Does Cold Calling Still Work in B2B? Yes, for Teams That Treat the Phone as a Skill

Cold calling still works in B2B, but average results have slipped and the gap between average and strong teams has grown. Executives still say they prefer the phone to other channels, while buyers have become far less tolerant of outreach that isn't relevant to them. Teams that book meetings by phone combine good data, real preparation, practiced delivery and steady follow-up.

What the data says about cold calling in 2026

The case against cold calling usually starts with buyer behavior. In a 2025 Gartner survey of 632 B2B buyers, 61% said they prefer a buying experience without a sales rep, and 73% said they actively avoid suppliers who send irrelevant outreach. The same research found that buyers still want a seller's input on harder questions, such as whether a product actually fits their company's needs.

The phone remains the channel many senior buyers prefer for that conversation. Cognism, a B2B data provider, reports that 57% of C-level executives and VPs would rather hear from sales reps by phone than through any other channel. Its research also shows how much harder average calling has become, with the typical cold call success rate falling to 2.3% in 2025 from 4.82% the year before.

Read together, the Gartner and Cognism figures suggest that generic, high-volume calling to poorly chosen lists is producing less every year, while well-targeted calls to the right people still get through. At memoryBlue, which has run outbound programs for B2B technology companies for more than 20 years, 85% of booked meetings come directly from live phone conversations rather than email or LinkedIn. The Revenue Wire's earlier look at Cognism's data reached a similar conclusion, finding that the channel holds up when targeting improves.

Cold calling benchmarks to measure against

The figures below give teams a rough baseline for judging whether a cold calling program is working.

• Meeting rate: The industry average is about 2.3% of calls resulting in a meeting, according to Cognism. Cognism's own sales team, using its phone-verified data and intent signals, reported 6.7%.

• Attempts to reach a prospect: Cognism puts the average at around eight call attempts before a prospect picks up, and it can take five or more follow-ups to turn a contact into a lead.

• Time to first meeting: memoryBlue reports an average of 15 days to a client's first booked meeting once a program goes live.

• Meeting quality: memoryBlue asks clients to score every meeting its reps book from 1 to 10, and its 1,000 most recent meetings averaged 8.0.

Meeting rate on its own can be misleading. A team booking plenty of meetings that never become opportunities has a targeting or qualification problem that the meeting count hides. The metrics worth tracking together are connect rate, conversation-to-meeting rate, meetings held, meeting-to-opportunity conversion and how account executives rate the meetings they receive.

What separates cold calls that work

A good list and a reason to call

Most poor cold calling results trace back to who is being called. Glenn Haertel, memoryBlue's Chief Revenue Officer, has criticized the habit of running auto-dialers through large lists with no preparation. "As a SDR or BDR on the other end of that call, you're not ready for that conversation because you don't know who's going to answer," he said. "That's very ineffective." His alternative is to research each prospect in advance so the rep can open with a specific, relevant reason for the call.

Tone and presence

In a memoryBlue webinar on the science of cold calling, Senior Managing Director Ava Zannino and guest Joe Marcin, a three-time award-winning CRO, discussed how pace, confidence and energy shape a buyer's response, especially with executives. Small habits help, such as standing during calls and keeping a focused calling environment, because buyers can hear the difference even when they can't see the rep.

Scripts that reps have made their own

Scripts give reps structure for openings and objections, but buyers can tell when someone is reading. The same webinar recommended taking the script away during practice and asking reps to explain the value proposition in their own words. Michelle Galatis, memoryBlue's Global Head of Talent Development, leads training strategy at a company where every rep completes a six-week training program before calling on a client's behalf. Her team uses AI-simulated prospect conversations for this kind of rehearsal, and Galatis has said that "reps can get as many practice repetitions as they need."

Timing built around the buyer

There is no single best hour to call. Executives in different roles and industries have different schedules, so strong teams test calling windows by persona and adjust. The memoryBlue webinar also made the case for calling during periods that most teams treat as dead time, such as the weeks around holidays, when competitors pull back and executives are sometimes easier to reach. The goal on those calls is usually to schedule a later conversation rather than push for an immediate meeting.

Follow-up across channels

Calls tend to work best as part of a coordinated sequence across phone, email and LinkedIn. A voicemail that mentions a follow-up note on LinkedIn, followed by that note, feels connected to the prospect, and each touch adds context to the one before it.

Local norms in international markets

Calling customs vary by country, and a U.S. script translated word for word rarely works abroad. Hannah Allen, memoryBlue's Director of Global Operations, offered a simple example: "In the U.S., it would be 'Hi, John.' In Germany, it'd be 'Hello, Mr. Smith.'" memoryBlue runs outbound in more than 30 languages using reps based in the markets they call.

Where AI fits in cold calling

AI has made the preparation side of cold calling much faster. Reps can research a prospect's role, company and recent news in minutes, find likely pain points, decide when to call based on buying signals and practice difficult conversations before they dial. Haertel's advice to open every call with a specific reason depends on exactly this kind of preparation.

On the call itself, the memoryBlue webinar pointed out that even a well-written, personalized AI voicemail can fall flat when the tone is wrong, because buyers respond to a person who sounds prepared and credible. Many of the teams now getting the most from the phone have moved their AI tools into research and preparation and kept people on the calls. As Aurelien Mottier, President of memoryBlue, puts it, "What can't be automated is having great conversations."

Frequently asked questions

Does cold calling still work in B2B?

Yes, for teams that call the right people with a clear reason. The average success rate fell to about 2.3% in 2025, according to Cognism, but well-targeted programs perform far better, and 57% of C-level executives and VPs say they prefer phone outreach to other channels. At memoryBlue, 85% of booked meetings come from live phone conversations.

What is a good cold calling success rate?

The industry average is roughly 2% to 3% of calls producing a meeting. Teams with strong data and targeting report rates of 6% or higher. Meeting quality matters as much as volume, so track how many meetings convert into real opportunities.

How many calls does it take to reach a prospect?

Cognism puts the average at around eight call attempts, and it can take five or more follow-ups to turn a contact into a qualified lead.

What is the best time to cold call?

There is no universal best time. Executives' schedules vary by role, industry and region, so the strongest teams test calling windows for each buyer persona and adjust based on results.

Can AI replace cold callers?

AI is useful for research, targeting, signal detection and call practice, but buyers still respond to a prepared, credible person on the phone. Most teams getting strong results use AI to prepare reps rather than to make the calls.