5 Outbound Call Center Metrics and KPIs to Track

A recent research study by McKinsey has revealed that 40% of respondents believe that inbound calls will decrease drastically within the next ten years. So it’s not surprising that outbound lead generation has become a new emerging trend for outreach: It’s more selective, personalized, and precisely targeted than any other inbound channel. With outbound on the rise, call centers that specialize in cold calling for B2B outreach have been thriving as well.  

When running an outbound call center, constantly improving your performance is critical to your success. This can be only achieved through regularly tracking your outbound call center performance metrics. Once you know what to measure and how to do it right, can you strive for better results. Let’s start with five top outbound call center metrics and how to track them. 

Most Essential Outbound Call Center Metrics to Measure 

Every outbound call center is free to choose any performance metrics they believe are most valid for their business. Not sure what to track? Here are five valuable metrics we recommend you follow to reach your business goals. 

1. Connection rate

The connection rate is a metric that defines the share of leads contacted (including voicemails) out of all the calls made within a certain period. You can track it daily, weekly, or monthly. This KPI shows the efficiency of your leads. 

The better your lead list, the more leads you will be able to reach out to within a given period of time. If your connection rate is smaller than you’d wish, identify your ideal customer profile more precisely and do more research before contacting the prospects. 

To measure it, use this formula:

2. Conversion rate 

The conversion rate shows the percentage of successfully conducted calls that resulted in a closed deal versus all the calls made within a certain timeframe.

Exploring an outsourced call center solution can further enhance these metrics, offering specialized expertise and efficiency in managing customer interactions.

The faster you can close a deal, the cheaper the cost per lead, and therefore, the higher the revenue your outbound call center generates. Here is the formula to measure the conversation rate:

According to the RAIN Group, it takes an average of eight touches to get through and generate a conversion with a new prospect. Hit this target or go even further to boost your conversion rate. 

3. Cost per acquisition (CPA)

The cost per acquisition (CPA) indicates the average price paid for each converted lead. When calculating this outbound call center metric, you need to take into account all the resources and expenses involved to make this sale happen. 

To measure it, use the formula:

While sales costs include the agent’s rate per hour multiplied by all the billable hours, marketing costs include all the targeted ads, email campaigns, and any other marketing expenses. Technical costs include the money spent on cold calling automation tools, special software, and hardware such as new equipment, etc. 

4. Calls per agent

This is a simple outbound call center metric that denotes the number of calls made by each SDR within a short time (an hour, a shift, or a week). This KPI is very important to measure as it helps to track each agent’s performance and progress over time. 

Besides that, the calls per agent metric helps managers calculate how well their team deals with the current workflow, their workload, and if it's the right time to hire more people or vice versa. 

5. Call quality 

The call quality is a metric measured with a normative scale of numeric values that indicates information about the way the call was conducted. The one-to-five scale is used most often, with one being a “very bad call quality” and five a “very good call quality.” 

To measure this KPI, randomly choose a statistically appropriate amount of calls and evaluate how well the sales agents did their work. Things to consider include: how well the script was followed, how the sales pitch was done, how the objections were addressed, what the outcome of the call is, etc. Often overlooked, this metric can boost the sales results sharply by increasing an SDR’s motivation to improve their performance and decrease a decent amount of spam calls.

Optimize Your Outbound Call Center Performance

The list of outbound sales call center metrics is much more extensive than the one presented above. You do not need to track all of them to secure constant growth and increasing conversions of your business; however, keeping an eye on these essential outbound call center metrics is a reliable way to help you achieve your business goals.