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When is the Best Time to Cold Call in 2024:
Days, Hours & Data
The average response rate for a cold call is around 3%*. But by choosing the best times to call prospects, you can boost your odds of success by <30%*.
Leads aren’t waiting on the phone for you to call them. They need to work, eat, and sleep – all in their unique time zone. But working with these needs instead of against them is one of the most powerful cold-calling practices, right up there with call scripts.
It’s no surprise then, that businesses are eager to find all the ways to optimize their outreach with cold call hours and best practices. In this article, we’ll help you do just that. Find the best days and times of day to cold call, along with all the supportive data below!
Key takeaways:
- Choosing the right time for cold calling is crucial, as calling during peak hours increases the chances of reaching and engaging prospects, while the wrong times will leave you waiting on a dial tone.
- The best times to cold call are late mornings (10 AM to 11:30 AM) and mid-afternoons (2 PM to 4 PM), as prospects are more likely to be available and attentive during these hours.
- To improve outcomes, leverage AI-powered tools, workflow automation, and cold calling scripts to streamline your process, prioritize leads, and maintain consistent, effective messaging.
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What Is the Best Time of the Day to Call Prospects?
As explained in the intro, the best time of day to cold call entirely depends on the prospects’ daily schedule. However, since it’s impossible to account for variations across your entire pipeline, you need to generalize and target the biggest possible pool of leads.
Historical research by Revenue.io shows that the best times to call prospects are in the late morning and late afternoon. If you reach out before 8 am, chances are your leads are still sleeping. At lunchtime, they’re likely eating, and afterward, they tend to work.
Therefore, if you want to maximize your chances of talking to a prospect, you should call them either between 9:00 and 11:30, 15:00 and 16:00, or 17:00 and 18:00. That way, you can be fairly certain that your leads are awake and still productive.
For more specific time frames, PhoneBurner found that out of 11 million sales calls, the ones made at 10 am had the highest success rate of 15.53%. As for contact attempts made to key decision-makers were most effective in the afternoon hours above.
What Are the Best Days of the Week to Cold Call?
People have weekly schedules, just like they have daily schedules. The start of the week tends to be consumed by follow-ups and prep work for the days ahead, while the end of the week is usually reserved for EOW catch-ups and well-deserved rest.
Due to that, it stands to reason that the best days for cold calling are in the mid-week. Research supports this as well.
According to Yesware, out of 25k calls, the most successful were those made on Tuesday and Thursday via a sales dialer. Meanwhile, CallHippo found the best day to be Wednesday, with <50% more first-contacts than Monday.
Better, Faster, Stronger Cold Calls with Dialers
What Is the Worst Time to Cold Call?
Aside from holidays, weekends, and night-time hours, when outreach can be illegal due to TCPA, the worst time to cold call is…
Monday morning and Friday at any time at all! If you want to maintain your pipeline velocity and not waste agents’ time on unanswered calls, you should definitely avoid reaching out to prospects during these days.
How to Improve Response Rates?
Your call center’s cold call response rate is one of the most important metrics that encapsulate how successful your outbound efforts are as a whole. Even though it does not account for conversions, it tells you how many people pick up your calls.
That information alone gives you the insight to understand your pool of qualified prospects to turn into customers. And if you want to land more deals, it’s not enough to just convert more, but also build a more substantial pipeline. And for that, you need:
Response Time:
Outside of what we discussed in the previous sections, the best time to cold call is right after a prospect has interacted with your content and you’re top-of-mind. According to Drift, responding within 5 minutes increases your chances of contact by 10x.
However, this requires you to be agile and have access to a CRM integration that can handle live touch-point updates in real-time. Otherwise, the odds of contact fall by up to 80% after the initial 5-minute window.
Follow-Ups:
No one likes to feel like they’re bothering someone. Unfortunately, that’s a part of cold calling. You can’t let yourself be turned away by a single failed contact, as recent stats show that landing a conversation usually takes around 3 attempts, and can go up to 18.
Despite that, 35% of prospects never receive a follow-up call, which can be attributed to poor record-keeping and an incomplete sales process. We recommend you leverage a multichannel approach to follow-ups, and take advantage of automation to save time.
Key Tips for Cold Calling Success
There’s more you can do to improve your response and conversion rates than just optimize the times of your outreach and follow-up with prospects more often. Below, we’ll discuss some of the things you can do to boost your results even further.
#1: Save Time & Effort with Workflow Automation
Create custom workflow automation for routine tasks that help you keep up with your pipeline, without overloading your agents and letting them focus on what they do best. Streamline follow-ups, automatic responses, smart routing, and more.
Learn More
#2: Unlock Insights with AI-Powered Tools
AI-powered tools can analyze data, predict the best times to call, and offer insights into what messaging works best. Prioritize leads and improve your outreach, leading to better conversion rates thanks to emotion analytics, topic extraction, and more.
#3: Streamline Operations with Sales Dialers
Choose the right sales dialer for your use case to reach more prospects more efficiently, reducing downtime between calls. Leverage advanced features like smart call recording and transcription for better coaching, and maximize your efforts.
#4: Unite Processes with 3rd Party Integrations
Third-party integrations like CRM and marketing automation tools give you access to enriched data and track call history. These integrations create a smoother workflow between outreach and follow-up, improving the likelihood of a successful call.
#5: Stay Consistent & Effective with Cold Calling Scripts
Cold calling scripts help keep your conversations focused and consistent. A well-crafted script ensures you hit key points and guide prospects effectively. Practice regularly so your pitch sounds natural, tailored to the industry, and addresses prospect pain points.
Learn More
Wrapping Up
Cold calling success depends on more than just persistence—it requires strategic timing and leveraging the right tools. By focusing your efforts on late mornings and afternoons, and avoiding common pitfalls like Monday mornings and Friday afternoons, you can significantly improve your response rates.
Additionally, integrating AI-powered tools, workflow automation, and effective scripts will help streamline your process and boost your results. Implementing these best practices ensures that you’re not just calling more prospects, but calling at the optimal times for maximum impact.
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FAQs
Are late mornings or early mornings better for cold calling?
Late mornings (between 10 AM and 11:30 AM) are generally better for cold calling. This is because most people have settled into their workday by then and are more likely to engage. Early mornings can catch prospects when they are busy or just starting their day.
Should I avoid cold calling during lunch hours?
Yes, it’s best to avoid cold calling during lunch hours (typically 12 PM to 1 PM). People are often away from their desks or focusing on personal time, which reduces the likelihood of getting a positive response.
What if I’m not able to reach my target audience during the recommended time frame?
Yes, researching your target audience’s time zone is crucial for optimizing your cold calling hours. You want to make sure you’re calling during their peak business hours, not your own, to increase the chances of reaching them at a convenient time.
Is 2 PM a good time to cold call?
Yes, 2 PM can be a good time to cold call. It’s after lunch, and many people are back in their workflow, which makes it a productive window for cold calling, especially in the B2B space.
Is 7 PM too late to cold call?
Yes, 7 PM is generally too late to cold call, especially in professional settings. By this time, most prospects have likely left work or are focused on personal activities, making them less receptive to business-related calls.
What is the ideal time to call?
The ideal time to call is typically late morning (10 AM to 11:30 AM) and mid-afternoon (2 PM to 4 PM). These times are widely considered the best for cold calling, as prospects are more likely to be available and responsive.
What is the best time for follow-up calls?
The best time for follow-up calls is similar to initial cold calling: late morning (10 AM to 11:30 AM) or mid-afternoon (2 PM to 4 PM). Following up during these hours increases the likelihood of catching your prospect when they’re available.
