Dear vendor, here's why I won't call you back.

I'm contacted daily by vendors who want to do business with the company that employs me. Like most people, I screen my work calls, and as is likely also the case with most people, I choose not to call most vendors back.

If you're a vendor, I don't mean this to be offensive; you're working hard to secure new business, and I respect that. But from my vantage point, here are some things NOT to do as part of your cold-calling process.

• Call daily, or several times a week, over a period of weeks. If you've left two messages and you haven't heard back, chances are we don't need what you're offering.
• Try to glean information that's none of your business. One vendor left the following message: "If nothing else, please just call me back and let me know who's doing your lead gen." That makes no sense. If I'm not interested enough to call you back, I'm not interested enough to allow you to engage me in a conversation about your competition.
• Talk to me in a condescending fashion. "I see you're new to your role, so you may not be aware that..." No, I haven't been in my position all that long, but if you've done enough research to know I'm pretty new here, you also must have seen I've been in communications a long time, and it all works the same.
• Act as though you know me. This is a fairly new trick, and it's disingenuous and cheesy. "Hey, Lisa, this is Ginger. You might not have my new number; give me a call back at (number here) and let's catch up." This one's a variation on "talk to me in a condescending fashion." You know I don't know you, and I know I don't know you. Just stop.
• Skip the "May I have some time on your calendar?" and hit me up for "the day and time that work best." Whoa, cowboy or cowgirl -- the first step is persuading me that I need your product or service. (And if we both know I don't need what you're offering, a meeting is going to waste the time you could spend closing a deal with someone else.)

We couldn't do what we do without the help of a select group of talented vendors. And here's how my manager and I chose them: Each of us reached out to individuals or companies from whom we'd gotten great results in past lives, or we appealed to colleagues or friends for recommendations.

In a recent instance, I needed a talented local designer willing to work quickly and on a budget, so I solicited names from a trusted friend whose professional materials look and read well. Because the designer values not only this new connection but his existing connection with my friend, he's worked to exceed our expectations.

Whether you're cold-calling me or someone else, please don't overthink. Call once, maybe twice, and leave a message; better yet, send an email. Be concise, respectful and appreciative of the time; tell me what you're offering and why I might need it, but don't be presumptuous. Be friendly, but not fake-warm.

You have a winning personality, or you likely wouldn't be in the job you're in, And directly and indirectly, we're all in sales, and I don't always sell myself and my company's products and services perfectly, either. As much as anyone, I'm a work in progress.

But be yourself. Be genuine. Pique my interest about working with you, and it's much more likely I'll reach out and want to know more.