Cold Calls in 2023: What’s the Point of Dialing in an Online World?
Adéla Mrázková
2/20/2025
Sales
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The Future of Cold Calling After the Amendment to the Electronic Communications Act
The question of the future and effectiveness of cold calling is also relevant due to the amendment to the Electronic Communications Act, which came into effect on January 1, 2022. In addition to changes regarding cookies and the processing of personal data, it significantly restricted telemarketing.
Until now, the so-called opt-out principle applied, but the amendment changes it to opt-in. What does that mean? Previously, the law assumed that a person consented to marketing calls unless they explicitly objected. Today, such calls are automatically considered unsolicited and intrusive.
“From a marketing perspective, it will only be possible to contact those individuals who are listed in a public participant directory and have explicitly stated that they wish to be contacted for marketing purposes,”
explains Jakub Málek from the law firm PEYTON legal. This applies to individuals, entrepreneurs, and companies alike.
Public directories are usually created by providers of electronic communication services, such as mobile operators. According to the amendment, it is no longer allowed to dial random numbers and call them with offers. On the other hand, you can use contact databases for companies, such as the one provided by Merk.
What about phone numbers that companies and entrepreneurs publish on their websites as contact details? “The relevant legal regulation of the Electronic Communications Act does not automatically apply to contact details published by the data subject themselves,” explains Vojtěch Marcín from the Office for Personal Data Protection in an article on penize.cz. This means you can call them with an offer—unless they explicitly state the purpose of the contact (such as customer support, etc.).
In summary: you can call contacts from a public directory who have given prior consent to be contacted, or use general contact details published by companies on their websites.
When Does Cold Calling Make Sense—and When Should You Avoid It
Debates about the value of cold calling have always existed and will continue. In light of the new legal regulations, it may seem that cold calling is a thing of the past. Still, it holds a place in sales strategies. It definitely makes sense for you when:
- you're new to the market and need to gain your first clients,
- you don't have the resources for other forms of marketing,
- you want to try and use all available sales methods,
- your current methods aren't working and you need to try something different,
- you want to revive old contacts and restart your sales efforts.
“Is cold calling useful? If you have a product or service suitable for the B2B segment and someone who knows how to make calls, then definitely yes,”
says David Synáček from Telefonická komunikace, an expert in calling who trains salespeople and managers.
Still, for many sales managers, cold calling is a last resort they turn to when nothing else works. And it’s no wonder. Salespeople need to be patient, put their ego aside, and be prepared for frequent rejection. On top of that, cold calling has a bad reputation in the Czech Republic, and many people don’t even pick up unknown calls.
According to international studies, only about 2% of cold calls are successful, and some research suggests that it takes 209 calls to schedule one meeting—plus, three-quarters of the calls either go unanswered or get hung up on immediately.
Even though cold calling’s effectiveness is questionable, it still brings value for some because:
- it provides immediate feedback on whether a lead is worth pursuing,
- senior decision-makers in companies often prefer quick, clear phone calls over lengthy emails,
- it can stand out in industries where 99% of communication happens online,
- a phone call is harder to ignore than an email.
“The main advantage of cold calling, in my view, is that it helps acquire new clients in the fastest way—through direct outreach,”
confirms David Synáček
Before you decide to incorporate cold calls into your sales strategy, consider the risks as well, such as:
- wasting valuable time that could be better spent than calling hundreds of contacts with no results,
- discouraging potential clients who might be more effectively reached by other means,
- damaging your business’s reputation—people are wary of sales calls, which can undermine trust. Callers need to be perfectly prepared for cold calling.
💡 TIP
If you’re not using a CRM yet, give it a try. It makes cold calling easier by giving you a clear overview of all contacts—whether they’ve already been called or are waiting to be. For each contact, you can also log their business potential and details from the call that will come in handy for the salesperson who will handle the lead later.
When to Outsource Cold Calling and When to Handle It In-House
If you want to try cold calling but lack the experience, knowledge, or simply don’t want to dedicate your time to making calls, you can outsource it.
“Cold calling is a demanding discipline. You can’t do without the right person who knows how to handle it. But finding that person involves complex hiring, training, and ongoing coaching. Not everyone has the time or people for that. That’s why cold calling is often outsourced,”
confirms David Synáček
👍 Benefits of Outsourcing:
- Time savings – Leave the calling to experienced professionals and focus on more important sales activities yourself,
- Cost savings – Hiring a call center or telemarketer is often cheaper than employing an in-house cold calling specialist or training a colleague,
- Expertise and efficiency – Experienced callers have the knowledge and skills needed to conduct successful sales calls.
👎 However, also consider the potential drawbacks:
- Costs for onboarding and preparing a playbook—a guide on how to talk about your company, communicate, and handle objections,
- Loss of control over how the calls are conducted,
- Risk of data loss if you choose unreliable callers,
- Risk of harming your company's reputation.
Alternatives – What If Cold Calling Isn’t Right for You
The most common issue with cold calling is that you’re reaching out to irrelevant contacts. That’s why it’s essential to first understand their needs and problems—then offer a solution.
How can you target potential customers and get leads with a higher chance of converting into clients or partners? Try:
- Content marketing – e.g. blog articles with valuable content that prompt clients to reach out to you, or exchange their contact info for more resources (like regular newsletters or e-book downloads),
- Emailing – send newsletters and offers tailored to the needs of your acquired contacts,
- Social media – platforms like LinkedIn allow you to easily and effectively find people interested in your business (we wrote more on LinkedIn selling here),
- SEO – optimize your website so clients can easily find you,
- Advertising – both social media ads and Google PPC increase your visibility,
- Events, workshops, and networking – participate in events where you can meet potential clients and establish connections,
- Client referrals – ask your existing clients for referrals and let them recommend you to others.
Cold calling and other lead generation methods are just a small part of the overall sales process. Check out our Sales Manager Hub, where we guide you step-by-step on how to structure it correctly.
Adel gained experience in e-commerce and SaaS companies as a content-focused brand manager. She now uses this overlap in product marketing, where she connects what CRM can do with what customers need to hear - in a clear and easy to understand way.
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