I receive a lot of sales calls on my phone. Mainly from IT companies or people selling advertising, and other crap I don't want/need.I politely tell these people to go away, but usually it's not long before some other company calls me instead.And they always have 'withheld' numbers and act like they're my best friend and like it's really really important to me. Some of them I *do* want to keep in contact with, but want to control when and where I talk to them. The problem is that some of the ones I do need to keep in contact with for various reasons are also ramblers who usually take a minimum of 30 minutes to deal with, and then they call you 3 times a week for the next month.I can't change my phone number for various reasons.I have subscribed to the Telephone Preference Service, but it doesn't work.I don't have a PA, so having someone filter my calls isn't an option either.Any ideas for how I can deal with these time wasters? I never know whether I'm answering the phone to a potential client or yet another salesman.It makes a difference to me if I know who's calling. For instance, I don't answer the phone to a client if I'm in the middle of King's Cross with roadworks going on around me or if I have poor reception - it's better to let it go to voicemail in these situations and call back when I'm somewhere quieter. I sort of get stressed out every time I get a withheld number. If I don't/can't answer, I never know whether I'm missing a client call or a sales call. Any tips/ideas for dealing with this?

Q. Competely unwanted calls when you are busy?A. Hang up.Q. Completely unwanted calls when you are not busyA. String them along for ten minutes - "this is just what I need, but my budget this year is only £20 million" sort of thing - then hang up. Q. People who just won't take NO for an answer?A. Agree to meet them in the Cafe Royal, just off Leicester Square at 11am next Monday. Then forget to go. Twice if need be.Q. Calls from people who you want to keep in touch with but ramble a lot?A.Tell them you're just going into a meeting, but have five minutes, alternatively they can call you back in a few days. After a few days of not getting time with you they'll soon become faster talkers. Alternatively say, "sorry you're breaking up, and hang up on them", when they call back, say you're in a bad reception area and you might lose them again at any moment. Anyone but an idiot will then skip the preamble and come to the point.Q. People who call you too often?A. Tell them they're calling too often. Tell them a realistic date for when you will have an update for them and ask them to call you back then.Its normal that as your career progresses people will start to want face time and talk time with you. Learning how to approtion your time to important subjects/people is just part of becoming more senior.

You could always try this approach.........http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&hl=en-GB&v=J5z4Vs26-TI