Nooks Insights is your data-driven advantage, powered by millions of recorded cold calls analyzed through Nooks Analytics. We cut through the noise to give sales teams actionable recommendations on what actually works. This time, we tackled one of the biggest cold calling debates: Are people still answering their cell phones? Here’s what we found.

If you’re in sales, you’ve heard it all. “No one answers in the summer.” “Winter is impossible for booking meetings.” And, of course, the classic: “Cold calling is dead.”‍

But how much of this is just noise, and what actually holds up under real data?

With Nooks Insights, we put nearly 3 million dials to the test to uncover the truth behind one of the most debated cold calling complaints: “People just don’t answer their cell phones anymore.”‍

We analyzed mobile vs. non-mobile connect rates, measured how often calls turned into meetings, and broke it all down by job function—marketing, security, IT, data, support, HR, sales, and finance—to see how different personas interact with their phones.

Let’s take a look at the findings: 

Mobile connect rates are significantly higher.

Next time you hear someone say they’ll never book a meeting with a seller that dials their cell, you can be confident the data doesn’t support that.

Mobile calls aren’t just alive—they’re thriving. Our data shows that mobile numbers have a 45% higher connect rate than non-mobile numbers, and those conversations turn into meetings 18% more often.

If your team isn’t prioritizing mobile dials, you’re leaving opportunities on the table. Investing in the right tools to source accurate mobile numbers—and cutting out the bad ones—can make all the difference.

And as for anyone still claiming that calling cell phones doesn’t work? Let them keep believing that. More conversations for you.

Mobile vs. non-mobile impacts some verticals more than others.

Not all industries are created equal when it comes to picking up the phone. For many roles, mobile is the clear winner:

• Finance professionals are 148% more likely to answer on mobile than non-mobile.
• Marketing follows close behind at 128%.
• HR (56% more likely) and Sales (38% more likely) also show a strong preference for mobile.

If you’re selling to these personas, sourcing clean, accurate mobile numbers should be a top priority for your call blitz sessions.

For more technical roles like IT, Security, and Support, the difference between mobile and non-mobile isn’t as pronounced. While mobile still performs better, office lines remain a viable channel, making a blended approach the best strategy.

Note: While Marketing has the lowest overall connect rate, the 128% variance between mobile and non-mobile suggests they are far more reachable on their cell. If you’re targeting marketers, focusing on mobile numbers will give you a much better chance of connecting.

Target persona affects overall connect rates.

Some personas are naturally more likely to pick up the phone than others. If you’re selling to sales professionals, HR, IT, or Support, you’re in luck—these roles have the highest connect rates. It makes sense: people who spend a lot of time on the phone are more inclined to answer one.

On the flip side, Marketing, Security, Finance, and Data professionals are among the hardest to reach, with Marketing ranking the lowest for both mobile and non-mobile connect rates.

So, the next time you hear someone bragging about their sky-high connect rate, take a closer look at who they’re calling. If their audience is full of naturally phone-friendly personas, their numbers might not be as impressive as they seem. Instead of comparing connect rates across the board, focus on optimizing your call strategy based on who you’re selling to.

More Conversations Don’t Always Mean More Meetings

"For those in sales, we salute you. Sales leaders may not always be the easiest to reach, but when they do pick up, they book meetings 23% more often than the average decision-maker."

Just because someone picks up doesn’t mean they’ll book a meeting. IT and Support roles have some of the highest answer rates, but they also show the biggest drop-off when it comes to converting calls into meetings—35% below the baseline average. If you’re calling into this space, expect plenty of conversations, but you’ll need to work harder to turn them into real opportunities. The key? Ask smart questions, offer low-pressure discovery meetings, and focus on winning referrals to key decision-makers.

On the other hand, Security and Data professionals are harder to reach, but when they do pick up, they’re more likely to take a meeting. If this is your market, don’t get discouraged by lower connect rates—your cold call session might take more effort, but the payoff is worth it when you finally get a conversation going.

Let’s recap the most important take-aways:

1: Mobile matters. Mobile calls have a 45% higher connect rate and book meetings 18% more often than non-mobile calls.

Action Item: Invest in tools that help sellers source accurate mobile data and implement a system to regularly clean and replace bad numbers.

2:  Not all personas are equally reachable. Different industries and roles have different relationships with the phone.

Action Item: Don’t compare your connect rates to sellers in other spaces—some job titles are simply easier to reach. Instead, focus on optimizing your strategy for your target audience.

3: More conversations don’t always mean more meetings. Some roles, like IT and Support, answer frequently but are less likely to book.

Action Item: Make sure your team has strong objection-handling skills and a well-crafted talk track to navigate quick brush-offs and push for next steps.

4: An AI dialer like Nooks can help you scale smarter. No matter your industry, the right technology can dramatically increase your connection rate and overall efficiency.

Action Item: Leverage AI-powered dialing to boost sales productivity, filter out bad numbers, and power through dials with precision.

Follow Nooks on LinkedIn and subscribe to our newsletter for more data-driven insights.