You’ve got a killer product, a clear value prop, loads of customer proof and an airtight list of good-fit prospects. Calling these leads should be a breeze — so why aren’t you connecting?
Like it or not, even the most well-prepared sales rep can crash and burn by simply timing their cold calls wrong. Thankfully, there are data-driven insights that improve cold calling outcomes if you apply them.
ZoomInfo analyzed more than 1 million sales calls to find the very best days to reach out to your cold prospects. Here’s how we did it, and what you can do to put it into practice today.
Our Methodology
To determine the best days for cold calling, ZoomInfo analyzed data on more than 1.4 million outbound calls to new business accounts, over several months.
Key metrics in the analysis included:
- Call connect rates
- Demo volume from cold calls
- Call-to-demo conversion rates
- The ratio of positive to negative calls based on sales reps’ assessments
The findings revealed clear trends on which days work best for cold calling.
The Best Days of the Week to Cold Call
The middle of the week — Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday — are the overall best days to cold call.
Tuesday and Wednesday, with 44% of total demos coming from both days to cold call, are the best of the three, with Thursday a fairly distant third place.
Here’s how each day of the week stacks up as the best day to make cold calls:
Monday
Despite a high connection rate, Monday is not a top day for demo creation, which is dominated by Tuesday and Wednesday.
However, Monday’s results do show the highest efficiency (call-to-demo) rate of 1.19% — indicating it’s a good day for converting calls to demos. Mondays also share the highest positive call rate with Tuesdays at 4.8%.
A major factor keeping Monday out of the top tier is simply volume: because the call volume Mondays is about 15% lower than Tuesday, it’s reasonable to assume that a higher volume would drive efficiency metrics down.
Tuesday
Tuesday is the top-rated day for cold calling.
Tuesday has the second-highest call volume in our sample, and the highest call connect rates — usually, it’s much harder to keep a high average with so much more volume, but Tuesday’s calls pull it off.
Tuesday also ties Monday for the highest positive call rate (4.8%) while maintaining a relatively even negative rate. Tuesday calls also drive the most demos, along with Wednesdays.
Wednesday
Wednesdays are the second-place cold calling day.
Wednesdays have the highest volume of calls in our sample, and a connect rate that is noticeably lower than Tuesday’s. Positive call sentiment is also markedly lower on Wednesday — an indication that perhaps some of those calls could be rolled to Monday or Tuesday to seek better performance.
Together, Tuesday and Wednesday account for 44% of all demos in our sample. When looking at Europe, Middle East, and Africa, we found that from an overall effectiveness standpoint, Wednesdays improve with a higher connect rate, call positive rate, and cold call-to-demo conversion rate.
Thursday
Metrics begin declining on Thursdays, though it remains the third best day for demos.
However, it’s a distant third behind Tuesday and Wednesday. Connect rates, positive rates and demos all decrease compared to earlier in the week.
Friday
Fridays perform worst on every metric — lowest call volume, connection rates, demos, and positive rates by a substantial margin.
What Are the Worst Days for Cold Calling?
Monday and Friday are the worst days for cold calling — and for good reason.
Anecdotally, on Mondays, workers are getting back into the flow of the work week and are catching up on work that was left from the prior week.
On Fridays, many people take time off, leave work early, or may not be as productive and focused on work as they are in the middle of the week.
In the middle of the week, potential customers have acclimated themselves to the current work week and are more flexible, and more willing to answer a phone call and consider a sale.
How can sellers react? For one, tailoring your ask and framework to the prospect’s behavior can still pay off later in the week, when a harder sell or direct pitch might not land. Instead, sellers might consider using Friday calls as a way to tee up concepts for the week ahead.
“Reaching decision-makers on a Friday can be tougher, but prioritizing your efforts at the executive level can still pay off later in the week,” says Sean Dwyer, a senior director of sales development at ZoomInfo. “As the week winds down for them, you’ve got an opportunity to introduce a fresh idea to explore as they finalize their calendars for the following week.”
Reach the Right People at the Right Time
By prioritizing your outreach to the middle of the week and applying proven strategies around personalization, objection handling, and other best practices like the optimal time to cold call and pattern interruption, you’re well-positioned to connect with more prospects and drive better results.
Still, it’s important to remember that these insights aren’t etched in stone. Consider the long list of variables that go into landing a cold call, and remember that success ultimately comes down to providing value to your prospects — it’ll win you more business in the long run, no matter when you’re selling.