---
title: How Many Cold Calls Per Hour Should I Make?
description: In the article we explain the process we use to determine the number of cold calls per hour a sales person should make. Click here to learn more!
---

[B2B Marketing Strategy and Tactics ](https://www.prosalesconnection.com/blog)

# [How Many Cold Calls Per Hour Should I Make?](https://www.prosalesconnection.com/blog/how-many-cold-calls-per-hour-should-i-make)

 Written by [Mike Faherty](https://www.prosalesconnection.com/blog/author/mike-faherty) | Jun 8, 2021 5:00:00 AM

One of the sales questions we hear most often is: “How many cold calls per hour should I make?” Like most sales process questions, there is no simple answer. Before you can find the solution that best suits your situation, you need to ask yourself a few important questions:

1. What is the objective of my call?
2. What is the quality of my list?
3. Will I be using a CRM?
4. Are the calls cold (never been contacted) or are the calls warm (is this the second or third attempt)?
5. Will there be any additional sales-related activities required, e.g. quotes, order processing, and appointment scheduling?

 When you have answers to these important questions, you can calculate your cold call activity rate.

### How to Calculate Cold Calls per Hour

To calculate the number of cold calls you should make per hour, let’s begin by making the following assumptions:

1. **Objective:** Book a meeting.
2. **List Quality:** Average. You have a company name, point of contact, and phone number.
3. **CRM:** Yes.
4. **Cold Calls:** This is the first attempt at this list.
5. **Sales Administration:** Meetings need to be scheduled.

When you are making your first attempt at cold calls, we recommend that you spend a few minutes researching the company you are calling by looking at their website or doing a quick Google search on the company name.

You can get bogged down and absorbed in this activity if you are not careful. I suggest you spend no more than two minutes per prospect on this type of activity and another one minute making a quick note in your CRM about what you have learned about the prospect. This will save you from having to look up the company again on your second attempt.

*Average Cold Call Prep Time = 3 minutes.*

When your objective is to book a meeting and you are making your first attempt at a contact, your average call time will be very short.

You will spend a lot of time in “voicemail land” or being directed to other points of contact by a gatekeeper. These calls will usually average one minute over the course of a day. So, if you assume there will be only a few live contacts/conversations, then your average talk time per call will be about one-and-a-half minutes.

*Average Talk Time/Call = 1.5 minutes.*

After each call, you should learn something about your prospect that will “warm-up” your next call.

You should allow at least another minute to disposition your first attempt in your CRM application and capture additional information such as:

- Title from the prospect’s voicemail
- Assistant/gatekeeper’s name
- The best option on the automatic response system
- Backup person’s name, cell phone number, vacation, or office schedule

*Average Cold Call Disposition Time = 1 minute.*

Finally, let’s assume that you book two meetings per day as a result of your efforts, and it takes about eight minutes to have the conversation with the prospect and to send out the meeting invitations.

If you work an eight-hour day and your entire day is dedicated to cold calling, this activity will average two minutes per hour.

*Scheduling Meetings = 2 minutes.*

In summary, when we include pre-call research, the actual call, and post-call CRM updates, you should allow an average of seven-and-a-half minutes for each cold call.

***60 minutes divided by 7.5 minutes per call equals 8 cold calls per hour.

***

### Interested if a Cold Calling Plan will work for your business?**

### Use the Cold Call Formula to Grow Your Pipeline

In our experience, a diligent inside salesperson making their first pass through a new list will be able to easily achieve 8-10 calls per hour.

The cold calls per hour will increase as the list becomes warmer and more refined over the next few calls. This will allow a good inside salesperson to average 10-12 calls per hour while effectively maintaining and updating information in the CRM.

**Therefore, when asked how many cold calls per hour should an inside salesperson be able to make, a fair and reasonable response is 10 calls per hour.**

To learn more about how to set more meetings and build a bigger pipeline, explore our website or call us today for assistance!

[View full post](https://www.prosalesconnection.com/blog/how-many-cold-calls-per-hour-should-i-make)

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