When is the Best Time to Cold Call?

“When is the best time to cold call? I have had so many opinions and discussions with others suggesting the best times to cold call, however, these do seem to regularly contradict each other. Please let me know your thoughts?”

If you want to be successful selling by phone and want to know when is the best time for making cold calls, unless you’re waking them up out of bed or stealing them away from their family dinnertime, start by worrying less about “when’s the best time” for your prospect and focus on when is the best time for you! When will YOU get the best results from your cold calling efforts?

The Best Time to Cold Call – What I’ve Found to Work Best

Try dividing your sales calls up between cold calls and follow-up calls.

You want to separate your call list into two categories and focus your calls on one category at a time (it helps you get into a rhythm and keeps you focused).

Most salespeople come in and start with their follow-up calls first because they are “easier”. That strategy has a steep downside in my opinion.

Quick Question: which takes less energy: Cold calling or making calls to prospects you’ve already spoken with?

Cold calling, by far, takes more gusto and energy. Now… when do YOU have the most energy in a business day? Most of us would say from A.M. till Noon.

Follow-up calls are easier and take less effort as there is usually some groundwork already completed.

You aren’t doing yourself or your prospects any favors if your energy level is down and you wait until the afternoon to start making your cold calls.

What if a follow-up call was scheduled during cold-calling time?

Let’s not overcomplicate things. If you have a prospect that wants a follow-up call and it’s during the time you have carved out for making cold calls, your prospect requesting the follow-up call takes precedence.

But unless you have a SCHEDULED / CONFIRMED follow-up call in the morning, I recommend doing your cold calls FIRST (Morning till Noon, as an example) for the simple reason that it will take more energy on your part to make cold calls.

PS… This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make cold calls in the late afternoon… I’m simply saying do the bulk of them when you have the most energy and you’ll get the best results back for your efforts.

PSS… InsideSales reported that the best time to cold call was between 8 AM and 9 AM, and I’m all for starting the day strong; however, don’t interpret their report to mean that calling during other times is not effective.

– Michael Pedone

Michael Pedone teaches inside sales teams how to pick up the phone and close business. He is the CEO/FOUNDER of SalesBuzz.com – An online sales training company.