HubSpot's 2025 State of Cold Calling Report [Data From 350+ Sales Professionals]

HubSpot's 2025 State of Cold Calling Report [Data From 350+ Sales Professionals]

Updated: 04/07/25

Published: 04/03/25

I'm not sure there's any activity more closely associated with sales than cold calling. It can be the trial by fire that preps SDRs for a career in the field, the day-to-day responsibility that keeps reps diligent and engaged, and the basis for a ton of sales org's prospecting infrastructures.

It's been a staple of several salespeople's professional lives - one that can be every bit as obnoxious as it is essential. But where does it stand in 2025? And where might it be headed in 2026 and beyond?

Well, valued reader, we here at the HubSpot Sales Blog - the literal hub and/or spot that every last sales professional can (and should) rely on for sales-related insight online - were really stewing on those questions and more. That's why we surveyed 379 sales professionals to get a pulse on all things cold calling in 2025.

We answer questions like:

• Do sales orgs still cold call?
• How much do salespeople still cold call?
• What resources do salespeople use for cold calling?
• When is the best time to cold call?
• Why do salespeople cold call?
• What results are sales orgs seeing from cold calling?
• How can you get better at cold calling?
• What might the future of cold calling look like?
• What is the state of cold calling in 2025?

Important Context

You're probably wondering where this data came from? Well, we leveraged Panoplai - an AI-driven research platform (that's amazing and I can't plug enough) - to glean all of this wonderful insight.

We surveyed 379 sales professionals of various backgrounds across a wide range of industries. They're employed by businesses of virtually all sizes. Here's a look at that distribution:

Our respondents also had varying degrees of seniority within their organizations, but they predominantly identified as being at the associate and management levels. Here's a look at how that shook out:

Ultimately, the base represented a diverse but solid array of sales professionals - one that we felt would be a fair reflection of the field as a whole.

With that in mind, let's get into the good stuff.

Do sales orgs still cold call?

This was the first base we wanted to cover for obvious reasons. If no one cold calls anymore, we wouldn't have a lot of room to produce a compelling report, and we would've exhausted a solid chunk of budget and effort on research that basically said, "There's nothing to see here, losers. Go make a report about cold emailing."

Luckily, that didn't happen.

As per our survey:

• 24% of respondents say their sales orgs leverage cold calling as a primary sales channel.
• 25% say they leverage it as a secondary sales channel.
• 19% say they only leverage it for specific campaigns or segments.
• 12% say their orgs have moved away from cold calling.
• 21% say their orgs have never used cold calling.

Cold calling was also pretty prominent in a lot of our respondents' personal day-to-day. Our survey found that:

• 22% of respondents say cold calling is a major part of their daily activities.
• 22% say they do it regularly but not daily.
• 21% say they do it but only occasionally.
• 8% say they don't do it but manage people who do.
• 28% say they don't do it at all.

How much do salespeople still cold call?

So, we've established that cold calling is alive and well. The question is, "Just how 'alive and well' is it?" How frequently are salespeople who cold call actually cold calling the cold leads they call coldly?

Well, as you can assume, it varies based on how ingrained cold calling is into a given org's sales process and a specific sales professional's day-to-day.

According to our research, salespeople who say cold calling is a major part of their daily activities make calls by this distribution:

• 13% make 1-20 cold calls per week.
• 30% make 20-50 per week.
• 22% make 51-100 per week.
• 22% make 100-200 per week.
• 12% make more than 200 per week.

Here's what that distribution looks like for sales professionals who say they cold call regularly but not daily:

• 37% make 1-20 cold calls per week.
• 36% make 20-50 per week.
• 14% make 51-100 per week.
• 6% make 100-200 per week.
• 7% make more than 200 per week.

So, how do those numbers translate to sales orgs' overall prospecting efforts? Well, respondents who say their sales org leverages cold calling as a primary sales channel:

• 2% say it comprises 0% of their sales orgs' prospecting efforts.
• 16% say it comprises 1-10%.
• 27% say it comprises 10-25%.
• 27% say it comprises 26-50%.
• 19% say it comprises 51-75%.
• 8% say it comprises more than 75%.

Of our respondents who say their org leverages cold calling as a secondary sales channel:

• 1% say it comprises 0% of their sales orgs' prospecting efforts.
• 28% say it comprises 1-10%.
• 48% say it comprises 10-25%.
• 18% say it comprises 26-50%.
• 2% say it comprises 51-75%.
• 2% say it comprises more than 75%.

Of our respondents who say their sales org leverages cold calling only for specific campaigns or segments:

• 8% say it comprises 0% of their sales orgs' prospecting efforts.
• 39% say it comprises 1-10%.
• 39% say it comprises 10-25%.
• 14% say it comprises 26-50%.

Additionally, of our respondents who say their org leverages cold calling as a primary sales channel:

• 25% say their cold call volume has significantly increased year-over-year from 2024.
• 38% say it has slightly increased.
• 22% say it has stayed about the same.
• 10% say it has slightly decreased.
• 4% say it has significantly decreased.

Of our respondents who say their org leverages cold calling as a secondary sales channel:

• 6% say their cold call volume has significantly increased year-over-year from 2024.
• 34% say it has slightly increased.
• 48% say it has stayed about the same.
• 11% say it has slightly decreased.

Of our respondents who say their sales org leverages cold calling only for specific campaigns or segments:

• 3% say their cold call volume has significantly increased year-over-year from 2024.
• 28% say it has slightly increased.
• 57% say it has stayed about the same.
• 8% say it has slightly decreased.
• 4% say it has significantly decreased.

What resources do salespeople use for cold calling?

Cold calling is tough. Anyone who's ever done it can attest to that, so it makes sense that sales orgs would equip their salespeople with resources to streamline, structure, and simplify the process. But what are those resources, exactly? Well, reader, here's what we found on that front.

A solidly constructed sales script is one of the more valuable resources a sales org can leverage to ensure consistency in its calls' messaging and execution - and a lot of reps say they use them.

We asked our respondents who personally engage in cold calling as a major part of their daily activities about them, and:

• 28% say they follow a strict sales script.
• 52% use one but adapt it significantly for each call.
• 9% say they only use bullet points or talking points.
• 11% don't use any script.

When we asked the same question to respondents who say they cold call regularly but not daily, they responded like this:

• 8% said they follow a strict sales script.
• 54% use a script but adapt it significantly.
• 23% say they only use bullet points or talking points.
• 14% don't use a script at all.

However, a well-constructed sales script typically isn't enough to support consistently successful sales calls on its own. Cold calling often involves some degree of personalization, and that starts with thoughtful prospect research. So, where do most cold callers look to gather that?

When we asked about prospect research methods, our respondents who personally engage in cold calling as a major part of their daily activities answered like this:

• 59% say they look at prospects' social media profiles
• 57% check out their prospects' company websites and news.
• 61% look at their CRM data and past interactions.
• 34% leverage third-party intelligence tools.
• 11% say they don't typically research before calling.

When we asked the same question to respondents who say they cold call regularly but not daily, they responded like this:

• 48% look at prospects' social media profiles
• 57% check out their prospects' company websites and news.
• 61% look at their CRM data and past interactions.
• 30% leverage third-party intelligence tools.
• 7% say they don't typically research before calling.
• 1% use other methods.

Sales orgs often look beyond resources like sales scripts and prospect research processes for cold calling, folding relevant tools into their tech stacks.

When we asked respondents who personally engage in cold calling as a major part of their daily activities what cold calling tech their teams use:

• 45% said they use a sales engagement platform.
• 59% said they use a CRM.
• 49% said they use a contact/lead database.
• 23% said they use conversation intelligence software.
• 33% said they use a call recording and analysis tool.
• 16% said they use voicemail drop software.
• 26% said they use call scheduling tools.
• 15% said they use a call script or talk track library.
• 2% said they use other resources.

Here's how our respondents who say they cold call regularly but not daily, responded:

• 50% said they use a sales engagement platform.
• 54% said they use a CRM.
• 50% said they use a contact/lead database.
• 25% said they use conversation intelligence software.
• 26% said they use a call recording and analysis tool.
• 15% said they use voicemail drop software.
• 33% said they use call scheduling tools.
• 25% said they use a call script or talk track library.

Of course, you can't support a thoughtful, effective cold calling strategy if you don't track your results - so naturally, we asked our respondents who personally engage in cold calling as a major part of their daily activities how they primarily track their cold calling results. Here's how they answered:

• 48% primarily use a CRM.
• 22% primarily use spreadsheets.
• 18% use a dedicated sales engagement platform.
• 11% use manual notes.
• 1% don't formally track metrics.

Here's how our respondents who say they cold call regularly but not daily answered the same question:

• 44% primarily use a CRM.
• 24% primarily use spreadsheets.
• 17% use a dedicated sales engagement platform.
• 10% use manual notes.
• 6% don't formally track metrics.

Also, any survey about anything in 2025 isn't complete with some questions about AI, and this report is no exception.

When we asked our respondents who cold call as a major part of their daily activities about the extent to which they leverage AI tools to support their cold calls, they answered like this:

• 23% say they use AI tools extensively to support their cold calling efforts.
• 49% use AI tools occasionally to support their cold calling efforts.
• 17% don't use AI tools to support their cold calling efforts but plan to.
• 11% don't use AI tools to support their cold calling efforts and don't plan to.

When we asked the same question of our respondents who say they cold call regularly but not daily, they responded like this:

• 11% say they use AI tools extensively to support their cold calling efforts.
• 44% use AI tools occasionally to support their cold calling efforts.
• 30% don't use AI tools to support their cold calling efforts but plan to.
• 14% don't use AI tools to support their cold calling efforts and don't plan to.

That last question probably has you wondering, "What kind of impact has AI had on cold calling?" Well, regardless of whether you actually asked that, we're going to tell you.

Of our respondents who cold call as a major part of their daily activities:

• 32% say it has completely transformed their approach to cold calling.
• 37% say it has moderately improved their approach.
• 20% say it has had a minimal impact so far.
• 5% say it has had no impact at all.
• 7% don't use AI for cold calling.

When we asked the same question of our respondents who say they cold call regularly but not daily, they responded like this:

• 12% say it has completely transformed their approach to cold calling.
• 45% say it has moderately improved their approach.
• 24% say it has had a minimal impact so far.
• 11% say it has had no impact at all.
• 8% don't use AI for cold calling.

When is the best time to cold call?

Cold calling resources can't do too much for you if you don't apply them strategically, and timing is a key component there. Catching a prospect at the wrong time (or missing them altogether) really undermines your shot at converting.

When we asked what time of day our respondents who cold call as a major part of their daily activities found to be most productive for cold calling, here's what they said:

• 20% said early morning (8-10 am)
• 38% said late morning (10 am -12 pm)
• 26% said early afternoon (12 pm - 3 pm)
• 11% said late afternoon (3-5 pm)
• 6% said after hours (after 5 pm)

When we asked the same question of our respondents who say they cold call regularly but not daily, they responded like this:

• 11% said early morning (8-10 am)
• 51% said late morning (10 am -12 pm)
• 25% said early afternoon (12 pm - 3 pm)
• 11% said late afternoon (3-5 pm)
• 2% said after hours (after 5 pm)

We also wanted to know if any specific day of the week was particularly primed for successful cold calls, so we asked respondents who cold call as a major part of their daily activities what day of the week they thought was best for cold calling. Here's how they answered:

• 14% said Monday
• 30% said Tuesday
• 27% said Wednesday
• 17% said Thursday
• 12% said Friday

When we asked the same question of our respondents who say they cold call regularly but not daily, they responded like this:

• 24% said Monday
• 39% said Tuesday
• 21% said Wednesday
• 9% said Thursday
• 7% said Friday

Why do salespeople cold call?

All of this information begs the question, "What's the endgame here?" What's the ideal outcome of one of these calls? Well, as we found, that "ideal outcome" varies a lot from org to org.

According to our study, these are the main goals behind cold calling for our respondents who cold call as a major part of their daily activities:

• 23% say the most positive outcome of a cold call is scheduling a follow-up call.
• 43% say it's setting a meeting or demo.
• 6% say it's getting referred to another contact.
• 26% say it's generating immediate interest in a product or service.
• 2% say it's gathering valuable information.

When we asked the same question of our respondents who say they cold call regularly but not daily, they responded like this:

• 15% say the most positive outcome of a cold call is scheduling a follow-up call.
• 38% say it's setting a meeting or demo.
• 11% say it's getting referred to another contact.
• 27% say it's generating immediate interest in a product or service.
• 8% say it's gathering valuable information.

What results are sales orgs seeing from cold calling?

That question might be the crux of this whole report - is cold calling actually effective? Does the strategy still hold weight and deliver results that make it worth the effort, investment, and potential verbal abuse from prospects? Here's what we found.

Cold calls have notoriously low conversion rates, and our respondents mostly confirmed that.

When we asked our respondents who cold call as a major part of their daily activities what their conversion to appointment rate on their cold calls was, they answered like this:

• 2% say they see a conversion rate of less than 2% on their calls.
• 35% say they see one of 2-5%.
• 32% say they see one of 6-10%.
• 21% say they see one of 11-20%
• 10% say they see one of over 20%

When we asked the same question of our respondents who say they cold call regularly but not daily, they responded like this:

• 6% say they see a conversion rate of less than 2% on their calls.
• 26% say they see one of 2-5%.
• 50% say they see one of 6-10%.
• 14% say they see one of 11-20%
• 4% say they see one of over 20%

It can also be tough to even get a prospect on the phone in the first place. According to our respondents who cold call as a major part of their daily activities:

• 15% say their typical response rate is less than 5%.
• 24% say it's between 5-10%.
• 38% say it's between 11-20%
• 18% say it's between 21-30%.
• 5% say it's more than 30%.

When we asked the same question of our respondents who say they cold call regularly but not daily, they responded like this:

• 2% say their typical response rate is less than 5%.
• 44% say it's between 5-10%.
• 32% say it's between 11-20%
• 12% say it's between 21-30%.
• 10% say it's more than 30%.

Our study also indicates that sales professionals seem to keep things moving when cold calling - not getting too hung up on individual prospects.

Of our respondents who cold call as a major part of their daily activities:

• 22% make 1-2 call attempts before moving on from a prospect.
• 55% make 3-5 attempts.
• 13% make 6-8 attempts.
• 4% make 9-12 attempts.
• 6% make more than 12 attempts.

When we asked the same question of our respondents who say they cold call regularly but not daily, they responded like this:

• 26% make 1-2 call attempts before moving on from a prospect.
• 56% make 3-5 attempts.
• 13% make 6-8 attempts.
• 4% make 9-12 attempts.
• 1% make more than 12 attempts.

How can you get better at cold calling?

So, we've addressed the "what" and "why" behind cold calling. Now, let's take a closer look at the "how."

When we asked our respondents who regularly cold call as a major part of their daily activities what they feel the biggest challenges with cold calling in 2025 are, they answered like this:

• 40% said it was getting past gatekeepers.
• 40% said it was reaching decision-makers.
• 44% said it was overcoming initial rejection.
• 28% said it was standing out from competitors
• 15% said it was privacy regulation and compliance.

When we asked the same question of our respondents who say they cold call regularly but not daily, they responded like this:

• 30% said it was getting past gatekeepers.
• 44% said it was reaching decision-makers.
• 49% said it was overcoming initial rejection.
• 31% said it was standing out from competitors
• 18% said it was privacy regulation and compliance.

We also dug deeper into the specific cold calling tactics that sales professionals see the most success with.

Of our respondents who cold call as a major part of their daily activities:

• 55% cite a personalized, research-driven approach as one of the cold calling techniques that has given them the best results in the past year.
• 34% cite using pattern interrupt or unexpected openings.
• 29% cite leading with industry insights and trends.
• 13% cite problem-centric questioning.
• 9% cite leveraging social proof or case studies.
• 1% cite other methods.

When we asked the same question of our respondents who say they cold call regularly but not daily, they responded like this:

• 50% cited a personalized, research-driven approach as one of the cold calling techniques that has given them the best results in the past year.
• 25% cite using pattern interrupt or unexpected openings.
• 32% cite leading with industry insights and trends.
• 31% cite problem-centric questioning.
• 7% cite leveraging social proof or case studies.

We also asked what our respondents found to be the most effective openers to cold calls.

Of our respondents who cold call as a major part of their daily activities:

• 46% open cold calls with a direct introduction and purpose statement.
• 20% start with a question to generate interest.
• 20% start with a reference to research or a specific company situation.
• 10% start with a mention of a mutual connection or referral.
• 5% use pattern interrupt or an unexpected statement.

When we asked the same question of our respondents who say they cold call regularly but not daily, they responded like this:

• 39% open cold calls with a direct introduction and purpose statement.
• 25% start with a question to generate interest.
• 15% start with a reference to research or a specific company situation.
• 18% start with a mention of a mutual connection or referral.
• 2% use pattern interrupt or an unexpected statement.

The difference between a successful cold call and a hard rejection can also rest on how long sales professionals can keep their prospects on the phone.

Of our respondents who cold call as a major part of their daily activities:

• 4% said a successful call generally lasts under two minutes.
• 49% say it usually lasts between 2-5 minutes.
• 29% say it usually lasts between 6-10 minutes.
• 15% say it usually lasts between 11-15 minutes.
• 4% say it usually lasts longer than 15 minutes.

When we asked the same question of our respondents who say they cold call regularly but not daily, they responded like this:

• 6% said a successful call generally lasts under two minutes.
• 42% say it usually lasts between 2-5 minutes.
• 36% say it usually lasts between 6-10 minutes.
• 12% say it usually lasts between 11-15 minutes.
• 5% say it usually lasts longer than 15 minutes.

Cold calling is also often just a piece of the puzzle. Sales orgs generally take a dynamic, multi-channel approach to prospecting.

When we asked our respondents who cold call as a major part of their daily activities about the other channels they pair with cold calling, this is how they answered:

• 73% combine email with cold calling.
• 44% use social media outreach.
• 29% use direct mail.
• 54% use SMS or text messaging.
• 12% use video messages.
• 2% use other methods.

When we asked the same question of our respondents who say they cold call regularly but not daily, they responded like this:

• 76% combine email with cold calling.
• 37% use social media outreach.
• 25% use direct mail.
• 54% use SMS or text messaging.
• 8% use video messages.

What might the future of cold calling look like?

We've established that cold calling still has a pretty solid foothold in the sales landscape, but is that going to last? We asked some questions to get to the heart of that question.

Here's how all of our respondents answered when we asked them how effective they feel cold calling is as a sales strategy in 2025:

• 28% said it's not effective.
• 52% said it's somewhat effective.
• 16% said it's very effective.
• 4% said it's extremely effective.

When we asked our respondents whose orgs leverage cold calling as a primary sales channel whether cold calling will be more or less important to their sales process in 2026, they answered like this:

• 25% it will be much more important.
• 21% said it will be somewhat more important.
• 36% said it will be about as important as it currently is.
• 9% said it will be somewhat less important.
• 9% said it will be much less important.

When we asked the same question of respondents whose orgs leverage cold calling as a secondary sales channel:

• 12% said it will be much more important.
• 26% said it will be somewhat more important.
• 41% said it will be about as important as it currently is.
• 18% said it will be somewhat less important.
• 3% said it will be much less important.

When we asked the same question of respondents whose orgs only leverage cold calling for specific campaigns or segments:

• 0% said it will be much more important.
• 21% said it will be somewhat more important.
• 51% said it will be about as important as it currently is.
• 19% said it will be somewhat less important.
• 8% said it will be much less important.

We also asked our respondents what emerging trends they believe will impact cold calling going forward.

According to our research, respondents whose orgs leverage cold calling as a primary sales channel answered like this:

• 63% say advanced AI call assistance will impact cold calling next year.
• 33% say increased privacy regulations will impact it.
• 32% say integration with digital channels will impact it.
• 19% say voice analytics and real-time coaching will impact it.
• 21% say the decline of traditional phone usage will impact it.

When we asked the same question of respondents whose orgs leverage cold calling as a secondary sales channel. Here's how they answered:

• 55% say advanced AI call assistance will impact cold calling next year.
• 31% say increased privacy regulations will impact it.
• 27% say integration with digital channels will impact it.
• 27% say voice analytics and real-time coaching will impact it.
• 22% say the decline of traditional phone usage will impact it.

When we asked the same question of respondents whose orgs only leverage cold calling for specific campaigns or segments. Here's how they answered:

• 56% say advanced AI call assistance will impact cold calling next year.
• 22% say increased privacy regulations will impact it.
• 31% say integration with digital channels will impact it.
• 19% say voice analytics and real-time coaching will impact it.
• 38% say the decline of traditional phone usage will impact it.
• 1% say other factors will impact it.

Finally, we wanted to know what skills were the most important for successful cold calling in 2025.

Of our respondents who cold call as a major part of their daily activities:

• 51% say research and personalization are key.
• 56% say resilience and persistence.
• 51% say active listening and adaptability.
• 27% say strategic questioning.
• 17% say technological proficiency.

When we asked the same question of our respondents who say they cold call regularly but not daily, they responded like this:

• 56% say research and personalization are key.
• 45% say resilience and persistence.
• 63% say active listening and adaptability.
• 37% say strategic questioning.
• 15% say technological proficiency.

What is the state of cold calling in 2025?

In a breath? Very much alive.

In more than a breath? Our survey indicates that 68% of sales professionals are employed by a sales org that leverages cold calling in some capacity, and 65% at least occasionally cold call themselves. Additionally, 63% of the sales professionals we surveyed who regularly cold call as part of their daily activities say their call volume has increased year over year since 2024.

Those figures (among others) indicate that most sales orgs haven't jumped ship on the practice, and many of the ones who leverage it appear to be doubling down on the strategy - even with the rising tide of digital transformation shaping new prospecting methods.

There's something to the human element of cold calling that can't be replicated via cold email or social media outreach. That could be a driving factor behind cold calling's survival.

Like any other legacy-ish practice in sales, cold calling is changing. New resources and processes (especially AI-related ones) are augmenting, enhancing, and potentially threatening how it's conducted.

For now though, cold calling is still a mostly reliable staple of several sales orgs' broader strategies. It doesn't appear to be going anywhere anytime soon - but as the sales landscape continues to shift, you should expect cold calling to shift with it.

Topics: Cold Calling

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