Timing matters. This is a mantra that SDRs and BDRs should keep in mind every time they plan their prospecting and outreach efforts.
Adjusting the sending time windows properly can make a huge difference in open and reply rates. (Don't believe me? Here's an experiment I've conducted to prove this assumption 👉 *https://reply.io/outreach-response-rate* )
To dig a little deeper, our Data Scientist has analyzed over 200M emails sent through our platform to figure out:
the best / worst time of day to send emails
the best / worst days of the week to send emails
the best / worst months to send emails
Before we dive in, make sure to share this post with your SDRs :)
1. 🕒 Reply Rate by Hours
In a nutshell, people tend to reply to emails in the morning — from 7 to 10 a.m. Reply rates are 2x lower from 2 to 5 p.m.
As an SDR, you can use this information to adjust the sequence schedule in your SEP or sales automation platform accordingly:
make sure the most valuable prospects will get your emails first thing in the morning
focus on other sales-related activities like list building, account prioritization, Linkedin prospecting, etc. later in the day (which, however, doesn't mean that you should stop sending emails in the afternoon at all)
2. 🔆 Reply Rates by Day
Sending emails during the right business hours could double your average reply rate. Yet, I have always been wondering: does your reply rate depend on the day of the week?
What if I plan my initial emails for Tuesday and send my 1st follow-up in 3 days (Friday) or 6 days (Monday)? Would that make any difference? Or is it ok not to worry too much about it and send emails whenever I want?
🥁 Here is the answer: the day of the week matters.
As you can see, the prospects tend to reply on Mondays and Thursdays. You can see almost the same reply rate on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Sundays. The lowest reply rate is on Saturdays.
And it does make sense: most of us spend some time checking emails, Slack, and other work-related messengers once they get back to work on Monday morning. Tuesday and Wednesdays are the most productive days of the week, so the decision-makers might spend more time on meetings, daily tasks, etc.
How can SDRs use this data?
Add new prospects to the sequences on Monday and Thursday
Block Mondays and Thursdays for the initial emails
Use Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays to send follow-ups
Include Sundays into your sending schedules as well
3. 🗓 Reply Rate by Month
The data on reply rates by month might also help you adjust your prospecting efforts. And here's why 👇
As you can see, people reply better on Feb-Mar and Oct-Nov. The average reply rate is the lowest in July, August, and December.
To achieve your quota for Jul/Aug, i.e., get the same number of replies as you used to receive in February or November, make sure to add at least 40-50% more contacts to your sequences.
Bottom Line
Wrapping up, here are a few more interesting insights:
for the best performance, send your email from 9 to 10 a.m., on Monday or Thursday, in February or November
if you couldn't care less about those replies (😅) send your email around 4 p.m., on Tuesday or Saturday, in August or July
send your initial emails when the prospects are most likely to reply
plan your follow-ups for the days when the average reply rate is lower
don't overcomplicate - the charts above represent the average reply rate; your numbers might differ based on industry, title, location, culture, season, or even weather :)
I hope you've enjoyed reading this post and found at least 1 insight that would up your sales development game.
Let's keep decoding sales development together. ⚡️