How Leads Are Qualified
Cold calling is a lot like investing in the stock market. Some days are quiet, others take off—but long-term success comes from consistently putting in the work. While luck plays a role, those who improve their process, use better tools, and put in the time are the ones who see real results.
If you’re making B2B cold calls and struggling to get people on the line, you’re not alone. Contact rates have gotten tougher in recent years, but there are smart ways to turn things around.
Here are five practical, research-backed strategies to help you improve your cold calling contact rate—meaning more conversations, not just more dials.
1. Use Premium, Verified Contact Data
If you’re calling old or incorrect numbers, your contact rate is guaranteed to suffer. Clean, up-to-date data is the first step toward making real connections.
What to do:
- Work with reliable data providers like ZoomInfo, Cognism, or Clearbit.
- Routinely clean your CRM to remove outdated contacts and bounced numbers.
- Focus your outreach on verified phone numbers, ideally direct dials.
Why it matters:
Bad data equals wasted time. Investing in high-quality data increases your chances of reaching a real person, not a voicemail or wrong number.
2. Make Sure Your Number Isn’t Marked as Spam
Even with the best data, your contact rate will plummet if your number shows up as “Spam Likely.”
Carriers and call-screening apps flag numbers based on call behavior. If you’re making a lot of calls too quickly or have a high hang-up rate, you could be marked—and prospects won’t answer.
How to check and fix it:
- Use services like CallConfident or Numeracle to check your caller ID status.
- Register your numbers with Free Caller Registry to reduce spam labeling.
- Don’t blast hundreds of calls from one number. Use multiple, verified lines if you’re doing high volume.
- Use STIR/SHAKEN-compliant dialers to build caller trust.
Pro tip: If you’ve already been flagged, request remediation with the major carriers. Most offer a way to reclassify your number.
3. Call at the Right Times (and Use Local Caller ID)
Contact rate is heavily influenced by timing. You could have the best script and the best list, but if you call during busy hours or from an unfamiliar area code, chances are you’ll go to voicemail.
What works:
- The best times to call are typically 10–11:30 AM and 2–4 PM, especially Tuesday through Thursday.
- Use a dialer that can display a local area code to your prospect. Calls from a familiar area code are far more likely to be answered.
- Track your own results. Over time, you’ll notice trends based on industry or title—adjust your strategy to match.
Why it matters:
This is about meeting people when they’re most available and most likely to answer. Timing and caller familiarity can have a huge impact on your live connect rate.
4. Increase the Number of Contact Attempts (Intelligently)
One of the biggest mistakes reps make is giving up too early. If you only call once or twice and move on, you’re likely missing out on most of your possible conversations.
According to multiple studies, most successful cold calls happen after the third attempt—and yet, many reps stop after one or two.
How to do it right:
- Plan a cadence with 5–7 call attempts over 10–14 days.
- Space them out during different times of day and different days of the week.
- Use a CRM or cadence tool to track your calls and avoid repeat timing.
- Use a “double tap” strategy occasionally—call once, wait a minute, call again.
Why this matters:
Cold calling is a numbers game, but it’s also about persistence. Like investing, the more thoughtfully you stay in the game, the more likely you are to hit.
5. Use Smart Tools and Track What’s Working
Even with great habits, you need the right tech to maximize results. AI dialers and call analytics tools can help you track your contact rate, identify what’s working, and avoid wasting dials.
Try tools like:
- Orum or ConnectAndSell – for parallel dialing and higher live connects.
- Kixie, JustCall, or PhoneBurner – for dynamic caller ID and voicemail detection.
- Salesforce, HubSpot, or Outreach – to manage cadences and follow-ups.
What to track:
- Calls made
- Live connects
- Time of day and day of week performance
- Contact rate by list or segment
Why it matters:
Improving your cold calling isn’t about guessing. With the right tools and data, you can double down on what’s working—and fix what’s not.
Final Thoughts
Cold calling is a skill that rewards consistency, just like smart investing. You may not see results on day one, but when you focus on the right inputs—clean data, smart calling habits, and quality tools—your contact rate will improve over time.
If you want to have more conversations (not just more dials), focus on:
- Verified contact data
- Clean caller ID
- Smart timing and local presence
- Persistent and strategic call attempts
- Tools that track and improve your process
Every adjustment you make adds up. And when contact rates rise, the real work—booking meetings and closing deals—gets a whole lot easier.