When Is the Best Time to Make a Cold Call?

There can be no doubt that making an effective cold call isn’t easy. It isn’t easy to get the contacts that work for your dream client’s company to answer the phone, let alone agree to a meeting. When people ask this question, they are looking for help in two areas. First, they want to make their calls when they are most likely to answer the phone. Second, they want an advantage that helps them acquire meetings.

What the Research Says

There is research that suggests that the very best time to make cold calls is early Thursday morning or late Thursday afternoon. The reason you might suspect this to be true is that people are busier early in the week. They may struggle with the idea of agreeing to an additional meeting when they are staring into a full calendar and more work than they can easily accomplish in two months, let alone a week.

That said, there are other opinions from salespeople who make cold calls that are worth exploring.

Monday Monday

Some excellent salespeople start their Monday morning by making calls to their dream clients. They believe that decision-makers are back at work on Monday and focused on producing results. Those who swear by Monday think their prospective clients are trying to plan a productive week, making it the perfect time to call them to ask for a meeting. Monday callers tend to believe they increase their chances of getting the client on the phone and a meeting because fewer people are calling them, something that is likely true.

Thank God It’s Friday

Like some people love Monday, others prefer Friday. Their logic for making calls on Friday is the exact opposite of those who call on Monday. They believe that people are more likely to answer the phone as they are winding down their week. They also suspect that their contact can give them more time at the end of the week, as they have less to do. More people work from home on Fridays, and many use those days to catch up on administrative work. Those who love Friday believe it is the best day to make cold calls.

Beat the Sun Up Callers

Those who are genuinely committed to prospecting tend to call in the mornings. They don’t look at days to make calls because they pick up the phone first thing every morning without fail. The reason they make their calls as soon as they get to work is that the longer the day goes on, the more likely that someone or something derails their plan, and they miss the opportunity to make their calls. They prospect with urgency in the morning because they don’t want to miss the chance to schedule meetings.

There are advantages to blocking time to make your calls in the morning. First, if you miss a contact on one day, you increase your chances of reaching them later in the week. Second, and more important, is the fact that disciplined effort over time always produces better results than a sporadic approach. A ninety-minute block and a proper prospecting sequence does wonders for your results.

Strategically Timed Calls

When you are trying to reach a decision-maker, you often find yourself speaking to a gatekeeper, someone who can either grant or block your access to the contacts you are trying to reach. People who are frustrated by the process of convincing the gatekeeper to allow them access try to find ways to make cold calls at odd hours, hours that executives are working with no one else around.

People who try to call at times the executive might have to pick up their phone dial them at 7:30 AM, a time when most executive assistants will not yet have arrived at their office. They also call during regular lunch hours for that same reason, and when that fails, they try 5:30 PM or Saturday morning.

The Truth About the Best Time Make Cold Calls

There is no best time to make cold calls. Were you to seek the truth, the best time to make a cold call was yesterday; the second-best time is now. Some salespeople book calls on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Others make cold calls and book meetings all hours of the day, every day.

Because selling is two sets of activities that occur in a particular order, opportunity creation and opportunity capture, you need to spend the majority of your time pursuing your dream clients and meeting with them. The more time you spend working on gaining the meetings that result in new opportunities, the more success you will have as a salesperson.

Whatever you believe, block time daily to make cold calls, and use a valid prospecting sequence to improve your results. Don’t worry so much about the day or time you make calls. Instead, focus on trading enough value for your contact’s time that they will agree to the meeting. Make sure you have conviction in your voice so that your connection believes you believe you are going to create value for them. Then, persist for as long as you need to get a meeting.