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Cold Calling Statistics Sales People & Businesses Need to Know

Do cold calls still exist? Many people will probably claim that it has become extinct, that its time has passed, and that its effectiveness is gradually waning. 

Luckily, the practice is not fully extinct. In truth, firms in a range of industries may still benefit greatly from cold calling. To determine whether cold calling still works and, if so, how to do it more efficiently, several businesses have conducted research and polls. 

In this list, we’ve compiled a number of cold calling statistics from a variety of different reliable and reputable sources. Let’s start with some general cold calling statistics. 

General Cold Calling Statistics 

 

  • A salesperson will cold call for 7.5 hours on average to get 1 appointment or recommendation.
  • One out of every 59 calls that are actually answered results in an appointment or referral.
  • Higher quota achievement is closely correlated with more chats per day.
  • 90% of CEOs claim they never respond to telemarketer calls or emails.
  • Every 209 cold calls made by an average salesman result in around 1 appointment or recommendation.
  • An inside sales representative may make 33 cold calls each day on average.
  • Inside sales representatives typically have 6.6 conversations every day.
  • A human person is not reached in about 72% of cold calls. 
[Sources: The Bridge Group, Baylor University, InsideView] 

Cold Calling Success Statistics 

 

  • 82% of buyers who are approached by salesmen agree to meetings.
  • In the previous year, 69% of purchasers consented to at least 1 cold call from a salesperson.
  • According to phone call data, almost 51% of business owners say they prefer to hear from sales representatives via phone over email, fax, drop-in visits, and other media.
  • A representative needs to make 6 calls on average to sell a good or service.
  • A B2B call is still a successful initial step in a well-planned prospecting approach, according to 27% of salespeople.
  • To reach a prospect, an average of 8 cold calls are required.
  • A voicemail box is used for 80% of calls.
  • Only 2% of customers say they prefer not to speak with salespeople while making their purchases.
  • A cold call is the preferred initial method of contact for 49% of customers.
  • The majority of technology purchasers, 54%, favor cold calling. This is higher than consumers of professional services at 50% and financial services at 40%.
  • 1% of cold calls result in scheduled appointments.
  • 20% of senior B2B decision makers said they always react to cold contact. 
[Sources: CRMNext, Rain Group, Velocify] 

B2B Cold Calling Statistics 

 

  • After the first contact, more than 30% of leads never get a follow-up call.
  • Sales professionals may boost the conversion rate by 70% by just making a few additional calls.
  • The majority of C-level customers, 57%, prefer phone contact.
  • Representatives for B2B technology often make 35 calls per day on average and chat with potential customers for 55 minutes daily.
  • Consumers are concerned about fraud in unrecognized calls in 92% of cases.
  • Unidentified callers have a 79% unanswered rate.
  • Cold calls that are successful last for 5:50 minutes as opposed to failed ones for 3:14 minutes.
  • The success percentage of sales people who explain why they are calling is 2.1 times greater.
  • Reaching prospects during the final hour of the workday, between 4 and 5 PM, is an excellent idea.
  • ”How have you been?” is a better way to start a cold call in order to set up a meeting.
  • The length of the longest sales prospecting calls is 14.3 minutes on average.
  • The best days of the week to call prospects are Wednesday and Thursday.
  • Between potential leads who get a follow-up contact within one or two hours of submitting an inquiry and those who don’t at all, there is a 450% difference in response time.
  • When pricing is addressed on the first call, win rates increase by 10%.
  • Cold calls with monologues from salespeople are more effective.
  • Cold calling, according to 63% of sellers, is the most difficult aspect of their work.
  • When making a cold call, bringing up a link might boost your chances of getting a meeting by 70%.
  • Longer monologues by salespeople result in more effective cold calls.
  • When making a cold call, asking ”Is this a poor/bad time?” decreases your chance of setting up a meeting by 40%.
  • Most companies and consumers anticipate that during the upcoming 12 months, they will utilize voice calls more frequently or less frequently.
  • Proactive outreach takes the form of cold phoning, and 82% of buyers agree to meetings with vendors who do so.
  • The majority of responders (42.1%) claim that their most successful sales tool is their phone. 
[Sources: Hiya, RAIN Group, Gong.io, Sales Insights Lab, Crunchbase, Revenue.io, Call Hippo]

Sales Rep Cold Calling Statistics 

 

  • On average, salespeople connect with C-level decision-makers in 39% of their cold calls, 72% of their second calls, and 93% of their third calls.
  • Only 28% of cold calls are returned, while 55% go unanswered and 17% go to unreachable numbers.
  • One cold call out of every 59 results in a meeting or a recommendation.
  • Along with CRM software, email, and social networking, 41% of salespeople consider their phone to be their most crucial professional tool.
  • One appointment or recommendation may be obtained after 5 days of cold calling, which takes an average of 1.5 hours each day. Both of these are seen as successful results of cold calling.
  • The average number of calls it takes for sellers to reach a technology buyer is 18.
  • One out of every 10–11 people who requested to be contacted back at a later time during a cold call ultimately expressed some kind of interest. 
[Sources: Baylor University, Zippia, TrackoLab, Gartner]

The Success of Cold Calling

The cold calling success rate is the percentage of sales calls that result in a successful sale. The average cold calling success rate is around 2%. This means that for every 100 sales calls made, about two will result in a sale.

There are a number of factors that can affect the cold calling success rate. The most important factor is the quality of the leads. The better the leads, the higher the success rate will be. Other factors include the skill of the salesperson and the script that they are using. It can be challenging when many people who are called are not interested in what the caller has to say. They may be busy, they may be annoyed at being called, or they may have no need for the product or service being offered.

Another factor is that many salespeople who make cold calls are not properly prepared. They haven’t done their homework on the person they’re calling, or they’re not familiar with the product or service they’re selling.

Finally, the success rate statistics of cold calling are low because most salespeople give up too easily. They make a few calls and, when they don’t get the results they want, they give up and move on to something else.

Although the success rate of cold calling is not so high, it is still an extremely valuable sales technique. This is because it is such an efficient way to reach a large number of potential customers. When used correctly, cold calling can be a great way to generate new business.

Despite the rise of technology, cold calling remains an effective sales strategy. Here’s why:

  • It allows you to reach new customers
  • It allows you to build relationships with potential customers
  • It allows you to learn about potential customers’ needs
  • It allows you to introduce potential customers to your products or services
  • It allows you to create a database of potential customers
  • It allows you to follow up with potential customers
  • It allows you to build your brand
  • It allows you to generate leads
  • It allows you to close sales
  • It allows you to create repeat customers

If you’re considering making cold calls, there are a few things you can do to improve your success rate. First, make sure you’re properly prepared. Do your homework on the person you’re going to call and be familiar with the product or service you’re selling.

Second, don’t give up too easily. It takes a lot of persistence to succeed in sales, and the same is true of cold calling. Make a large number of calls, and don’t give up until you get the results you’re looking for.

Finally, remember that the success rate statistics of cold calling are not 100% accurate. There are always going to be people who will buy from you, even if the odds are against it. If you make enough calls, you’re bound to find them.

Overall, cold calling is still a popular sales method for many companies, but it’s not without its challenges. By developing a sound strategy and producing enticing scripts, cold calling can drive more sales each month while helping to develop lasting customer relationships.

Here at Leads at Scale we help companies generate 1,000’s of calls each month with our effective cold calling service and US based Business Development Specialists. Schedule a meeting to learn more.

John Dubay

John Dubay is the Managing Partner at Leads at Scale, an outsourced sales support company that helps B2B companies generate well-qualified leads at scale, ready to be closed.

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