It is a tough economy and it is understandable that people might stretch a little.  However, if you are being completely dishonest, it will not help your prospects in the long term.   In the last week I have several calls from people trying to get my business.  Some were selling things and others were trying to get my firm to sponsor events.  In each case the caller made a misrepresentation in an attempt to speak with me.  A couple claimed that they were returning my call or that I had expressed interest in their product.  No one at my firm was familiar with the company and I certainly had no interest in their product.  The moment I realized that the person calling had lied to get through to me, the chance that I would ever do business with the company - for any product or service - went to zero.

Likewise, someone left me a voice mail indicating that we had called about sponsoring their event.  I was unaware of the event and probably would not have been interested even if I had been.  However, the mere fact that the caller lied to try and get a return telephone call told me not to do business with them again.

I always wonder why someone thinks I would do business with them if our first encounter is based on a lie.   It may work in the short term by getting some confused individual to listen.  However, in the long term it creates a lot of people who are no longer potential customers.