Sales Connect Calls: Using the Science

Inbox was fortunate enough to be chosen to participate in HubSpot's Partner Pipeline Generation Boot Camp. The rigorous 8-week sales training course is the mastermind of Dan Tyre, HubSpot's 6th employee and the most senior sales coach at HubSpot. A highly knowledgeable sales expert, among the many valuable tools that Dan passed along to us was timing.

The best Dates and Times to make Connect Calls

Your positioning statement is perfect. You have done your research and know exactly how your company can help the prospect. This prospect is a perfect fit so just pick up the phone and make that connect call.

Whoa, wait just a minute!

Did you know that certain days of the week and certain times of the day are better for making sales connect calls? Why waste your perfect positioning statement and your precious research time by calling at the wrong time?

Research has established that the best days of the week to call prospects are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays and the best hours to call are between 3 pm and 5:30 pm. These date and time combinations are the best possible times to do your connect calls. Of course, it will not always be possible to fit all calls within those windows. If, for example, you need to make a connect call on a Friday, make sure to do it between the hours of 1 pm and 3 pm. If you have to make the calls in the morning, the sweet spots are again Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday between 8:10 and 8:50 am.

As you can imagine every single aspect of marketing and sales has been analyzed, pondered measured and reported upon by research teams all over the world. The data exists and it just makes sense to capitalize on the science to guide your marketing and sales outreach. Other data you should keep in mind in order to optimize your sales outreach includes the following:

Data on Calls

1. Responsiveness is golden. It is estimated that 30% to 50% of all deals go to the vendor who responds the quickest.
2. Calls that are returned within 5 minutes of form submission are 100 times more likely to get on the phone.
3. Ask questions during your discovery call. The best discovery calls include 11 to 14 questions.
4. It takes an average of 8 attempts to connect with your prospect. These attempts include calls, emails, and social media connections.
5. People are more likely to convert after 8 contact touchpoints.
6. The initial connect call should never be no longer than 12 to 15 minutes.
7. Sales reps spend 15% of their time leaving voice messages but voicemail response rates are as a paltry 4.8%. Get your leads on the phone and speak in real-time.

Data on Emails

And while you are at it, here is some data on making your emails count too.

1. Only 25% of sales emails are opened.
2. Emails sent on Tuesdays have an open rate that is 20% greater than average. The next best days to email are Monday and Wednesday. If you can avoid it, do not bother emailing on a weekend.
3. Emails sent at 11 am have the highest open rate. If weekends are disregarded, the best window to send your email is from 10 AM to 12 PM with 11 AM being the peak.
4. An all caps subject line reduces open rates by 30%.
5. Emails that contain 1 to 3 questions are 50% more likely to get a reply.

It just makes sense to use established research when making your calls and emails to give yourself every competitive advantage. Now, in the words of the illustrious Dan Tyre: Go, sales lions, go!