6 Sales Call Stats to Help Your Cold Call Confidence

BY Rachel Cagle
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Even the most experienced sales reps can get intimidated by sales calls. You only have a short amount of time, sometimes seconds, to get a complete stranger to agree to a meeting. For as much as sales calls may scare you, “calling prospects is still one of the more effective roads for sales reps to take,” says Jay Fuchs, writing for HubSpot. There are some sales call stats out there that may bring you some comfort, though.

Sales Call Stats

  • Best Days to Make Cold Calls
  • Best Times to Makes Sales Calls
  • Average Number of Decision-Makers
  • How Many Cold Calls to Make

Sales reps have plenty of strong beliefs about when they should make their calls and who they should call and when they should give up. Let's compare those beliefs with what the buyers have told us in our research.

Tuesday and Wednesday are the Best Days to Make Cold Calls

No one wants to do more work than necessary on Mondays and Fridays. So, it makes sense that the best days to make a sales call are in the middle of the week. According to stats in our 2021 Voice of the Buyer Survey, Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the best days to reach out to a prospect you've never previously connected with. Keep in mind that most sales managers hold meetings on Mondays. And, by the time Friday rolls around, many people are taking the day off.

Mornings are the Best Time for Sales Calls

The results of our Voice of the Buyer Survey 2021 also indicate that 52% of SMB buyers prefer to be contacted by sales reps between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Perhaps they prefer to be contacted while they’re still putting together their plan of action for the day. It's bound to be better than when they’re in the middle of something later in the day.

There are Generally Between Six and 10 Decision-Makers

You’re lucky if you get the decision-​maker on the phone on your first try. But Fuchs points out that, according to research from Gartner, “The typical buying group for a complex B2B solutions involves six to 10 decision-​makers.” As such, you need to be prepared to talk with a lot of people. That means having a way to organize all of their goals and preferences in order to create the perfect deal for all of them.

You’re Likely Struggling with Organization and Consistency

Another of the sales call stats highlighted by Fuchs has to do with organization and cold call consistency. ValueSelling Associates, Inc. research says that 60% of reps are not organized and lack consistency with their outreach to prospects. Don’t be one of these reps. Keep track of whom you’re calling and when. That way, you’ll know when it’s time for a follow-​up call if you don’t hear back within an allotted amount of time. It will also keep you from potentially calling the same prospect multiple times and leaving the same introductory message.

You’re Also Probably Giving Up too Quickly

According to ValueSelling Associates, Inc. sales call stats, 53% of B2B sales reps give up too quickly during the cold calling process. It can be tough to not hear back from a prospect you have reached out to several times. You may also be worried about coming off as a pushy sales rep. So, how many cold calls should you be making to each prospect? According to a SalesFuel blog highlighting MTD Sales Training research, five is the magic number. “By doing a minimum of five follow-​ups, you’re giving yourself adequate time to diagnose what isn’t working or still needed and to adjust accordingly,” writes Jessica Helinski. After the fifth cold call attempt, you can take that prospect off your outreach list.

You’re Probably Giving Up Too Quickly Part 2

Sales reps’ reservations about the number of sales calls they’re making don’t stop at cold calls. Even after you’ve identified and reached the decision-maker(s), you likely still have many sales calls ahead of you. Fuchs cites Crunchbase data when he points out that the average number of calls made before closing a sale is six. This can seem like a lot during the process, but don’t lose hope too soon. “The best things you can do for yourself here are remain confident, stay well-​informed, build solid rapport, and have faith in yourself and your offering,” says Fuchs. Remember, there are likely more decision-​makers involved in this process than you may have been expecting. Give them time to sort things out. Don’t give up on a prospect that could turn out to be a great client.

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