Marketers at Work

Anyone who works in the management department of a business will have to deal with marketers on a daily basis through email, telephone, mail and sometimes you have to interact with them directly. Dealing with sales people can be very frustrating as it is their job to convince you to invest in what they have to offer.

Lets say a local newspaper wants you to run an add in their paper. You see this as a good opportunity for advertisement and visibility, however your company's budget wont allow the asking price. If you do not want to deter them from seeking your business in the future, you will not want to give them an outright "no" as an answer. Instead, it is better to be indirect and suggest that it is something you may be interested in, however you must consider your tight budget for the remainder of the year. You should acknowledge the benefits this could have for your company and if you are truly interested in the product or service being offered, you should invite the rep to visit you at an agreed date in the new year. If it is a service or product you are not interested in at the time, you can let the sales representative know that you will think about it and that you will be in contact with them should you choose to purchase their offer. Finally, if it is something you are absolutely not interested in, you can either use a direct approach and tell them "no, thank you i am not interested." Alternatively you can take the indirect approach and say the businesses budget cannot accommodate for any other expenses this year.

What other approach or method could you use in similar situation?