be. Not to speak of the target pressure from supervisors. So, the least I can do as their prospect is to give them a fair hearing.

Sometimes, I do feel that I am wasting their productive time by listening to a sales pitch at the end of which I would probably deny any interest in buying. But I am not quite able to bring myself to say that heartless NO initially when the entire effort of the caller is focused towards getting that two minutes of time with me on explaining the product/service. Queer? Maybe a small minority of them consider me a sadist for wasting their time. But most callers end the call on a pleasant note with a feeling of having done their part.

I have tried my best never to abruptly end any sales call leaving the caller in a state of abyss.Nor have I spoken rudely to any caller ever since the day I qualified as a prospect for them. On the one odd rare occasion where some poorly trained caller has challenged my patience levels, I have had no choice but to forcibly end the conversation. This occurrence even though rare, fills me with remorse and guilt albeit only for a short while. In those very short moments I visualize, Managers of the narcissist variety shouting and scaring the living daylights of the hapless callers and a plethora of negative emotions enveloping the callers faces.
Sigh!... Being less imaginative would have its own advantages I guess.