Like many of you, I receive my share of “cold calls” from sales people who believe their product or service is the solution to what keeps me up at night. And, like many of you, I find myself declining their offers to speak or meet with me long before they even have their foot in the door.

Let’s assume for a moment you are the sales person. Let's also assume the product or service you are selling really does hold some perceived value to your prospect. The reasons your prospect is not interested may have more to do with timing, budgets or competing priorities. If your cold calls are being met with rejection, how then do you keep the door open to potential sales opportunities in the future?

For starters, differentiate yourself. Remain positive, even in the face of rejection. Thank your prospect for his or her time, add a personal touch to your message and offer to be of assistance – if not now then in the future.

Here’s an example of where this was done well. It’s a recent email I received from a sales person who was cold calling me (the name of the sender was changed to preserve anonymity), in response to a rejection note I had sent him:

Duane,

Thank you for your note and kind follow-up.

Have a terrific 2012 and please do not be a stranger. We’d be happy to help any way we can.

Mark

The tone, the content and the offer to help made me feel good about the idea of potentially working with him in the future. While I do not know if it will ever happen, what I do know is I will be more receptive to any future communications I receive from him and his company.