Do you feel that saying “This did not meet my cleaning needs…please leave my house” would be ineffective?
How about not wasting everyone’s time by having them give you a demo for a product you aren’t interested in?
Take off and nuke the saleperson from orbit - it’s the only way to be sure.
I sort of fell for this once. I got a call from a place that claimed to be training young people in a career of sales and I would be doing them a favor by letting the kid demonstrate a vacuum cleaner and I would get a free gift. Normally, I’d have said no but I was moving out and had pretty much everything out of the place and was cleaning up, so I figured what the hell.
Well, the kid comes over demonstrates the vacuum then tries the hard sell. I explain I wasn’t interested I was moving. He said that it was his understanding I intended to buy the cleaner and that was why I let him come over, he was basically saying I was obligated to buy it. I explained that no, I was told he was only practicing his sales pitch and I was supposed to get a gift and that is all I agreed to. He keeps on and I ask him to leave as I had to leave myself. He says he can’t that he has to make a sale or he’ll get in trouble, so I asked him to call his boss and I would talk to him. He called his boss and he tries the same approach, I keep telling him that I agreed to nothing but the demo and a gift and if he didn’t tell his employee to leave I would call the police to have him removed and I was very serious. This finally convinced him and the kid left and I never got my gift which was probably worthless anyway.
I knew better then but figured I didn’t have anything to lose since the place was cleaned out, I was leaving and my phone would be turned off the next day. But the aggravation wasn’t worth it. Never again.
I’m a saleman, and a damn good one, but I don’t do hard sales. We work on developing long term relationships with our clients, and don’t burn customers. I would never work for a “hard sell” company; I’d rather wash dishes in a restaurant first.
I’ve had to do my share of cold calling, although now I’m the manager, my staff does more of it now. We’re polite and remarkably non-persistant, since we take “no” for an answer. In fact, we try to get a “no” if the person is the wrong type of client, so that we don’t waste their time or ours.
I get my share of people calling me, and am always polite but firm. When someone starts their pitch I interupt by thanking them for the call, letting them know that I’m not interesting and then I pause. If the other people then stops their pitch, I will say goodbye before hanging up. If they persist, then I may or may not say “no thanks” again before hanging up. You owe no obligation to answer any further questions.
There are a number of sharks swimming around the expatriate community in Tokyo. Mostly they are “financial planners” and there are enough of them, that I don’t give my card out to everyone I meet, like I used to. I treat them the same way as I do with other sales people, though. I’ll decline nice and then hang up if they persist. Just because I’ve met them doesn’t mean that I will let them control my time.
On no account would I allow a high pressure saleman in my house or to make an appointment. As others have said, the aggrevation of dealing with these creatures isn’t worth whatever they do.
We sometimes get walk up sales people to our office, and I’ve instructed the staff to not spend time with them. Get a copy of their material and their name card, don’t give out your name card and don’t stand there listening to them. Tell them that we’ll get back to them if we’re interested and say goodbye. Walk back to your desk. If they follow, smile and ask them to leave. We’ve never had to worry about the next step, would would be to tell them to leave or the American boss comes out of his office and rips them a new hole. 
I don’t feel sorry for sales representatives who use high pressure tactics, nor for people who try to get a free housecleaning without any intention of even listening to a sales pitch. I would probably not willingly spend ten minutes with either participant in this little self abuse drama.
Don’t ask for a demonstration of a product you don’t want. It’s dishonest. No means, no, but you already said maybe. If your maybe means no, then just say no.
Tris
My usual line with all unsolicited calls or visits is the same: “No thanks. I’m not interested”. Then I immediately hang up the phone or shut the door. Even the world’s best salesmen can’t do anything without an audience.
Yes, that was my first thought too. He has your telephone number. He will certainly try to schedule another appointment.
Yes, I’ve done this a few times to telephone consultants trying to sell me some wondrous new “investment” plan.
Q: Mr Cunctator, you’d agree, wouldn’t you, that you pay too much tax?
A: No, not at all. I really feel that I should pay a lot more tax. Somebody has to pay for all of those schools and hospitals.
The conversation usually ends right after that.
yep, I’ll chime in as a salesman. I know there are a lot of obnoxious ones out there that won’t take no for an answer.
That said, poor guy is trying to make a living.
IMHO, if you sign up for what is clearly a sales based “freebie”, then you are also agreeing to bothnallow someone to make a sales pitch and acknowledging that there is some “reasonable” probability you’re interested in purchasing something along the lines of what is being pitched.
IMHO, if you’ve got no desire or interest in what is being sold, then don’t go for the freebie. I *personally * think the OP is being a little something. Not sure what the correct word is. Not dishonesty, but certainly not being upfront. Ya want the free cleaning but have absolutely no intention of buying something. It would be a lot more honest to tell the sales guy "I wouldn’t mind a free cleaning, but I’m just not in a position anytime soon to buy anything. Ya still want to come over?
I turn down sales guys all the time. I’m nice once and obnoxious after that.