The Top Cold Calling Success Rates for 2025 Explained

To cold call or not to cold call?

The average cold-calling success rate in 2025 is 2.3%, almost half of what it was in 2024 (4.82%).

But what does this mean for you?

This article examines the cold-calling success rates for 2025 to determine whether cold-calling is still an effective sales strategy. 

Scroll for our findings 👇

What is the success rate of cold calling?

The average cold calling success rate is 2.3% (based on an independent study at Cognism). This percentage is a lot lower than other sales techniques, but as a form of outbound lead generation, it’s still effective and should be used in your sales strategy. 

Why? Because it’s such a direct channel. It’s the only channel (apart from if you’re still meeting face-to-face) where you get immediate feedback from your prospects.

Depending on the cold calling script you use, you can increase your B2B cold calling success rates up to 10.01%. According to Gong, all you need to do is ask a prospect how they’ve been.

This isn’t an isolated sales call statistic. LinkedIn has found that opening a sales call with “I understand we share a common LinkedIn group,” can increase your chances of securing a meeting by 70%. What’s more, if your opening line includes a reason for calling, your call success rate could increase by 2.1%. 

What percentage of cold calls are successful?

Out of 100 cold calls, an SDR can expect at least 2 calls that convert into warm leads, surprising when you realise that 49% of buyers actually prefer to be contacted through a cold call. 

With that said, it takes an average of 8 call attempts to reach a prospect and once you have a qualified lead, 20% of them will convert into a sale. 

How can you improve your cold calling success rate? 

Make ‘don’t give up, follow-up!’ your new sales mantra. It can take at least 5-follow up calls to turn a prospect into a lead. 

What’s working for cold calling in 2025?

We know the B2B landscape is constantly changing. Buyers prefer to self-serve information before they engage with sellers. Salespeople at Cognism, like Jonty, cite the lack of personalisation as a core problem and that there’s generally much more competition than there used to be. It’s harder to stand out than ever!

So, what does work? In our report this year, Cognism boasted success rates of 6.7%—above the industry average of 2%. Part of the reason for this success is quality data paired with laser-focused targeting.

Our solution, Sales Companion, allows us to do this easily with list-building, intent signals, and Diamond Data® (phone-verified mobile numbers). 

We also prioritise:

• Targeted prospecting.
• Personalisation and relevance.
• Strategic multithreading.
• Incentivising the behaviour we want from sales reps.
• Dynamic prioritisation.
• Regional and cultural adaptation.

Here is an infographic about how we cold call right now:

So does cold calling still work?

Cold calling is still an effective sales technique, especially now that many prospects are following hybrid working models and can be contacted via their mobiles. Done right, cold calling is an efficient way to reach decision-makers and increase your incoming revenue. 

Jonty Jewels, Cognism's Senior Mid-Market Sales Manager for EMEA explains how to make cold calling an effective channel and some of the results from our findings in this video:

Resources for higher cold calling success rates

If these cold calling success rates for 2025 are anything to go by,  you’ll want to make cold calling part of your sales process. 

To help you achieve the best cold calling success, we’ve included a list of links to other resources you might find valuable:

• When is the best time to cold call? 
• How to get past the gatekeeper
• Cold calling examples of what not to say
• How to get over your fear of cold calling 
• Cold calling voicemail scripts
• How to find direct phone numbers for sales?
• Cold calling objections and responses
• Common sales objections and responses
• 5 steps for better objection handling
• Company research tools to identify target accounts
• The difference between cold calling and warm calling
• The best cold calling opening lines 
• Cold calling script templates 
• Creating a sales prospecting list
• Where to buy phone number lists for prospecting

Become a cold calling champion

Thought cold calling was dead? Think again! 

57% of C-level executives and VPs say they would rather hear from sales reps via the phone than any other channel.

Become a cold calling champion with the help of our ‘SDR Zone’ and increase your cold calling success rates! 

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