Contact center metrics for successful outbound sales

To ensure your outbound sales campaign’s on the right track, making use of insightful metrics is a must.

Of course, every campaign is different and you should always test and measure which KPIs work best for you. However, in this article, we’ve selected a few of our favorite call-focused metrics which can be applied to pretty much any outbound sales campaign.

1. Calls per Agent

Let’s kick off our list of outbound sales metrics with one of the simplest KPIs out there: The number of calls your agents make over a given period of time (e.g. hour, day, week).

While it may be a pretty standard measure, it’s one of the most trusted metrics for any sales-driven contact center operation because it plainly illustrates an agent’s call frequency.

Supporting agents with regular training, recognition, and breaks will all help boost their respective output, but a good dialer has become key to ensuring the maximum number of calls across all agents. Both power dialers and predictive dialers are designed to amplify call volume – but choosing the right type of dialer for you will naturally affect your results. 

For a real-life example, read how outsourced contact center, Protocall, was able to maximize calls per agent in their outbound campaigns with VCC Live’s predictive dialer.

Calls per Agent benchmarks

This metric can vary depending on your industry, target audience, call complexity, and campaign goals. However, here are a few general benchmarks:

• High-volume cold calling: 80-150 calls per day per agent

These calls are usually short (2-5 minutes) and focus on initial outreach and lead qualification.

• Warm leads and follow-up calls: 40-80 calls per day per agent 

These are longer conversations (5-15 minutes) that can build and strengthen relationships.

• Complex sales: 20-50 calls per day per agent

Complex sales calls can take more than 15 minutes as in-depth discussions and multiple topics may arise.

2. Connection Rate

Connection rate is the number of answered calls divided by the total calls made.

Connection rates are influenced by several factors including prospect availability (unavailable, avoiding calls etc.) and contact data quality. If your connection rate is low (e.g. less than 10%), it’ll take a long time to work through your contact database which will raise operational costs and significantly prolong the campaign.

This metric can be improved in a few ways – e.g. by verifying phone data quality or changing the time of day you make calls – but the innovation of predictive dialer software has become a standout mechanism for boosting connection rates by only handling successfully connected calls.

Before conducting any changes, ensure you first measure your connection rates to attain a benchmark for improvement, going forward.

Benchmarks for connection rate

Depending on your campaign, these numbers can serve as a general guideline for your ideal connection rate:

B2C vs. B2B

• B2C campaigns: 10-30%

These campaigns typically use a larger database and less targeted outreach.

• B2B campaigns: 15-40%

Due to more targeted calling lists, connection rates are typically higher in B2B sales campaigns.

Warm vs. cold outreach 

• Warm leads: 40-60%

Leads who have shown prior interest tend to have a much higher connection rate.

• Cold calling: 5-15%

These campaigns typically have the lowest connection rate due to the lack of prior relationships as well as potential call blocking. 

3. Average Talk or Handling Time

Average talk time (ATT) is the amount of time an agent spends on the phone with a prospect or customer. Average handling time (AHT) is similar but it also factors in prep time for the call (i.e. “pre-work”) and post-call actions such as “after call work (ACW)“.

In either case, average talk or handling time are key metrics to gauge the productivity of your agents. Both measures can be improved in a number of ways including training, script optimization, limiting pre- and post-call work, and through technologies such as auto dialers that can boost overall talk time up to 40 minutes per hour.

Check out how BPO firm Effective Communication increased their agents’ talk time with VCC.

ATT and AHT benchmarks

For in-depth information on industry standards, visit our KPI library:

• Average talk time
• Average handling time 

In a sales-driven business, it’s important to keep average talk and/or handling time high – but this is often influenced by an equally pivotal metric; average wait time.

4. Average Wait Time

As you probably guessed, average wait time (AWT) is an agent’s average wait time between calls. A few seconds may not seem much, but if it happens between every call across all agents, it soon adds up to a lot of inactivity.

You can help reduce wait time by conducting calls outside of working hours, dialing from more credible phone numbers, or refreshing your contact list but – in terms of pivotal technologies – combining both a good dialer and answering machine detection (AMD) will significantly diminish your agents’ wait time. A voicemail detection system automatically identifies a voicemail-bound call and skips to the next call until contact is established with an actual prospect.

Read how 4Life Direct successfully minimized wait times with VCC Live’s auto dialer and voicemail detection. 

Average Wait Time benchmarks

B2C Sales

• Average: 30–60 seconds
• Good: 15–30 seconds
• Excellent: 5–15 seconds

B2C campaigns usually involve high call volumes and shorter conversations. Since the goal is to reach as many people as possible, efficient dialing systems can minimize wait times. Excellent performance means the system is quickly moving agents to the next call, keeping them engaged. 

B2B Sales

• Average: 1.5–3 minutes
• Good: 1–1.5 minutes
• Excellent: 30 seconds–1 minute

B2B sales typically involve more targeted prospecting, meaning contact lists are smaller, and decision-makers are harder to reach. Longer wait times are common as agents carefully select leads, and outreach timing must align with business hours. 

Warm leads

• Average: 2–4 minutes
• Good: 1–2 minutes
• Excellent: 30 seconds–1 minute

Warm leads are further down the sales funnel, requiring more personalized outreach. Agents often spend time reviewing previous interactions and tailoring their approach before making the next call. 

Enterprise/Complex Sales

• Average: 3–5 minutes
• Good: 2–3 minutes
• Excellent: 1–2 minutes

In enterprise-level sales, calls are typically high-value and complex, often involving multiple stakeholders. Agents require additional preparation time to align their messaging with the prospect’s business needs, resulting in longer wait times.

5. Conversion Rate

Finally, the exciting metric! What your agents’ daily grind is actually affording you in terms of new business.

The conversion rate is the number of conversions (however you define them – e.g. sales, meetings) divided by the total number of prospects reached. A higher conversion rate equates to higher success – hence why it’s also sometimes referred to as “success rate”.

Read how MediaShop (Telemarketing International) was able to achieve an outstanding conversion rate of up to 70% in their outbound campaigns with VCC Live!

Ideal conversion rates in outbound sales

B2C Sales

• Average: 1%–3%
• Good: 3%–5%
• Excellent: 5%–8%

B2C cold calling typically has lower conversion rates because it’s high-volume and often involves contacting individuals with little to no prior engagement. Achieving a good or excellent rate requires precise targeting, effective scripts, and strong objection handling.

B2B Sales

• Average: 2%–5%
• Good: 5%–10%
• Excellent: 10%–15%

B2B cold outreach has higher potential conversion rates than B2C because of better-targeted prospect lists and a focus on solving specific business challenges. Achieving excellent performance requires deep research, personalized outreach, and consultative selling.

Warm leads

• Average: 8%–12%
• Good: 12%–20%
• Excellent: 20%–30%

Warm leads are more receptive since they have shown interest previously. Success depends on timely follow-ups, addressing specific needs, and providing value-driven solutions. Excellent conversion rates are possible with a well-structured follow-up process and personalized engagement.

Enterprise/Complex Sales

• Average: 5%–8%
• Good: 8%–12%
• Excellent: 12%–20%

Enterprise sales involve long decision-making cycles with multiple stakeholders. Conversions are typically measured in terms of setting meetings, advancing to the next stage, or closing high-value deals. Excellent results require personalized, multi-touch strategies and credibility-building efforts.

Complete control of your outbound sales metrics

Metrics are naturally a great way to measure effectiveness of any outbound sales campaign – but it’s important to continuously monitor and tweak them depending on your desired outcomes. 

Using a real-time KPI dashboard can really help you keep on top of things and better inform your contact center efforts. What’s more, VCC Live assigns a Customer Success Manager to you who continuously monitors your industry’s standards and gives you expert advice to meet your goals. 

Contact us today if you’d like to learn more

Interested in key metrics for other industries? Check out this webinar for debt collection, inbound sales and customer service KPIs to monitor.