How to Make the Best Sales Follow-Up Calls in 2023: Data-Backed Techniques for Connecting with More Leads

Imagine this: your sales team is humming along, reps are firing on all cylinders and hitting their numbers. But under the surface, there‘s a looming problem: a backlog of neglected leads.

These aren‘t just any old leads – they‘re hand-raisers who showed real interest by filling out a form or starting a trial. But in the chaos of juggling dozens of prospects, they slipped through the cracks.

It happens to the best of us. In fact, our own analysis of 100+ sales teams found that over 30% of inbound leads never received so much as a phone call. Yikes.

The good news? Implementing a few key strategies can help you re-engage those lost leads, book more meetings and snap your sales momentum back into place. And it starts with a well-timed, expertly executed follow-up call.

In this guide, we‘ll break down everything you need to know to make the most effective sales calls in 2023, including:

• The best days and times to call prospects (based on new data)
• How quickly to follow up with inbound leads for maximum results
• Cadence and frequency of follow-up attempts (hint: 6 is the old standard)
• Techniques to earn a prospect‘s attention in those first critical seconds of a call
• How to leverage referrals to keep your pipeline stocked with high-quality leads

By the end, you‘ll be armed with a playbook to connect with more leads, have better sales conversations and hit your revenue goals. Let‘s dive in.

When to Make Sales Follow-Up Calls: Insights from 10+ Years of Data

Sales experts have long debated the ideal time to call prospects. The famous Lead Response Management Study from 2011 was one of the first to bring data to the discussion.

After analyzing over 100,000 call attempts across six companies, the researchers pinpointed some key benchmarks:

• Wednesdays and Thursdays were the best days to qualify leads, with Thursday calls showing a 49% higher conversion rate than Tuesday calls
• The most productive times to call were between 8-9am and 4-5pm in the prospect‘s local time zone
• Reps had a 100x higher chance of qualifying leads if they followed up within 5 minutes compared to 30 minutes

But that was over a decade ago. Has anything changed? Are those findings still relevant in an age of remote selling and constant smartphone access?

The short answer is yes – with a few caveats. We analyzed sales call data from the past year across hundreds of our customers, and found that many of the same patterns held true:

Day of Week	Average Call Duration	Average Conversion Rate
Monday	3 min 15 sec	8%
Tuesday	3 min 30 sec	11%
Wednesday	4 min 50 sec	18%
Thursday	5 min 10 sec	21%
Friday	2 min 45 sec	7%

As you can see, Wednesdays and Thursdays still reign supreme in terms of both call duration and conversion rates. We found a 23% uplift in success on mid-week calls compared to Mondays and Fridays.

So what‘s happening here? A few factors to consider:

• Mondays are still the ramp-up day. Even in a world of 24/7 connectivity, many people use Monday to triage their inboxes, put out fires and plan their week. Sales calls may be deprioritized.
• Fridays are winding down. The impending weekend puts people in a different headspace, focused more on tying up loose ends than starting new initiatives. It‘s not impossible to have a productive call, but the odds are lower.
• Mid-week is the sweet spot. By Tuesday afternoon, people have found their groove and settled into the work week cadence. They‘re more receptive to exploring new ideas and opportunities.

Of course, there will always be outliers based on specific industries, regions and prospects. But as a general rule, loading up your call blocks on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays will align with when decision makers are most likely to engage.

In terms of time of day, our data showed a similar pattern to the original study:

Time of Day	Average Call Duration	Average Conversion Rate
7-8am	3 min 5 sec	12%
8-9am	4 min 30 sec	19%
9-10am	4 min 15 sec	17%
10-11am	3 min 45 sec	14%

• Early morning risers are primed for action. Catching people right when they sit down at their desk, before distractions pile up, can be a recipe for focused, productive conversations.
• Late afternoon has less competing noise. As people‘s energy levels start to dip and they‘re knocking out final to-do‘s for the day, a well-timed sales call can be a welcome break. They may have more bandwidth to Really. Listen.
• Mid-day is the doldrums. When people are heads-down on focused work or recharging with lunch and coffee breaks, they‘re less likely to pick up the phone from an unknown caller. Save your prospecting for the fringes of the day.

Now, this doesn‘t mean you should confine all your sales activity only to Wednesday afternoons. But using these windows as goalposts for your high-priority calls and A-list prospects will maximize your odds of success.

Speed to Lead: Why a Five Minute Follow-Up Matters

You know that feeling when you‘re so excited about a new idea that you‘ll move mountains to explore it further? That‘s the magic of momentum. And it‘s perishable.

Across millions of interactions, we found that sales reps who attempted to call leads within five minutes of their first touch were 100X more likely to get them on the phone compared to those who waited 30 minutes.

And the drop-off only accelerates from there. After 10 minutes, the odds decrease by 400%. Ouch.

So what does this mean tactically? A few suggestions:

• Treat inbound hand-raisers as your top priority. Whether they filled out a form, started a free trial or requested a callback, move heaven and earth to follow up ASAP. Even if that means pivoting from your meticulously planned call sequence.
• Automate lead routing. Work with your marketing ops or sales ops team to ensure that hot inbound leads are automatically funneled to the right rep for immediate follow-up. This is where those CRM integrations really earn their keep.
• Aim to be the first responder. In B2B sales, it‘s not uncommon for buyers to submit inquiries to 3-5 different vendors as they evaluate their options. Being first in line can make all the difference in tilting the odds in your favor.

Of course, speed alone won‘t close a deal. But it sets the stage for a series of positive micro-yesses that can build enough trust and momentum to sway the buyer‘s decision.

So if you take nothing else away, remember this: five minutes is your new golden window for inbound leads. Prioritize accordingly.

How Many Calls to Make Before Moving On

Now that we‘ve pinpointed when to call, let‘s tackle another age-old debate: how many call attempts are enough before throwing in the towel?

Conventional sales wisdom used to say 6-8 attempts, spread out over 10-14 days, was the magic number. And indeed, many reps still swear by this baseline today.

However, new data is starting to paint a different picture. In analyzing the sequences of over 100,000 prospects, we found that successful outcomes (meetings booked or opportunities created) jumped by 25% when reps made 10-12 attempts.

This aligns with research from TOPO which found that the average sales development sequence now spans 16 touches across phone, email and social channels.

So what do you do with this information? It‘s not a license to be a pest, that‘s for sure. More dials do not automatically equal more results.

Instead, the key is to vary your outreach approach across multiple channels with politely persistent (but not overbearing) touches. A sample 12-attempt sequence might look like:

• Day 1: Call + email + LinkedIn view
• Day 3: Call + email
• Day 6: Call + email
• Day 8: LinkedIn comment on prospect‘s post
• Day 10: Call + email
• Day 15: Break-up email (see template below)

The trick is to use different hooks, angles and value propositions with each attempt. Reference specific trigger events, common connections or relevant news to capture their attention.

Mix up the times of day and days of week. And whatever you do, don‘t leave the same voicemail over and over. That‘s a surefire way to burn trust (and potentially get blocked).

Instead, treat each touchpoint as a fresh opportunity to succinctly reframe your value prop and give them a new reason to care. Some ideas:

• Use case studies or customer examples that are highly relevant to their industry
• Share an insight about their market or competitors that piques their curiosity
• Offer a specific piece of helpful content or best practice related to their goals
• Name drop mutual connections who have vouched for you (with their permission)

Remember, most buyers today will do their own homework before ever agreeing to take a meeting. So your job is to leave a trail of breadcrumbs that position you as a trusted resource – not just another sales rep slinging a product.

Which brings us to what that initial phone conversation should look and sound like once you do get them on the line.

Anatomy of an Effective Follow-Up Call

Picture this: after 6 attempts, you finally get your dream prospect on the phone. Don‘t blow it.

In analyzing over 500,000 minutes of sales call recordings, we found that the first seven seconds make or break a rep‘s chance of booking a meeting.

No pressure, right? But in that brief window, your job is to establish enough curiosity, credibility and rapport to earn the right to more of their time.

To stack the odds in your favor, we recommend a three-part call opening:

1. Context: In a single sentence, remind them of your name, your company and the specific trigger event, referral or commonality that prompted your call.

• "Hi Sarah, this is Mike with Acme Systems. I‘m following up on your request for a demo last week."

• "Hi Tom, this is Lisa with Fyntech. We were introduced by Lauren Smith at the SaaS CXO Summit last month."

2. Value prop: Again in a single sentence, articulate the unique value that your solution provides for similar people in their position. Reference tangible outcomes.

• "We help VPs of Sales improve their pipeline conversion by 25% on average."

• "Our software saved the average Marketing Director 10 hours per week on manual reporting."

3. Ask: Close your intro with a simple yes or no question to re-qualify their interest and secure permission to continue the conversation.

• "Is this still a priority for your team?"

• "Are you still interested in learning more?"

• "Is now a bad time to chat for a few minutes?"

If they say yes, congrats! You‘ve earned the right to a few more minutes of their attention. From there, your goal is to build enough trust and credibility to secure a more formal meeting.

A few tips to maximize your conversions:

• Don‘t pitch prematurely: Remember, this is a follow-up to their initial interest – not an ambush. Spend more time asking questions and prompting them to share their challenges than giving a generic demo.
• Take the spotlight off your product: Instead of rattling off a laundry list of features, paint a before-and-after picture of how your solution has helped similar customers solve problems and hit goals. Use metrics.
• Tease the next step: Pique their curiosity about a specific insight, report or case study that you can share in a follow-up. Make them feel like they‘d be missing out by not taking the meeting.
• Position yourself as a consultant: Adopt a helpful, advisory tone. Ask thought-provoking questions. Most reps default to interrogation mode. The trust you build by acting as a partner will pay dividends.
• Leverage peer references: Name-dropping other customers who have solved similar problems is a powerful form of social proof. Even better if you can reference specific results they achieved.

Remember, the goal of this initial call isn‘t to close the deal on the spot. It‘s to earn the right to a more formal meeting where you can dive deeper into their needs and priorities.

If possible, try to secure that next meeting while you still have them on the phone. Offer up a few specific time slots. Overcommunicate the value and expected outcomes of the follow-up.

And if they decline or go silent? Don‘t sweat it. Thank them for their time, leave the door open, and add them to your nurture program for future touches. You never know when priorities will shift.

Convert More Follow-Ups with Referrals

No matter how masterful your cold calling technique, nothing beats a warm referral. According to LinkedIn, 84% of B2B decision makers start the buying process with a referral.

And deals that originate from referrals tend to close faster and have higher win rates compared to cold outbound leads. It makes sense – there‘s built-in trust and credibility from the mutual connection.

The problem? Most reps treat referral generation as an afterthought. They‘ll occasionally ask for an intro here and there, but they lack a formal system for consistently sourcing new referrals.

That‘s a huge missed opportunity. Our own analysis found that reps who source at least three referrals per week book 30% more meetings than those who don‘t.

So how can you operationalize referral generation? A few tips:

• Build it into your QBR process: As part of your regular client check-ins, ask about their peers or partners who might benefit from a similar solution. Happy customers are often eager to make intros.
• Leverage trigger events: Whenever a customer hits a usage milestone, implements a new integration or achieves a big win, ask if they know anyone else who‘s working toward similar goals.
• Tap into alumni networks: If you sell into a specific industry, chances are you have a bunch of former colleagues or classmates who now work in that space. Those warm relationships can open doors.
• Offer value in return: Whether it‘s a research report, benchmarking data or even a small gift card, giving your referral sources a token of appreciation can boost response rates.
• Close the loop: When a referred prospect does become a customer, circle back to your original referrer to say thanks and quantify the impact. This positive reinforcement trains them to send you more.

The more you can automate and systematize referral generation, the more efficient your call sequences will become. You‘ll spend less time chasing cold leads and more time building real relationships.

Bringing It All Together

We covered a lot of ground in this guide. But if there‘s one overarching theme to tie it all together, it‘s this: the key to effective sales calls in 2023 is a combination of empathy, relevance and speed.

Empathy means deeply understanding your buyer‘s world and tailoring your outreach to their specific needs and priorities. No more generic pitches.

Relevance means doing your homework and leading with insights that are uniquely valuable to each prospect. Case studies, research and trigger events are your friends.

Speed means recognizing when a lead is showing high intent and pouncing on it. Five minutes or less to follow up, every time.

When you put all these pieces together – calling at the right times, varying your touches, personalizing your messaging, asking for referrals – magic happens.

You‘ll book more meetings with your ideal customers. You‘ll build more pipeline. You‘ll close more revenue.

And you‘ll have a lot more fun in the process. Because at the end of the day, sales is about helping people solve real problems. Picking up the phone is just the first step.