Most brokers stop after one or two attempts. Most contacts happen later than that. A cadence that respects your time and a stopping rule that respects the evidence.
Figures in this article describe the wider market and are drawn from the third-party sources listed at the end. They are not Lead Foundry results, and nothing here is a projection of what any individual broker will achieve.
Persistence in sales is usually discussed as a character trait. It is more useful as a number, because the research says exactly where the returns stop.
The Velocify contact-strategy research, derived from close to 3.5 million leads, found that 93% of all converted leads are reached by the sixth call attempt. Only 7% convert after more than six. It also found that six calls scheduled across a 15 day period improved contact rates by 110%.
More than half of all prospects that eventually convert are reached after the first call attempt, which is the fact that makes stopping at one so expensive.
| Converted leads reached by the 6th call | 93% |
|---|---|
| Leads never called a second time | 50% |
| Leads that never receive one email | 59% |
| Reps who stop after a single attempt | 44% |
Every bar after the first describes effort that was paid for and never spent. Closing that gap costs nothing except the discipline to run the same cadence every time.
Source: Velocify contact-strategy research and Salesforce State of Sales
After six attempts without contact, move the record to a long-cycle nurture rather than keeping it in the active queue. The same research found leads needing more than seven calls are 45% less likely to convert, so the seventh attempt is where persistence stops being an investment and starts being a subsidy.
Why a stopping rule matters as much as the cadence: Without one, a broker either abandons leads at attempt two or spends attempt nine on a record that will never answer. Both are capacity problems. Six is where the evidence says the line sits.
Attempts cluster early because contact odds are highest then, and spread out afterwards because a person who has not answered five times is unlikely to answer a sixth call an hour later.
| When | Attempt | Channel | What it is for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Within minutes of arrival | 1 | Phone, then SMS if no answer | The window where odds are highest |
| Same day, different time | 2 | Phone | Catches a different part of their day |
| Next day | 3 | Phone, then a short email | Adds the channel that lifts phone reach |
| Day 3 | 4 | Phone | Still inside the enquiry being recent |
| Day 7 | 5 | Phone, then SMS | A week on, a new context |
| Day 14 | 6 | Phone, then a closing message | Last attempt, and leaves the door open |
Varying the time of day matters more than varying the script. A person unreachable at 10am on a Tuesday may be reachable at 5pm, and calling the same slot six times tests one hypothesis six times.
Because it changes what an unknown number means. A person who has received a short, specific message naming the brand they enquired through knows who is calling, and answering becomes a decision rather than a risk.
The research supports the effect directly: prospects sent an email are 16% more likely to be reached by phone, yet 59% never receive a single email. That is one of the cheapest available improvements in the whole funnel.
Consent applies to the message. In New Zealand the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007 requires consent, accurate sender identification and a functional unsubscribe. In Australia the Spam Act 2003 applies and ACMA expects consent records showing method, terms and timestamp.
The sixth attempt should end the sequence cleanly and leave a route back. A message that says you will stop calling, summarises what you could help with, and invites them to get in touch when the timing is better does two things: it respects the person, and it converts a dead record into a possible future one.
It also produces replies. A meaningful share of responses to a well-written final message are from people who meant to call back and forgot.
The number that tells you the truth: Average attempts per lead. If it sits near two, no supplier change will help. If it sits near six, your cadence is real and any remaining problem is somewhere else.
Six attempts across roughly a fortnight. Research across close to 3.5 million leads found 93% of leads that convert are reached by the sixth call, and that leads needing more than seven calls are 45% less likely to convert. Six is both the point where most of the value has been captured and the point where returns stop.
After the sixth attempt without contact, move the record into a long-cycle nurture rather than keeping it in the active queue. Continuing past seven attempts spends calling capacity on records that are 45% less likely to convert, which is capacity better spent on newer enquiries.
Yes. Velocify research found prospects who are also emailed are 16% more likely to be reached by phone, while 59% never receive a single email. A short message naming the brand they enquired through turns an unknown number into an expected call. Consent rules apply to the message in both markets.
That you will stop calling, what you could have helped with, and how to reach you when the timing is better. It closes the record respectfully, leaves a route back for a trigger event that has not happened yet, and reliably produces replies from people who meant to call back and forgot.