Cold calling remains a powerful sales technique, even in today’s digital age. Nothing beats the human connection that happens when you hear a friendly voice on the other end of a call. 

Every week, our team connects with thousands of sales professionals who make cold calls daily. They’re sharing with us firsthand what’s working, what’s not, and what new challenges sales professionals face as we look ahead into 2024 and beyond. We’ve compiled a list of the most exciting, research-backed, key cold-calling statistics that shed light on the current sales landscape. These statistics can help you plan your new year accordingly.

The statistics we have to share with you today reveal:

• Why buyers love to connect over the phone
• How your social media presence could impact your cold calling results
• The best time of the week and day to make cold calls
• The power of AI to boost cold calling success

Looking to build a sales team that excels in cold calling and drives real results? Contact Peak Sales Recruiting today to find the right talent for your team.

Understand Your Clients Preferences With These Cold Calling Statistics

Buyers love to connect. Let’s kick off our cold calling statistics list with some of the best news we have about cold calling coming out of 2023. 

1. On average, 49% of buyers prefer that initial contact be made via cold call (Zippia). This means prospects may be more receptive than you imagine to cold calls.

2. This statistic increases to 50% for buyers in professional services and 54% for technology buyers (Zippia).

3. 57% of C-level executives and VPs list cold calling as their preferred method of being contacted. (RAIN Group).

4. This is compared to 51% of directors and 47% of managers (RAIN Group).

Powerful Cold Calling Statistics to Leverage for Success

These statistics are important when considering the impact of cold-calling on your company.

5. It takes an average of 8 cold calls to reach a prospect and book a meeting (Outplay). That means most calls aren’t answered and might be seen as ‘unsuccessful calls’. However, the results of individual calls can’t measure success in a cold-calling strategy; it’s a long game! Cold calling requires commitment and comfort with delayed gratification from your sales representatives. 

6. Overall, cold calling has an average 2% conversion rate (Zippia, Kently). This is totally normal and in some cases considered a success.

Before we discuss how to improve your sales reps’ cold calling, let’s discuss effective marketing strategies. 

7. 82% of buyers believe a company is more trustworthy if it’s active on social media (BrandFog). It’s less work for a buyer to confirm your trustworthiness through this social proof than to call you back and try to discern firsthand. Start considering your social media strategy as part of your sales process.

8. Additionally, 77% of buyers are more likely to buy from a company if the CEO is active on social media (BrandFog), so get your leaders involved, too!

Stats to Help Improve Your Cold Calling Results

Following industry best practices are a great start to successful sales prospecting calls. These cold calling statistics reveal ways to get more answered calls, callbacks, and closed sales.

9. To succeed, the average salesperson must make 52-60 cold calls per day (The Bridge Group). How many calls are your reps making daily? If you have team members who struggle to hit their targets, or refuse to make cold calls altogether, check out our blog here on the topic.

10. Customers who are referred are about 24% more profitable than other customers (Wharton School of Business). Are your sales reps making referrals a part of their cold-calling sales strategy?

11. When it comes to timing cold calls, the best time of day to call is between 4:00 pm and 5:00 pm in the prospect’s time zone. This time has 71% more conversions than the second best time, which is between 11:00 am and 12:00 pm (Outplay). 

12. The worst time to make a cold call is around 1:00 pm (Revenue.io).

13. Wednesdays are the best day of the week to make cold calls, followed by Thursdays (InsideSales.com). In addition, we always recommend avoiding Monday mornings and Friday afternoons when professionals are busy starting or wrapping up their work week. 

14. Successful cold calls include 65% more “we” statements (Gong). What’s the power of we? This language is used in sales to make the sales rep and prospect feel like partners. It also signals that the rep is speaking on behalf of your organization.

Statistics That Reveal Your Cold Calling Mistakes 

Many easy-to-fix mistakes prohibit sales representatives from closing successful sales prospecting calls daily. Let’s cover what those are, as well as a few tips on addressing them with your team. 

15. On average, salespeople don’t follow up on half of marketing leads (Dreamforce). The solution to this mistake is clear: make more follow-up phone calls. However, there are complex reasons why your sales professionals might make this mistake. For instance…

16. 44% of sales representatives stop the sale after receiving negative feedback from their first call (SmallBiz Genius). Review your sales statistics to see if your sales reps are following up on all marketing leads. Next, consider ways to train, empower, coach, or offer incentives for better follow-up.

17. After reaching a prospect, salespeople must make an average of 5 additional follow-up calls to close the deal (SmallBiz Genius). Setting your sales team up for success may also mean adjusting their expectations and increasing the number of follow-ups they see as standard in the sales process. 

18. If sales reps fail to discuss follow-up steps on their first call, the close rate will drop by 71% (Gong.io). A resilient sales mindset not only serves your company but also your clients. Prospects want to know when and how your team will follow up. Being clear about your process begins to build trust early on.

Of course, how your prospects conduct themselves on a cold call dramatically impacts your cold calling results. But did you know five words can decrease your sales reps’ chances of success by 40%?

19. If your sales reps kick off a call by asking, “Is now a bad time?” they decrease their chance of booking a meeting with the prospect by 40% (Gong.io). Ask your reps to consider more confident and engaging ways to kick off their cold calls.

20. The success rate of a cold call drops by 61% if the call exceeds 5 minutes in length (Zipdo). Brevity is critical when connecting with a new prospect since your rep hasn’t earned much trust with their prospect yet. Keep calls short to qualify leads and follow up!

21. Sales representatives who talk for over 55% of a cold call are less likely to close a deal (Zippia). When you listen (almost) as much as you talk, prospects feel like their problems matter. This is a powerful way to make a positive first impression.

Stats That Expose Cold Calling Challenges 

While B2B cold calling statistics might look dismal at times, it’s all a numbers game you can get the ‘upper hand’ in. Let’s consider how many cold calls go to voicemail. Your sales representatives can increase callbacks with one simple step.

22. 92% of people believe calls from an unknown number are a scam and, therefore, won’t answer (Market Splash). This makes cold calling particularly challenging since so many calls need to be made before making contact is actually possible.

23. Since so many sales calls are ignored, 80% of cold calls go to voicemail (Market Splash). A voicemail script can help your sales professionals leave voice messages that pack a punch. However, how many of those voicemails are listened to?

24. Only 15% of customers listen to voicemails left from a cold call (Market Splash). But, there are two simple things your sales professionals can do to increase their chances of a reply — other than just calling back. 

25. Using local area codes can increase the likelihood of a callback by 57% (Zipdo). 

26. And while 90% of buyers won’t return a cold call if the sales rep only leaves a voicemail (Smith.ai), a follow-up email, or, in some industries, a text message sent immediately after a voicemail can encourage a reply. This creates multiple touchpoints and opportunities for the client to recognize who you are — and call back or reply.

27. A sales rep’s chance of getting that reply increases when other forms of communication are used because 80% of prospects would rather talk to a salesperson over email than over the phone (Salesmate).

Getting just anyone at a company to answer your cold calls won’t always cut it. Another cold-calling challenge is getting the right person — a top decision-maker or makers— on the phone.

28. If your sales representatives are calling offices with 50-100 people in them, there will be, on average, seven people involved in that office’s purchasing decisions (Selling Signals). So, even if your rep contacts someone in the office, they may have to leverage their contact as their internal champion or quickly build rapport so that the person contacted will make the necessary introduction(s).

29. There’s also the issue of the ‘right person’ being difficult to pin down in the first place. In one year, 30% of people change jobs, 66% change job titles or functions, 43% change their work number, and 37% change their email address (ZoomInfo Study). With prospect contact information becoming so quickly dated, thorough research is essential. There may be value in employing AI in your data collection as well.

The Impact of Artificial Intelligence Revealed by Cold Calling Statistics

Has your sales team hopped on the AI bandwagon yet? Early adopters have set a new tech trajectory, and those who remain skeptical will soon be left in the dust. To maximize your sales team’s chances of the most efficient, effective, and successful sales prospecting calls — consider adding an AI component to your cold calling strategy.

30. High-performing sales teams are 4.9 times more likely to be using AI than underperforming teams (Salesforce).

31. Sales professionals who have adopted AI have increased leads and appointments by 50% (McKinsey).

32. By 2025, 75% of B2B companies will use AI to elevate traditional cold calls (Airgram), so there’s never been a better time to start with AI to get ahead of the crowd.

33. 70% of sales professionals say using AI helps them save time (Airgram).

34. Using AI to automate manual tasks has allowed sales reps to have 2-3x more daily conversations (Koncert). And, of course, the more calls, the more chances your sales reps have to close a sale.

35. AI can even be employed to phone-verify numbers so that sales reps aren’t calling incorrect numbers. This process can ensure about 98% accuracy (Outplay).

As you prepare your sales team for the end of 2023 and the start of the new year, we’d love to help. Our network of professionals is full of cold-calling experts who could be just the fit for your team. Contact us today to discuss your hiring needs and learn how Peak Sales can help you meet your sales goals. 

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• About
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Ryan Thornton

Latest posts by Ryan Thornton (see all)

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B2B SaaS sales are dynamic and ever-evolving. To meet user needs and keep up with tech trends, software must adapt and be maintained regularly.

The SaaS sales process is no less unique, with lots of room for growth and flexibility. To succeed in an SaaS business, it’s important to understand the sales process and best practices. It’s also crucial to choose the right selling model. If you run an SaaS startup, it’s important to understand how to hire good salespeople.

→ If you missed our earlier blog on SaaS Sales, you can find more information here. It explains what makes it different, the key metrics to focus on, and the commission structures that are commonly used. 

What is the SaaS Sales Process?

The SaaS sales process is the series of steps and strategies that a company follows to identify, target, attract, and convert potential customers into paying subscribers. The exact steps and stages may vary from one company to another.

The SaaS sales process is complex compared to other sales processes involving a one-time purchase of a product or software. For this reason, the SaaS sales process is typically longer and requires a more customer service focused approach to selling. When starting your SaaS sales journey, keep in mind that the initial investment in sales may appear costly. However, because SaaS is usually sold based on monthly or annual recurring revenue, the customers you acquire through this investment tend to have a higher lifetime value.

How long is the SaaS Sales cycle?

The whole SaaS sales cycle can range from a few weeks long to several months long, with the average cycle around 80-90 days long. The SaaS sales process can vary from one company to another. This depends on the size of deals, number of stakeholders involved in their sales, and which model the company chooses.

Sales cycles will be shorter for:

• Lower-priced products (under $5,000)
• Smaller companies with fewer stakeholders involved in the purchase decision

Sales cycles will be longer for:

• Higher priced products
• Larger companies with more stakeholders involved in the purchase decision
• Enterprise clients and SaaS sales models

Given all of these variables, there are still some general principles in the SaaS sales cycle that apply to nearly all SaaS companies. We’ve gathered the nine steps most commonly integrated into every company’s SaaS sales process.

The 9 Step SaaS Sales Process

Since the SaaS sales cycle is overall longer in nature, it has more touch points between the potential customer and sales representative before a deal is made. This longer and more complex process requires sales representatives to be deeply educated in your software, highly motivated, and extremely agile in their skill set. 

Step 1: Find Leads

While lead generation is a function of marketing, it’s worth mentioning how it can play a very crucial part in an SaaS Sales process. Marketing helps people become familiar with your brand and understand how you can assist them by increasing brand awareness and encouraging engagement. It can even motivate users to sign up for free trials of a SaaS. You should aim to get in front of your customers before they’ve done extensive research on your product and your competitors. The earlier you gain control of the conversation and begin educating potential customers on your terms, the better. 

Step 2: Focus on Prospecting

The B2B SaaS sales cycle really kicks into gear with prospecting. In this stage, warm leads may be contacted through a call or email. Cold calling and cold email can also be a part of prospecting. 

Step 3: Set a Qualification Framework

This step is particularly important early on in SaaS sales. Since sales representatives spend a substantial amount of time educating, connecting with, and getting to know potential customers’ needs, it’s imperative that time isn’t wasted on companies that aren’t a great fit. Through qualification, sales representatives determine if a prospect has needs that match with their service. Having a set qualification framework ensures consistent customer qualification. This is also the point in the sales cycle where representatives should confirm that the potential client has the budget for their service and when they should find out if they are connected to the person with the authority to make a final decision to purchase. 

Step 4: Provide Valuable Product Demos and Presentations

A cookie-cutter pitch doesn’t work in B2B SaaS sales. The best results are found when sales representatives are able to demonstrate the product features and benefits in a way that is tailored to the prospect. In today’s fast-paced business landscape, customers also expect this to be done quickly. They won’t want to wait weeks or even days to get a demo from your team. You can show your product to B2B customers with a proof of concept (POC). This allows them to test the software with their existing systems before investing. In the demo stage, representatives should be ready and able to answer questions and troubleshoot their software for potential customers as well. 

Step 5: Offer Service Testing 

In order for companies to experience a proof of concept, a testing or trial period is often allowed. This hands-on time gives potential customers time to see how the software works, what its full capabilities are, and the value it will bring to their company. Trials should be designed strategically to support customers in getting to know the value of the software while also guiding them into a sale in a timely manner. Read more about how to determine your trial length here. 

Step 6: Have Clear Pricing & Proposal Plans

In the proposal stage, the SaaS sales representative gives the potential customer an overview of the available services, their recommendations for service, and lays out customized pricing or subscription plan costs. 

Step 7: Prepare for Negotiation

Leading up to and during the negotiation stage, you want to ensure that you’ve educated and equipped your ‘champions’ inside the company. Key decision-makers will be getting involved in this stage, and you and your company contacts should feel prepared to keep things moving forward. In negotiations, the sales rep will handle any remaining concerns, talk about terms, and agree on pricing.

Step 8: Close the Deal

Once both parties have committed to all terms, the deal is finalized, and the customer is guided into the onboarding process. This is where the company’s focus becomes customer success, and later, potential expansion or renewal is also important. 

Step 9: Create a Positive Onboarding Experience

In SaaS Sales the purchase doesn’t end when the salesperson closes a deal. Once a prospect has become a customer, they’re likely to be paying for your SaaS on an ongoing basis and, therefore, need a continually positive experience to continue their subscription with you. During the onboarding process, sales representatives have the most opportunity to train, educate, and prepare customers for getting the most out of their SaaS purchases. You’ll reduce churn and maintain or increase your recurring revenue by nurturing new customers from the start. You’ll also set up your customer relationships for easier maintenance, smooth account management, and prime upselling opportunities in the future. 

Which SaaS Sales Model is Right for Your Company or Startup?

Every SaaS company must select a model for their business and modify it to fit their service, sales process, and customer requirements. It’s normal for companies to blend SaaS sales models and structures to find a fit that is right for them. 

In this article, we’re going to cover the most common models: subscription-based, freemium, pay-per-use, and enterprise. 

The first of these three models can be structured for self-service, where the sales process relies more heavily on lead generation than on sales reps to close deals. Or they can be more transactional in nature, depending on sales representatives to guide a customer experience and inspire conversion when prospects might be hesitant to pay a higher price for a SaaS product. The enterprise model and structure always require a sales team. 

The Subscription Based Model

This is the most common model for an SaaS company. If you choose this model for your company, you’ll have a more predictable recurring revenue and the costs incurred for automatic updates and regular software maintenance can be expected as well. This model allows you to remain flexible and can be scaled up or down to meet customer needs. 

The Freemium Model 

The freemium model (a play on the words free and premium) offers a basic version of the software for free. Customers can easily say ‘yes’ to the free version, so a large number of users will sign up to try out your software. This low barrier to entry gives you an advantage down the line. Leads become even warmer prospects once they’re using your software. That means every upsell within your software is being offered to someone who is already actively engaging with your software. 

This is an advantage you must leverage strategically, though. 

If your free version features are too limited, users won’t find your SaaS beneficial and won’t buy your premium version. On the other hand, users who have everything they need on your free version won’t experience any pressure to upgrade. While it’s unavoidable with this model that some customers will stick with your free version indefinitely, many will choose to pay for advanced premium features when you strike the right balance between your free and premium features.

Consider what a customer needs to get a hands-on experience with your most impressive features while also limiting their access so that upgrading becomes the most convenient and economical option. You might limit the number of entries or records a customer can create in your free version, only allow a limited number of team members, or save high-end integrations for your premium users.

Scaling with this model can be a bit tricky, but isn’t impossible. You’ll just need to consider how you’ll cover the cost of the SaaS sales and customer service staff needed to support a growing number of free members while you work to increase your paid membership. 

The Pay-Per-Use Model

In the pay-per-use model, customers do not pay a flat-rate recurring fee for your SaaS software. Instead, they’re charged in a tiered structure or based on thresholds based on what they use within your SaaS platform. Transactions, storage space, data transfer, or another relevant metric could measure usage. Users benefit from this model because they only pay for what they use, so their cost is directly proportional to the benefit they receive. Companies benefit from this model because it’s easier to scale as usage fluctuates. When changes are too rapid, though, challenges can arise in managing or forecasting costs, leading to unexpected or unpredictable expenses.

The Enterprise Model

If your SaaS solution has a high level of complexity and serves a very specific type of B2B client, you’ll want to consider an enterprise SaaS model. In this model, the sales cycle is heavily focused on outbound sales rather than on inbound marketing and sales.

This model involves long-term contracts and is well suited for SaaS used by large corporations, government agencies, and institutions with complex requirements and substantial budgets. Given these unique characteristics of the model, the customers must make a significant financial investment as well as a significant time investment in purchasing the new SaaS. Sometimes, customers need to wait for other contracts to end or will have to migrate their data and modify their infrastructure to make the switch. While this increases the time it takes to convert and onboard a customer — and therefore increases the cost of the sale — it also means that customers have to go all in on the transition and are less likely to churn. 

One of the keys to long-term SaaS enterprise success is finding the sweet spot between the cost and features of your product. If the product is too complex for the price, your company will struggle to support its users appropriately. If you’re concerned about this in your own SaaS, consider how to trim down your software to appeal to a broader audience or increase the price so that you can sell to bigger clients and adequately cover the cost of more intensive support. 

The SaaS enterprise model usually involves custom pricing structures that take into consideration the size and usage of each organization. This allows the SaaS company to provide dedicated support and grow with the needs of its customer companies. Combined with the annual recurring revenue model, this style of pricing and support can make for more profitable and dependable revenue for the SaaS enterprise company. 

4 SaaS Best Practices

No matter the model you choose for your SaaS business, you’ll want to follow a few best practices in your sales cycle. These practices ensure that every sales representative you hire is thoroughly trained in how to uphold these practices as well.

1. Know Your Target Market

Sales representatives who have deeply studied their target market will be able to efficiently qualify prospects, connect with buyers about their niche needs, and address challenges in their industry through a tailored pitch. Look for opportunities to network within the industry you’re selling to and join online forums or communities where customers are asking questions and talking about the issues they have that your software solves. 

2. Become a Team of Trusted Advisors

All SaaS solutions boil down to three types of solutions: increasing efficiency, creating cost savings, or saving time. As you get to know your target market, you’ll be able to clearly connect your customer’s problem with your solution. This level of expertise allows you to build reliability, trust, and rapport with customers that lays a foundation for beneficial long-term relationships in SaaS sales. Peak sales recommends these SaaS sales training programs to take your expertise to new heights. 

3. Gain an In-Depth Experience of Your SaaS

Whenever possible, use your own SaaS software to gain and maintain a sense of what it is like to use your product first-hand. If it isn’t possible or practical for you to do this on a regular basis, consider how you might involve your sales team in simulated use or shadowing the use of customers. Experiential expertise beats observational expertise every time. Experiential expertise will give your representatives anecdotal and personal knowledge about the features and benefits of your product most relevant to each customer’s pain points. 

4. Leverage Your CRM

A customer relationship management (CRM) software isn’t just a place to house customer information. It can also become a place where you optimize your responsiveness and the quality of your customer service. Keep detailed notes as your team manages leads and tracks interactions throughout the sales pipeline. Even sales interactions and cycles that end in a ‘no’ the first, second, or third time could turn into a yes down the road. As you navigate those rejections and nurture those relationships, having an organized system for your client information will be invaluable.

Every Hire in SaaS Sales is High Stakes!

Since the sales cycle is longer and more complex than in other business models, it can also be far more expensive. Choosing eager, adaptable, and motivated professionals who understand your business model is paramount to your success. 

Not just any great salesperson can sell SaaS, and we’d love to help make sure your team has the perfect mix of sales skills for your SaaS sales model. Contact us today to explore our network of qualified SaaS sales experts!

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• About
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Kyle Fletcher

Latest posts by Kyle Fletcher (see all)

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