The Best Time to Cold Call & More Data-Driven Sales Secrets [Infographic]

Cold calling is one of the most polarizing topics in sales. Reps dread making cold calls, but when executed strategically, they can be an incredibly effective way to fill the pipeline with qualified leads.

The key is knowing when to reach out, how persistently to follow up, and what approaches drive the best results.

Good timing is critical in sales. Extensive research shows that picking up the phone at optimal times can significantly boost the odds of having meaningful conversations with decision makers.

In this post, we‘ll share data-driven insights on the best and worst times to cold call, along with secrets for following up with inbound leads, crafting compelling emails, and more. These findings are culled from an analysis of millions of sales calls and emails.

By the end, you‘ll know exactly how to structure your days and organize your outreach for maximum impact. Let‘s dive in!

The Best Times of Day to Make Cold Calls

When cold calling, the time of day can mean the difference between getting voicemail and getting a decision maker on the line. CallHippo analyzed over 24 weeks of call data and found that the most successful times to cold call are:

• Between 8 am and 9 am: Catch prospects before they get sucked into meetings and putting out fires. Early morning is prime time for a focused, productive chat.

• Between 4 pm and 5 pm: With the day winding down, there‘s a narrow window when decision makers are likely wrapping up and planning for the next day. Calling at this time can align well with their schedule.

On the flip side, the worst times to cold call are:

• Between 11 am and 12 pm: This is often when people are heading to lunch and not at their desk. Avoid calling during the late morning when hunger strikes.

• Between 2 pm and 3 pm: The dreaded afternoon slump hits after lunch, so don‘t bother trying to have a lively conversation when energy is low. People aren‘t in the right headspace.

What about the rest of the work day? Well, 9 am to 11 am and 1 pm to 4 pm are neither ideal nor horrible for cold calling. Results will likely be hit or miss, but it‘s worth testing what works best for your particular prospects and region.

It‘s important to call in the prospect‘s local time zone and be cognizant of when people are typically commuting to and from the office in their area too.

CallHippo‘s CEO Vaibhav Kakkar noted that by using this data to shift more outbound efforts to the most productive call windows, sales development reps saw a 32% higher success rate of actually connecting with prospects. That‘s a huge efficiency gain!

The Optimal Time to Follow Up with Inbound Leads

When a prospect takes an action that expresses interest – like filling out a form on your website, requesting a demo or piece of content, or emailing your company – how quickly you follow up makes a massive difference.

The Lead Response Management Study, which analyzed 3 years of data from six companies, found jaw-dropping stats on lead follow up:

• Vendors that attempted to reach leads within one hour were 7x more likely to qualify the lead than those that waited even 60 minutes.

• The odds of qualifying a lead decrease by over 10x after the first 5 minutes.

• After 10 minutes, the likelihood of connecting with an inbound lead drops by 400%.

Put simply: waiting to follow up is like leaving money on the table. You‘re far more likely to engage prospects when your company is top of mind versus hours or days later when they‘ve likely moved on.

That‘s why having a process to contact inbound leads immediately is crucial, whether that‘s triggering an automated email, a manual email from a rep, or a call/text.

For phone follow up on inbound leads, a rep should make between 6 to 8 attempts to reach the prospect. Just because you don‘t connect on the first try doesn‘t mean you should throw in the towel.

Write Compelling Sales Emails People Will Actually Read

When it comes to sales emails, the shorter the better. Boomerang analyzed over 40 million emails and found that emails between 50-125 words had the best response rates, with response rates declining significantly as length increased beyond that.

The key is to write emails that are easy to read and quickly convey value. A few tips:

• Craft an enticing, curiosity-provoking subject line. Keep it under 9 words and test including the recipient‘s name, company, pain point, or an eye-catching stat. Some top-performing examples are: "[Name], quick question for you" / "Idea to [drive X result] for [prospect‘s company]" / "[Mutual connection] recommended I reach out"

• Personalize the opening line to show you‘ve done your research. Reference a trigger event, mutual connection, or piece of their content.

• Clearly convey value. Focus the body of your email on them, not you. Succinctly explain how you help similar companies solve problems or achieve goals. Where possible, include a customer example, metric, or link to a relevant case study.

• End with a specific call-to-action. Don‘t make your prospect think about next steps. Offer a specific day and time to connect or link to book a meeting. Make it easy to say yes.

• Follow up at least 3 times. Most prospects need more than one touchpoint to reply. Have a systematic cadence for sending 2-3 follow up emails to increase your odds of a response.

Yesware found that email subject lines including the words "steps," "campaign," or "next" had the highest open rates. And emails sent on weekends tended to have higher open and reply rates too.

Track These Sales Metrics to Optimize Performance

Finally, to put all of this advice into practice effectively, you must consistently measure your efforts. By tracking key metrics, you‘ll gain visibility into what‘s working and what‘s not, so you can double down on the most impactful activities.

Some of the most important sales KPIs to track include:

• Activity Sales Metrics: Measure activities like number of calls made, emails sent, social touches, and meetings set.

• Lead Response Metrics: Track stats like inbound lead response time, number of follow up attempts, and inbound lead conversion rates.

• Pipeline Metrics: Monitor pipeline volume and value by stage, average deal size, sales cycle length, and opportunity win rate.

• Rep Performance Metrics: Dig into the number of qualified opportunities generated, revenue won, and quota attainment by each rep.

Regularly review this data to understand what outreach strategies drive the best outcomes. This allows you to create a feedback loop to continuously optimize your sales process over time.

Key Takeaways

We‘ve covered a lot, so here are a few key things to remember:

• The best times to cold call are 8 am-9 am and 4 pm-5 pm in your prospect‘s time zone
• Inbound leads are 7x more likely to convert if contacted within the first hour
• The ideal length for a cold email is between 50-125 words
• Use an email sequence with 3+ touchpoints to maximize the odds of a reply
• Track activity, lead response, pipeline, and rep performance metrics to improve your sales approach

Timing is a critical factor in sales success. But it must be combined with a strategic, data-driven process to produce the best results. By reaching out at optimal times with personalized, value-focused outreach, you‘ll have more conversations with decision makers and ultimately win more deals.