Data & Benchmarks
Cold call connect rate benchmark by persona - France 2025
What time should you call a CFO, a Head of Sales or a CIO? Minari analyzed 1.2 million B2B calls in France. Here are the slots with the highest connect rate for each persona.
Calling at the wrong time is calling for nothing.
A Head of Sales doesn't pick up at the same times as a CFO. A CIO has their own windows of availability. Yet most sales teams still prospect with generic time slots, the same for all their targets.
At Minari, we analyzed 1.2 million calls across 3 key personas in the French B2B market to identify the slots where the connect rate is objectively highest. Here are the results.
Methodology
The data below comes from the Minari platform, based on 400,000 calls analyzed per persona. Each segment covers calls made in France, to decision-makers identified by job title.
The connect rate is the ratio between the number of calls made and the number of real conversations obtained (the prospect picks up and talks).
CFO, Head of Finance, VP Finance
Average connect rate over the analyzed range: ~21%
Finance people are available early in the week, and Monday morning in particular is a golden window.
| Slot | Connect rate |
|---|---|
| 🥇 Monday 10am | 31.50% |
| 🥈 Monday 11am | 28.66% |
| 🥉 Thursday 12pm | 26.11% |
Monday between 10am and noon is clearly the time to favor. Rates stay high overall throughout the week, except Tuesday at noon (13.81%), which you should avoid.
Key takeaway: If you only have one cold calling session a week for this persona, make it Monday morning.
| 8am | 9am | 10am | 11am | 12pm | 1pm | 2pm | 3pm | 4pm | 5pm | 6pm | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | – | – | 31.5 | 28.7 | – | – | 25.3 | 15.3 | 23.2 | 24.1 | 23.7 |
| Tue | – | 20.7 | 22.1 | 18.4 | 13.8 | – | 19.4 | 20.0 | 18.8 | 19.7 | 16.4 |
| Wed | – | – | 25.8 | 22.0 | 21.9 | – | 19.4 | 22.5 | 18.3 | 19.7 | 20.0 |
| Thu | – | – | 21.7 | 23.1 | 26.1 | – | 22.8 | 21.9 | 23.8 | 22.4 | 17.9 |
| Fri | – | – | 19.9 | 22.2 | 17.4 | – | 21.4 | 22.9 | 19.6 | – | – |
Head of Sales, VP Sales, CRO
Average connect rate over the analyzed range: ~13%
Sales leaders are the hardest to reach. Makes sense: they spend their days on calls and in meetings. Wednesday morning clearly stands out.
| Slot | Connect rate |
|---|---|
| 🥇 Wednesday 9am | 20.34% |
| 🥈 Monday 5pm | 18.18% |
| 🥉 Friday 10am | 13.66% |
Wednesday at 9am is the go-to slot. There's also an unexpected peak late on Monday afternoon, probably a quiet moment before the end of the day.
Key takeaway: Wednesday morning, before the day's meetings start.
| 8am | 9am | 10am | 11am | 12pm | 1pm | 2pm | 3pm | 4pm | 5pm | 6pm | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | – | – | – | – | – | – | 8.2 | – | 10.3 | 18.2 | – |
| Tue | – | 10.7 | 10.5 | 9.8 | – | 10.9 | 11.2 | 11.9 | 8.9 | 9.6 | – |
| Wed | – | 20.3 | 11.0 | 11.3 | 7.7 | 9.3 | 11.9 | 11.4 | 9.8 | 9.1 | – |
| Thu | – | – | 11.7 | 13.4 | – | 9.6 | 9.4 | 10.6 | 12.1 | 9.2 | 12.2 |
| Fri | – | – | 13.7 | 13.2 | – | 12.5 | 12.4 | 9.3 | – | – | – |
CIO, CISO
Average connect rate over the analyzed range: ~12%
Security and IT profiles pick up early, at the start of the week, and their availability drops sharply at the end of the week.
| Slot | Connect rate |
|---|---|
| 🥇 Wednesday 9am | 17.60% |
| 🥈 Monday 11am | 16.56% |
| 🥉 Monday 10am | 16.36% |
Thursday afternoon and Friday after 4pm show the lowest rates.
Key takeaway: Wednesday and Monday morning. Forget Friday afternoon.
| 8am | 9am | 10am | 11am | 12pm | 1pm | 2pm | 3pm | 4pm | 5pm | 6pm | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | – | – | 16.4 | 16.6 | 14.2 | – | 12.1 | 14.3 | 14.6 | 13.3 | 13.0 |
| Tue | 15.3 | 15.7 | 13.9 | 13.5 | 11.8 | – | 14.8 | 14.4 | 14.3 | 14.3 | 10.2 |
| Wed | 16.2 | 17.6 | 13.1 | 12.3 | 16.3 | – | 13.7 | 14.0 | 14.0 | 14.4 | 14.2 |
| Thu | – | 15.1 | 13.9 | 14.5 | 13.7 | 11.8 | 14.7 | 12.6 | 13.0 | 14.5 | 12.9 |
| Fri | – | 14.7 | 14.2 | 14.2 | 13.6 | – | 16.1 | 12.6 | 10.2 | 11.8 | – |
Summary
| Persona | Best slot | Connect rate |
|---|---|---|
| CFO / Finance | Monday 10am | 31.50% |
| Head of Sales / CRO | Wednesday 9am | 20.34% |
| CIO / CISO | Wednesday 9am | 17.60% |
Monday morning is strategic for finance profiles. With a 31.5% connect rate, it's the highest peak in our whole benchmark. CFOs start the week available, before the meetings pile up.
Wednesday at 9am is the best slot for sales and IT profiles. A short window, before the day is taken up by other commitments, but very effective for these two personas.
What this data doesn't say
The connect rate is a necessary condition, not a sufficient one. Calling at the right time increases your chances of having someone on the line, but it's your pitch that determines whether you get a meeting.
This data also shows averages. Your market, your industry and your targeting can change the results. The best approach is still to test, measure and adjust on your own contact base.
Benchmark in progress
This benchmark will be expanded with new personas over time. The next segments analyzed will include HR, Marketing and Operations profiles.
Data from the Minari platform - 1.2 million calls analyzed in the French B2B market.
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