12 Cold Calling Statistics In The Sales World

Out of 100 cold calls per day, a sales development representative can turn at least 2 call attempts into warm leads. 49% of buyers expect business transactions through cold calling, making it an effective marketing strategy. 

As an efficient way of reaching prospective customers and decision-makers, many businesses still prefer cold calling to advertisements and emails. 

These statistics show more about cold calling success rates, usage, and popularity in the sales world. 

How Effective Is Cold Calling?

It takes about 209 cold calls to get an appointment. That is the reason why cold calling can be challenging. But, yes, it may be effective if it is done right and with a good script. Many industries have already confessed how cold calling helped them. 

For you to have a successful cold call takes time to achieve. Various responses from prospects or customers can be uncertain. The recipient will either hang up their phone or shout at you. However, businesses still see the benefits of this for their prospects. 

To learn more about cold calling effectiveness, why don’t you look at these statistics on their success rate: 

Cold Calling Success Rate

You may also wonder if cold calling does work. 

There is only a 2% success rate in cold calling. Yes, too low compared to other sales strategies. Yet, experts say cold calling is still adequate to reach customers who might not know about a specific product or service. People prefer to hear about them through actual human conversation. 

That is the reason why still today, you might hear about “cold-calling” everywhere. 

These cold-calling success rate statistics indicate how this strategy is still necessary and effective for businesses. 

1. 27% of sellers confessed that calling is more effective than bulk email.

(RAIN Group, Zippia)

Many companies and individual sellers are succeeding in cold calling this 2023. As stated by RAIN Group research, 27% of sellers confessed that cold-calling is more effective than 5% of sellers say sending email is. 

To support this claim more, Zippia found that companies that do not see cold calling’s effectiveness had 42% lower growth than those that use it. It is almost half of their expected growth. 

According to these statistics, prospects like it when business owners contact them when they want to explore new products. The statistics indicate how customers prefer actual human interaction to automated campaigns. Cold calling makes them interact and exchange questions regarding their queries. 

2. 42% of prospects like it more when cold callers listen to them when doing cold calling. 

(Zippia)

Research shows that 42% of prospects like it more if salespersons listen. Cold calling should be 55% talking to the customers and 45% listening to them. This practice usually is what made many successful cold calls.

These results, cold callers can note how listening to buyers’ needs and wants can get them close to a deal. The statistics also show that cold callers may fail if they are too pushy and lack knowledge about their prospect’s backgrounds.

3. Asking the prospect, “How have you been?” can increase the success rate by up to 10.01%.

(Rain Group)

Cold calling is highly effective, especially if done best. Experts said cold callers could increase their success rates depending on their script. For example, salespersons who ask prospects, “How have you been?” can increase their success rate to 10.01%.

Other statistics show that cold calls can secure 70% of the meeting if they mention a joint group they belong to on LinkedIn. While including the reason for a call can increase it by 2.1%.

As a vital platform for marketing, 92% of B2B marketers prefer LinkedIn to other social media platforms. 

The numbers exhibit one thing: people do not want automated messages. A successful call should sound like more of a human and have honest conversations for people to give their attention to it. 

Cold Calling Usage and Popularity Statistics

Most sales professionals use cold calling to generate new leads and customers. This technique is prevalent in many industries, including business sales and services (B2B). In the cold call industry, more than 40% of sales said cold calling is their best technique to get sales. 

Now that many businesses and organizations still see the effectiveness of cold calling, it gained so much popularity. This part will reveal cold calling usage and popularity statistics that will convince you to give this a chance:

4. The average cold callers make 35 to 45 phone calls daily.

(GETVOIP, Service Bell)

One phone call is not enough to get a potential lead. According to a study, the average cold caller can make 35 to 45 daily phone calls. For cold callers in banks, the average calls reported reach over 100 calls daily. 

This number proves that sales agents and companies still believe persistent calling is effective. They think the more calls, the higher the chance of getting clients. The statistics also indicate that the number of phone calls a cold caller should make differ depending on their industry. 

5. Sales representatives who use 11 to 14 questions have a higher cold-calling success rate of over 70%.

(GETVOIP)

Complete data and appropriate questions can give cold call leads. From the data, sales representatives who use 11 to 14 questions have a higher cold-calling success rate of over 70%. At the same time, sales representatives who only use 1 to 6 questions have a lower success rate than 30%. 

The results are helpful for sales agents to know the proper cold-calling usage. Businesses and customers like it when callers want to know more about them. Questions that have a connection to them will likely get their attention. 

6. Sales representatives who use the cold-calling technique on Wednesday have a 50% higher chance of getting the conversation than those who use it on Monday.

(CallHippo)

Many people hate Mondays, even businesses and potential customers. According to CallHippo, sales representatives who use the cold calling technique on Wednesday have a higher chance of getting the conversation on the first attempt. These two weekdays have a 50% difference between them.

Regarding the best time to use cold-calling, research says to avoid calling your prospects from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM. That is because employees usually take their lunch break during this time. In comparison, the best time is from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM. 

These studies are helpful for sales agents to know how to hit the call button. Cold callers need to know that aside from the proper script, the right time to call must be a priority too.

B2B Cold Calling Statistics

Business-to-business (B2B) Cold calling is a cost-effective strategy to offer other businesses products or services. But, 62% of organizations fail because of relying on data that is 20% to 40% inaccurate and incomplete.

The right time to review the other B2B sales and call statistics is here. Whether you are a salesperson, prospect, or business owner, these numbers will help you achieve the best-desired results on the phone:

7. Inaccurate and incomplete B2B data wastes almost 27.3% of cold callers' time. 

(The Pipeline)

Sales representatives exert effort and time just to close a deal on a cold call. However, inaccurate and incomplete B2B data wastes almost 27.3% of their time. This percentage is equivalent to 546 hours yearly for a full-time sales representative. These hours can still use for other calls rather than going to waste. 

Aside from this, having incomplete data during B2B cold calls can also cause 88% of businesses to lose 12% of their revenue. 

Just like any other marketing strategy, like sending emails, accurate data is essential to take note of. These results show how ignoring things like this may not just miss potential clients but also cause a loss of revenue to the business. Continuing this bad practice may need to slow growth or bankruptcy.

8. About 82% of B2B decision-makers said cold callers are unprepared. 

(The Pipeline)

Opinions from B2B decision-makers are essential to consider to close a meeting or a deal. However, 82% of B2B decision-makers noticed that cold callers often need to be prepared. That includes requiring more information about the company, a wrong way of communication, asking inappropriate questions, and many more. 

The practice of unpreparedness harms every call and will cause you to lose your chance to close the sales. These numbers tell that sales representatives should review all the data by checking all information about the business and clarifying the call's purpose. 

If you’re one of those users who want to prevent unknown calls, there are ways to identify, trace, and even report them through reverse lookup websites, call return and call tracing services, and search engines.  

9. 57% of C-Level Executives are the highest B2B buyers who like cold calling.  

(Finances Online)

According to the research, the highest number of B2B buyers who like cold calling was the C-Level Executives, with 57%.  Next are the Directors, who have 51%, and the Managers, with only 47%. These positions are three of the most critical people to close a deal. 

Numbers like these are essential to note, especially for B2B callers. Knowing which particular positions prefer cold calling in a company will save them time and effort in selling their products. Cold callers can customize their script to adapt it depending on the position they are talking to. 

Real Estate Cold Calling Statistics

Real estate is one of the many industries that use cold calling to get clients. According to The Keller Center, 28% answered cold calls most of the time in real estate. The percentage may be small but still can be a potential source for a client. 

Cold calling in real estate can generate possible customer contacts and create connections with them. Talking to them personally will help both the client and the realtor. That is because clients may ask many questions about this big investment.

You should look for other real estate cold-calling statistics for 2023, and we listed some here. Whether you are a seller or buyer, this may help you in the long run!

10. 57% of realtors say cold calling is the most successful way to get potential clients. 

(Close)

There are many strategies a real estate agent does just to generate leads. 57.7% of them said that among these strategies, cold calling is the best way. This answer by real estate agents made cold calling ranks the top 2 prospecting methods for them. 

These statistics are a powerful indicator of how cold calling is still relevant today, even in the real estate industry. Houses are big investments, so many people are careful when choosing one. The results show how clients like it more when they can hear information directly from their realtor. 

In 2022, the largest homebuyer generation was comprised of baby boomers at 39%.  

11. The survey says more than 200 realtors earned over $250,000 yearly because of cold calling. 

(Gitnux)

Yes, cold calling indeed can generate income. A survey found that more than 200 realtors earned over $250,000 yearly because of cold calling. 

These impressive figures are a testament to how cold calling can be helpful for businesses. The statistics provide significant incentives for realtors to invest and learn cold calling to generate more leads and create higher income. 

12. 75% of potential leads wait up to 2 to 4 cold call attempts before they finally give in.

 (Rev Real Estate School) 

If you do cold calling, you should learn to be persistent. Experts say that 75% of potential leads wait up to 2 to 4 cold call attempts before finally giving in. While only 48% of real estate cold callers will make another call after the first attempt. They are losing their chance to get a client for the following calls they should have made. 

When clients say “no,” they usually want you to convince them still. These statistics indicate that the possibility of ringing their phones 4 times has the highest chance of getting their “yes!” Cold callers, especially in real estate, should not lose hope the first time a client turns them down. 

Final Thoughts

While cold calling is one of the effective sales techniques, it is also a challenging strategy. Sales representatives should note that many people perceive cold calling negatively because of past experiences with aggressive customers. Keeping this in mind, they can change the way they approach.

Cold calling is a valuable tool in the sales process; cold callers should use it strategically. These statistics show that several key factors can impact the success of cold calling. In today’s digital era maximizing technology such as phones will increase the chance of getting potential customers.