Ooh, you shouldn’t do that, Mary - you may already be a winner of any one of 1000’s of awards in an independently-scrutinized draw that has already been made. Simply by accepting their no-obligation offer of a subscription to a magazine you’ll never read, a club you don’t want to belong to, or a shedload of stuff that would look most at home in a landfill site, your six unique numbers would be matched against etc., etc.
While we get tons of junk mail, lots of junk phone calls, and loads of spam, we get almost no door-to-door sales at all. I think it may have something to do with the huge number of hand guns on the loose in this country. 
I find it funny that the UK folks in this thread think they get alot of telemarketing calls if they get 1 or 2 a week. Take a look at Shagnasty’s post. He gets 5 or 6 calls A DAY. This is typical for the US.
The best way in the US to stop telemarketers from calling you is to register with the Direct Marketing Association. They maintain a list of “Do Not Call” requesters that all reputable direct marketers use.
You can find them at www.the-dma.org. I think the service is free if you write or call, but there is a small fee if you use the online registration.
Here is a more direct link:
Am I one of the few who was ever subject to telemissionaries and telewitnessing? When I lived in Las Cruces, New Mexico several years ago, my friends and I experienced telemarketing-style calls from those witnessing. Literally, someone would call, and say something along the lines of …
“Hi, my name’s Paul, and I’m from the New Hope Spirit Joy Life Christian Center. Can I ask you a couple of questions? Do you acknowledge the Lord Christ Jesus as your personal savior?”
I believe that higher quantities of junk mail may relate to U.S. Postal Service policies. Advertiser who send in bulk pay lower rates, and perhaps the U.K. postal service does not offer the same benefit.
No, the Royal Mail does offer special rates for bulk deliveries.
In case anyone in Britain want to reduce the amount of junk mail they get here is a link to the website of the Mail Preference Service Crusoe mentioned earlier. FWIW, the site also contains a link to the Direct Marketing Association, which it claims was established in 1917.
I suspect that since witnessing is generally a less common religious activity here than it is in the States we needn’t worry too much about getting the type of calls elmwood mentioned. I expect I’d just walk away from the phone and let them get on with it if that happened to me.