Do one of the following:
1. Talk with a fake accent and change the subject alot.
2. Repeat everything they say back to them everytime they speak, kinda like Groucho here:
I understand scammers and telemarketers who use these kinds of tactics, but these are both legitimate professional services companies selling software and high-end network storage equipment. It's entirely out of character, in my line of work, for the types of vendors I deal with to behave this way.
^ This works ^Tell them they have reached the wrong person and ask them to hold. I do that at home when stupid people call. Then I set the phone on the counter and go about my daily chores. Vacuuming floors, banging things around in the kitchen, singing at the top of my lungs but very off tune....they usually don't call back. If they do, I ask them just how stupid they truly are but not quite that politely. If they are still there, I ask them again to please hold.
Most likely they are still calling you regularly because they have a Asshat boss that is making them call you.
I always tried to be as polite as possible, but didn't know people considered me to be a "scumbag salesman" for doing my job.
Not all scumbags are salesmen, not all salesmen are scumbags.I have been in sales for over 25 years.
Oh, it's easy. You just set up prompts: "Press 1 for the technical department. Press 2 for the sales department." and so forth. The very last level takes you back to the beginning regardless of what you press. The fun part is that you can add levels any time you get bored and have a few minutes to record prompts. The beauty is that you never hook it directly to your main business voicemail tree. You assign it to a dummy phone extension and then just forward calls to it based on Caller-ID or incoming phone number. The only way for someone to fall down that particular rabbit hole is to accidentally dial the extension or to be deliberately routed to it.
Did you keep calling even after they asked you to stop?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you supposed to be able to tell them to remove you from their list.
And if they don't, you can document it and turn it over to the BBB.
You have to say "Please add me to your Do Not Call list". Simply saying "stop calling" is insufficient. If they fail to do so, you can sue them for $500 per instance under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act or for violating the Do Not Call Implementation Act. The Better Business Bureau is a private organization similar to Angie's List that has no legislative or punative authority, except for their members.