Cold Calling On The Weekends

Cold Calling On Weekends Podcast

I often hear the question asked, “Am I allowed to cold call on Saturday?” The answer is yes. Not only can you make cold calls on Saturday AND Sunday, but you probably should if you haven’t done so already.

Throughout my 15 year tenure in sales, the weekends have been by far my most prolific time for cold calling and making sales, especially on Saturdays.

Wasn’t always this way, though. When I first started in sales, I cherished the weekend like every other sales guy or gal. After a grueling week of selling, who wouldn’t love to kick back, have a beer, play some video games, and just flat-out get a well-rested break.

But after a while, I started to get bored of the same weekend routine. So I decided, “why not?” and went to the office on a Saturday afternoon, without expecting much to happen.

That Saturday, I set a personal record for deals closed on a single day, in addition to breaking a single-day record for the entire office.

Before we get into it, let’s discuss some of the legalities of cold calling on the weekends.

Is it legal to cold call on the weekends?

Firstly, let’s address the legalities of cold calling on the weekends. Cold calls to someone’s home are allowed between the hours of 8 am to 9 pm, seven days a week – unless granted permission by the prospect to call outside of those hours. However, cold calling a place of business is allowed at ANY TIME while you/they are at work.

However, some companies may have specific policies regarding when their employees can cold call or conduct other business-related tasks. If you are unsure whether your company allows you to cold call on Saturday or Sunday, you should contact your manager or HR department.

Do Not Call List (DNC)

Whether you are calling for yourself, your company, or another entity, if you are calling someone with which you do not have an existing business relationship (i.e. they don’t already know who you are), they may be on the Do Not Call List (DNC).

What this means is that the person you are calling has requested not to receive telemarketing calls, and thus you can be fined if caught calling them. You can read more about the regulations here.

What time of should I start cold calling on the weekends?

Now that we know the legality behind making calls on Saturdays and Sundays, what time of day should you really be starting?

Although there are various opinions out there on when is the best time to start cold calling on the weekends, my opinion is 10 am.

I’ve experimented with many hours of the day and often started at 8 am on Saturday when I was new. I found it a tad bit too early and often risked getting the relationship started on the wrong foot.

I’ve found that by 10 am, the prospect has most likely had their morning coffee and has already settled into their day. This ensures a more opportunity-rich and relaxed setting for your first interaction with them.

Will people be annoyed that I’m cold calling them on the weekends?

I’ve found that prospects are less on edge and more open to taking sales calls, especially on Saturday.

Of course, some prospects may be annoyed, but it’ll most likely be the ordinary pushback that you’d typically receive during the weekdays.

If you have a prospect that answers the phone in a less-than-stellar mood, the best thing to do is empathize with them and address why you are calling on the weekend in the first place. Learning how to empathize with your clients through a cold call is a trained skill. If you want to master it, check out our course on Cold Calling Mastery.

Once they realize WHAT you are calling about (they will ask directly or indirectly at some point), you can follow up by saying something like, “I wouldn’t call on Saturday if this weren’t important.”

This is great because not only does it calm them down, but it also builds trust in you because you are transparent with them about the fact that you have something valuable for them. (Of course, it has to be valuable and important if you’re going to go that route.)

As far as calling on Sunday, I’ve typically reserved Sundays for appointments set from warm leads and never made any new cold calls on Sunday. Saturday, however, is a different story.

Benefits of cold calling on Saturday

As you can already tell, Saturdays are one of my favorite days to make cold calls and follow-up with warm leads. There are many reasons why, but I’ll list out my top 6 reasons.

Less competition

This is especially true if you’re working in an industry where a specific territory doesn’t tie you down. Either way, there will be a lot fewer sales calls being made on Saturday by other reps.

This is your time to shine! You can start a new relationship before a competitor can swoop in or even close a deal that you’ve been working on while your competitors are still asleep.

Fewer distractions

Even though many sales reps work from home due to the pandemic, there are still fewer distractions than calling on the weekdays. And it’s the same reason your prospects are less distracted as well. There’s less to think about. You aren’t going to be thinking about your bills, quotas, debt, or daily weekday obligations as much. It creates a more relaxed environment for you and the prospect.

It creates the perfect opportunity to be yourself, be genuine and authentic with your sales pitches, and feel your absolute best.

More time to make effective sales pitches

When your leads are having a slower weekend, they’re more likely to take the time and actually listen to what you have to say. For the most part, they won’t be running around, tied down to meetings, dealing with paperwork, or even dealing with their kids! I’ve had prospects tell me to call them on Saturdays for some of these specific reasons.

You’re on top of your game

A lot of people take Saturday and Sunday off because they work their tails off Monday through Friday. And that’s completely fine! So if you plan on getting to the office on a Saturday, take it seriously, and make your time count by doing all of the things you wouldn’t normally do during a weekday.

As soon as you get into the office, start calling your leads! The act of going the extra mile, to work on the weekend when no one else will, will make you feel on top of the world. If you’ve been in a sales slump recently or dealing with cold calling anxiety, try getting to work on a Saturday. You’ll be in such a great mood that you’ll be raring to go, and you’ll show it on the phone.

You will stand out from the other reps calling those same leads

Let’s face it. Your lead or potential customer has most likely been getting calls from your competitors or people/companies in your industry. They may already have started a relationship with a few of them and are on the fence about signing up. The one advantage you have? You’re willing to go the extra mile for them by going to work on a Saturday. I can pretty much guarantee you, your warm prospects WILL appreciate the fact that you’re trying to go to work for them when no one typically will.

Think about it for a second. Your prospects are hard-working, successful individuals. Sometimes it takes going that extra mile to get to that level. Which means they probably worked one or two weekends in their lifetime to get to where they are now.

You make your hours count

We all have lives. We have things to do. I get it. You can’t be a robot, working 24/7 – it will lead to burnout. So although I do work on the weekends, I put in less time than on the weekdays.

I typically put in half the time on Saturdays than I would on a regular weekday. And even less on a Sunday (which I usually reserve strictly for warm leads only). But the weekends are still some of my most productive days.

Why? Because I know my day is going to be limited, I put my best effort into those three or five hours that I’ll be working.

Conclusion

It’s all about the hustle. When it comes to sales, the more you put in, the more results you will see.

There’s no reason for you not to take advantage of the weekends and beat your competitors to it. Or at least keep up with them.

Who knows, maybe by putting in those extra hours now, you can work less during the weekdays. Find your balance, find what works for you. Maybe you decide it’s not worth it – and that’s okay. But in my experience, it’s at least worth a shot.

All I know is that it has worked for me and many other sales reps.