2 min read
How many times have you asked yourself that question? Well, from now on you can save yourself the trouble, because here’s the answer: the best time to make cold calls is between 10am and 4pm.
InsightSquared analysed more than 10,000 sales calls to identify the optimum time in the day to connect with a prospect. The results are high-value information for salespeople and managers, as they help you get more out of each call.
You can achieve this in two ways:
As the graph shows, making a high volume of calls in the morning (8am-9am) to capture the attention of your prospect isn’t the best strategy. The optimum response tends to be after 10am. And in the afternoon there’s a clear drop-off: leads are less alert to sales calls after 5pm, when many people are finishing things off before leaving the office.
You can refine your strategy further by adding other variables. Did you know, for example, that Tuesday is the best day of the week to achieve a sales impact?
After Tuesday (which has a connection rate of 10%) there’s a gradual decline in interest, with the lowest interest point on Friday (8.7%). The difference of 1.3% may seem insignificant, but it has a clear impact on your results. What’s at stake is profitable use of your time – and training of your team – to make effective cold calls that result in sales.
Salespeople responsible for prospecting have a limited amount of time in the week to do so. If Tuesday between 10am and 4pm is the ideal moment to cold call, you can plan the rest of your week accordingly. Do so with agility, and avoid spending time on prospects that are not interested in buying. We should point out that the best time and day of the week also depends on the industry you work in. For an accurate picture, make sure you analyse your own call data.
What should we do during the “down” times?
Easy: use them wisely! It just so happens that the worst times to use the phone to identify leads are also the best for sending emails. Jena McGregor of The Washington Post points out that the most common time to consult emails is between 6am and 8am, before starting the working day.
According to time management experts, if you want to stand out in a prospect’s inbox the sales impact should be made in the morning. The highest email Clickthrough Rate takes place over a coffee, early in the morning, in public transport on the way to work. That’s the time we typically review our daily workload and delete irrelevant emails.
What’s your strategy? Have you worked out the optimum time and day to make cold calls and send sales emails? Let us know in the comments below.
