When Is the Best Time to Make a Cold Call?

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“Too often salespeople rely on existing relationships to drive sales that, if we’re honest, would most likely happen even if they were automated,” says Justin Roff-Marsh, founder of Ballistix, a global leader in sales process improvement, and author of The Machine: A Radical Approach to the Design of the Sales Function. “If you want to see your business grow beyond your current sales, your salespeople need to make significantly more outbound sales calls than your competitors’ salespeople do.”

An outbound sales call, or cold call, is, quite simply, an outbound selling activity in which the salesperson calls a potential client or customer with whom they have not previously conducted business — though Roff-Marsh recommends first establishing a point of connection by campaigning through an approach email or mailer. When conducted correctly, an outbound sales call can yield new revenue for your company.

“Calling at the wrong time of day or even in the wrong season can cost you a potential sale, though,” warns Roff-Marsh.

Timing is everything when it comes to making a cold call. Here, we’ll explore the best time of day, the best day in the week, and other factors to consider when trying to land new clients.

Best Times of the Workday to Cold Call

Research gathered from over nearly 14,000 cold calls by CallHippo found the two best times to call during the day:

Best: Between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m., or just before the end of the workday. Indeed.com theorizes that most people have completed their tasks by this time and are unlikely to begin new ones.

Second-best: Between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m., or just before lunch. Again, people try to finish up tasks before their lunch break, which means you’re less likely to interrupt them in the middle of something. Try not to call during lunch, though. No one likes to answer the phone with a mouthful of sandwich.

Worst: Calling before 10 a.m. isn’t advised. Most people spend this time on administrative tasks, dealing with urgent requests, or completing unfinished tasks from the day before. Companies that conduct daily meetings tend to hold them first thing in the morning.  

Best Days of the Week to Cold Call

Best: Wednesday is the best day of the week for cold calls, followed closely by Thursday. Hubspot explains that by mid-week, people have settled into their workloads and will be more receptive to a call.

Second-worst: Mondays are notoriously busy days, with people gearing up for the week ahead. Mondays are also popular for team meetings.

Worst: Friday has been nominated as the worst day for cold calls. Reasons include people trying to get tasks finished by the end of the week, focusing on the weekend ahead, and not wanting to commit to anything new in the final hours of their working week.

Other Timing Factors to Consider When Cold Calling

• Time zones: Use a tool like timeanddate.com to track time zones. This will help you avoid accidentally calling people outside of work hours and can be used to plan out your call schedule. For example, if you are targeting the 4 p.m. to 5 p.m bracket, it makes sense to start with prospects in EDT, then move on to CDT, MDT, and finally PDT.
• Busy seasons: Busy seasons vary across sectors. Retailers, for example, are frantically busy during the holiday season (late November to early January) and are unlikely to want to start a new relationship with a salesperson during that period.
• Holidays and conferences: Make sure you plan call volume around popular holiday/vacation periods, and be aware of when the conference season runs in your industry.
• Fiscal year: This is an important one. Catching a prospect towards the end of the fiscal year can be a smart move because 1) they may have finished up major projects, 2) they may be in budget planning mode, and 3) they may have leftover budget to spend. Keep in mind that fiscal year dates vary.  

This article was sponsored by Ballistix, a global leader in sales process improvement. 

Image Credit: Amir Ridhwan / Shutterstock.com