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Cold calling is a sales strategy that involves phoning a potential customer unsolicited in the hopes of getting them to buy your goods or services. Granted, cold calling isn’t always the most popular of sales strategies with recipients, but if done correctly, it can absolutely provide you with another avenue to revenue.
Modern tools, such as VoIP systems, can make cold calling more efficient and cost-effective by enabling seamless connectivity and call tracking.
In this guide, we’ll show you some cold-calling statistics that demonstrate the value and limitations of the strategy, as well as success rates, conversion rates, and best practices for cold-calling potential clients and customers.
Top Cold-Calling Statistics
Before we explore every angle of this arguably controversial strategy, here are some of the most useful cold-calling statistics:
- The average cold call success rate was 2.3% in 2025 (Cognism’s “2025 State of Cold Calling” report)
- The best day to cold call is on a Tuesday (Cognism’s “2025 State of Cold Calling” report)
- 78% of business leaders have attended an event or scheduled a meeting as a result of a cold call (GrowthList)
- Between 10am-11am is the best time to cold call prospects (Cognism’s “2025 State of Cold Calling” report)
- Cold calling outperforms email by achieving a response rate that is 5% higher (Jobera)
As you can see from these stats, there are some positive reasons why you might want to try more cold calling as part of your business strategy. But let’s dive a little deeper to get the full story.
Cold Calling Success Rates
The success rate for cold calling is pretty low, with only 4.8% of cold calls actually reaching their desired target. However, there are a few ways to make that work for you and your business.
How many cold calls should be made a day?
Cold callers are encouraged to take a ‘quantity over quality’ strategy to optimize that 4.8% as much as possible. As a result, studies show that salespeople should be aiming for as many as 60 calls a day, and it can take at least 5 follow-up calls to turn a prospective customer into a lead.
How long should each call be?
If you really want to be successful when it comes to cold calling, you have to be a bit strategic. According to research, the most successful calls last between 5:50 and 7:30 minutes, so try to aim for that range when talking to potential customers.
Studies have also found that there are good times of the day to call to increase your chances of a successful outcome. The best times to call are 10am-11am and 2pm-3pm, while the worst times to call are 7am-8am and 5pm-6pm.
How often should you follow up on a cold call?
First time is not the charm when it comes to cold calling, despite 44% of sales reps giving up after just one attempt.
The reality is that you have a much better chance of converting a cold call if you’re willing to follow up, and you’re going to have to do it a few times to get a response. In fact, studies show that 80% of successful sales calls require five or more follow-ups.
Cold Calling Conversion Rates
Yes, the average 4.8% success rate for cold calling is quite low. However, if you can commit the time to reaching as many leads as possible and following up, you might be able to beat those stats, and depending on the value of each sale, it might be worth your time.
For starters, 82% of buyers say they’ve accepted a meeting that started with a cold call, which should inspire confidence for those getting bogged down by the arduous task. Even better, 18% of cold calls reportedly become high-quality leads, so there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
As for how to ensure your calls are converting, studies have shown that 69% of buyers value active listening the most, so don’t just stick to the script when cold-calling potential clients. Additionally, 93% of the success of cold calls relies on the attitude of the caller, so make sure you aren’t taking out your workday frustrations on your potential customers.
Best Practices for Cold Calling
If you think cold calling is a sales strategy that could benefit your business, the key to your success will be in getting those calls right. The only way to truly take advantage of the gains associated with cold calling is to follow some best practices.
Be personable
Considering the number of cold calls the average sales representative is making, it can be easy to forget that both parties on the line are actually human beings. The best way to ensure your cold call is worth the time is by actively listening and making a genuine conversation with your potential customer, and that can come in many forms.
For starters, the language you choose is very important. Studies found that opening with the common phrase, “Is this a good time?” was 6.6 times less effective than starting with a simple, “How have you been?”
“You should focus on building real relationships, not just pipeline for your CRM. This priority, in my opinion, should be on creating lasting relationships over the quick wins. Regularly meaningful interactions are just so important.” Neil Cameron, Senior Digital Sales and Marketing Advisor at Digital Marketing Institute.
Don’t hesitate
“He who hesitates is lost”, particularly when it comes to cold calling. In fact, sales reps who contact a lead minutes after receiving it are 100x more likely to make contact and 21x more likely to qualify them, so make sure you don’t take your time when it comes to reaching out to potential customers.
Leave a message
In the modern era, more than 94% of calls from unknown numbers are going to voicemail. While many sales reps may think that means you’ve missed out on a sale, the reality is that a well-crafted, confidently delivered message can improve the chance of converting by up to 22%.
Best Business Phone System for Cold Calling
So, you’ve decided that you want to try cold calling. The next question is – what is the best business phone system to help you in this endeavor?
Unfortunately, it’s a little more complicated than that. There are business phones for all manner of industries and use cases, from Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phones, to deskphones, to conference phones, to softphones. A good place to start would be to decide on what kind of functionality you’re looking for and work backwards from there.
For example, we ranked the Polycom VVX 601 as our best overall VoIP phone for business due to its exceptional ability to handle large volumes of calls. If you want to hit that magic number 60, it could be the way to go.
As you can tell, there are clearly some benefits to cold calling as a sales strategy. From higher-than-expected conversion rates to the potential for high-quality leads, your business should at least consider it if you’re looking to branch out and explore new ways to attract customers.
Still, you need to remember how important best practices are to the success of a cold-calling campaign. Considering the success rate for cold calling is quite low, following the steps we’ve laid out in this guide could be the difference between a new revenue stream and a lot of wasted money.
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