The psychology of the cold call
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Guide · The data disagrees

Cold call voicemail? The data disagrees.

Leave one or hang up? Reps argue about it constantly, and the numbers don’t settle it. Here is what two reports say, why they might differ and how to test it yourself.

The short answer

The short answer

Should I leave a voicemail on a cold call? The data does not settle it. One report says voicemails raise email replies but lower later phone connects. A vendor test says a voicemail raised connects on the next call. Test it on your own list: leave voicemails for half your prospects for two weeks and compare.

What the two reports say

Voicemail first, then email

Gong data, as reported by Prospeo

Email reply, no voicemail2.73%
Email reply, after a voicemail5.87%
Later connect, voicemail5.17%
Later connect, no voicemail7.18%
Vendor data

Voicemail before the second call

Skipcall test, Q4 2025, 1,800 prospects

Day-3 connect, no voicemail7%
Day-3 connect, after a voicemail12%
Vendor data

The first report links voicemails to better email replies, but fewer connects later. The second found more connects on the next call. They disagree on the thing most reps care about.

Why they might disagree

  • Both are vendor data. The Prospeo article gives no study year or method, and Skipcall sells automated voicemail drop, so it has a stake in the answer.
  • Neither is a clean experiment. Reps who leave voicemails may also pick different prospects, times and lists. The Skipcall write-up does not describe controls for timing or list quality.
  • They measure different things. One looks at the whole channel mix over time. The other looks at a single second attempt.

So treat both as clues, not rules. Neither should change what you do until you have tested it on your own list.

What to say if you leave one

If you do leave a voicemail, keep it short and easy to act on. This is our coaching practice, not a study.

  1. Your full name and company.
  2. One specific reason you are calling them, in a sentence.
  3. Your number, said slowly.
  4. If you will follow up by email, say so.

Then read it out loud once before you record it. If it sounds like an email, it is too long.

Test it on your own list

  1. Split one list of prospects in half at random.
  2. For two weeks, leave a voicemail for half of them and no voicemail for the other half.
  3. Count connects on the next attempt for both groups, plus any replies.
  4. Keep what wins, and rerun it next quarter, because lists and phones change.
Tip

Use the call-block timer to count dials and conversations per block, and the find-your-hours log to see when your calls connect best.

Questions people ask.

Should I leave a voicemail on a cold call?
The data does not settle it. One report says voicemails raise email replies but lower later phone connects. A vendor test says a voicemail raised connects on the next call. Test it on your own list: leave voicemails for half your prospects for two weeks and compare.
Do voicemails get callbacks?
Rarely, and no good independent data says otherwise. Treat a voicemail as a way to make the next touch more familiar, not as a way to get a call back.
What should a cold call voicemail say?
Keep it under 20 seconds: your name and company, one specific reason you are calling, and your number. Say the number slowly. This is our coaching practice, not a study.

Sources

  1. Prospeo. Cold call voicemail strategies, citing Gong's analysis of 300M+ cold calls (no study year given).
  2. Skipcall. Cold call voicemail: should you leave one? Internal test, Q4 2025, 1,800 prospects.
  3. Every figure on this page, with its evidence label, is on the research page.
Keep going
Guide

How many cold calls a day?

What the data says and how to set your number.

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Call-block timer

Count dials and conversations per block.

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How to cold call

The five-part call and the weekly system.

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