Best and Worst Times For Salespeople To Cold Call

Sales and marketing techniques have changed over the years. Many jan/san professionals are gravitating toward reverse marketing to sell their services. This is accomplished by finding ways for the customer to come to them.

However, Ron Segura, president of Segura & Associates, who helps industry professionals build their businesses, says, “we must remember that good old fashioned cold calling can still prove very effective.”

Segura is referring primarily to telephone prospecting. However, its effectiveness depends on when it is done.

Below are Segura’s list of best and worst times to cold call, along with his reasons why:

Best Times:
 • End of the Week. “The end of the week offers the best cold calling opportunities, especially if there have been complaints.”
 • 7:30 am. “Many decision makers are already at their desks first thing in the morning. Calling them around 7:30 am is often one of the best ways to reach them directly.”
 • 9 am to 11 am. “This two-hour block of time is typically the best time of the week to cold call.”
 • 2 pm to 3 pm. “This is a ‘marginally good’ block of time, but can prove useful.”
 • 4 pm to 5 pm. “Surprisingly, I have found this to be a very good time to call prospects. This last hour of the workday can bear fruit.”

Worst Times:
 • Monday. “No one day is necessarily the worst day to make cold calls, but Monday comes close. If making calls on Monday, make them later in the day, between 3 and 5 pm.”
 • Noon to 2 pm. “Everyone is out to lunch.”
 • After 5 pm. “Most decision makers are gone for the day or want to be gone for the day.”

Segura also offers advice on how many times to try and reach a decision maker.

“I recommend four to five times, and this can be in various forms such as a cold call, an email, or regular mail," he says. "And it doesn’t hurt to keep in touch even after that.”