Sales No-Show Rate Benchmarks [2026]: Data by Industry, Lead Source, and Company Size
Published by WarmKit · 12 min read · Last updated: February 2026
20–30%
of booked B2B sales calls end in a no-show
In This Article
That's the headline number. Across industries, between one-fifth and one-third of every sales call your team books will never actually happen. The prospect won't show up. Your closer will sit in an empty Zoom room for five minutes, mark it as a no-show, and move on.
But “20–30%” is an average—and averages hide enormous variation. Your actual no-show rate depends on where your leads come from, what industry you serve, how far in advance calls are booked, and whether you're sending pre-call reminders at all. The difference between a poorly-optimized and a well-optimized sales process can be 30+ percentage points of show rate—worth hundreds of thousands of dollars per year for most teams.
This article compiles the most comprehensive set of sales no-show rate benchmarks available in 2026. We've aggregated data from published research by Chili Piper, RevenueHero, ZoomInfo, and HubSpot alongside patterns we've observed across high-ticket sales teams. Use these benchmarks to diagnose where your team stands, identify your biggest leaks, and prioritize the improvements that will have the highest revenue impact.
For a full overview of the discipline, see our pillar guide: What Is Show Rate Optimization?
No-Show Rate Benchmarks by Lead Source
Lead source is the single largest predictor of whether a prospect will show up for a booked call. A referral and a cold outbound lead may both end up on the same calendar, but they arrive with completely different levels of intent, trust, and social accountability. The data reflects this clearly.
| Lead Source | Avg. Show Rate | Avg. No-Show Rate | Intent Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inbound Referrals | 85–95% | 5–15% | Very High |
| Organic Search / SEO | 72–82% | 18–28% | High |
| Webinar / Event Attendees | 68–78% | 22–32% | High |
| Partner / Co-Marketing Leads | 65–75% | 25–35% | Medium-High |
| YouTube / Video Ads | 60–72% | 28–40% | Medium-High |
| Facebook / Instagram Ads | 48–62% | 38–52% | Medium |
| Google Search Ads (Non-Brand) | 55–68% | 32–45% | Medium |
| TikTok Ads | 38–52% | 48–62% | Low-Medium |
| Cold Outbound (Email) | 35–50% | 50–65% | Low |
| Cold Outbound (LinkedIn) | 30–45% | 55–70% | Low |
| Purchased / Third-Party Lists | 25–40% | 60–75% | Very Low |
Why This Matters
Most teams evaluate lead sources by cost-per-lead or cost-per-booking. But a $50 lead with a 45% show rate is more expensive per attended call than an $80 lead with an 82% show rate. Cost-per-attended-call is the metric that actually correlates with revenue. If you're not tracking show rates by source, you're making budget decisions with incomplete data.
The pattern is consistent across the data: leads that find you—through search, referrals, or organic content—show up at dramatically higher rates than leads you find. This doesn't mean outbound is bad, but it does mean outbound leads require significantly more nurture between booking and call to reach acceptable show rates.
No-Show Rate Benchmarks by Industry
Industry norms vary based on purchase urgency, buyer sophistication, average deal size, and the competitive landscape. Below are benchmark ranges for the verticals where scheduled sales calls are a primary revenue driver.
| Industry | Avg. Show Rate | Top-Performer | Avg. No-Show Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| SaaS — Enterprise Demos | 65–75% | 85–92% | 25–35% |
| SaaS — SMB Demos | 55–65% | 78–85% | 35–45% |
| Coaching & Consulting | 50–62% | 78–85% | 38–50% |
| Online Education / Courses | 45–58% | 72–82% | 42–55% |
| Financial Services & Insurance | 58–68% | 78–88% | 32–42% |
| Real Estate (Investor Calls) | 42–55% | 68–78% | 45–58% |
| Health & Wellness Programs | 50–62% | 75–83% | 38–50% |
| Marketing / Creative Agencies | 55–68% | 80–88% | 32–45% |
| Home Services (High-Ticket) | 48–58% | 72–80% | 42–52% |
| Recruiting / Staffing | 52–65% | 75–85% | 35–48% |
Two patterns stand out. First, enterprise deals show up at higher rates than SMB deals. Enterprise buyers have more at stake, are further along in their evaluation, and typically have more structured calendars. SMB buyers—especially solopreneurs—are more likely to book impulsively and forget. Second, industries with emotional purchase drivers (coaching, wellness, courses) tend to have higher no-show rates than industries with rational, ROI-driven purchase cycles (SaaS, financial services). Emotional buyers are more susceptible to second-guessing between booking and call.
The gap between average and top-performer show rates is typically 15–25 percentage points. That gap is the show rate optimization opportunity. It represents the revenue your team is leaving on the table by not implementing a structured SRO system.
How Booking Lead Time Affects Show Rates
The amount of time between when a prospect books and when the call is scheduled is one of the most under-analyzed variables in sales operations. The data is striking: the longer the gap, the lower the show rate.
| Time Between Booking & Call | Avg. Show Rate | No-Show Rate | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Same day (< 4 hours) | 90–95% | 5–10% | Highest |
| Next day (12–24 hours) | 82–90% | 10–18% | Very Strong |
| 2–3 days | 75–85% | 15–25% | Strong |
| 4–5 days | 65–75% | 25–35% | Average |
| 6–7 days | 55–68% | 32–45% | Below Average |
| 8–14 days | 45–60% | 40–55% | Weak |
| 14+ days | 35–50% | 50–65% | Lowest |
The data tells a clear story: calls booked for the same day or next day show rates of 82–95%, while calls booked more than a week out drop to 45–60%. That's a potential 30–40 percentage point gap driven entirely by scheduling mechanics.
There are two practical takeaways here:
- Optimize your calendar availability to offer near-term slots. If your closers' calendars only show availability five or more days out, you're structurally creating no-shows. Even making two or three slots available within 48 hours can meaningfully improve your show rate.
- Intensify your reminder sequence for longer-lead bookings. A call booked 10 days out needs more touchpoints than a call booked for tomorrow. Consider adding a mid-point check-in email at the 5-day mark for any call booked more than a week in advance.
Show Rates by Meeting Length
Meeting duration has a smaller but measurable effect on show rates. Shorter meetings generally outperform longer ones, likely because they feel like a lower commitment to the prospect.
| Scheduled Meeting Length | Avg. Show Rate | No-Show Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 minutes | 78–88% | 12–22% | Triage / qualification calls |
| 30 minutes | 70–82% | 18–30% | Most common for discovery / demos |
| 45 minutes | 62–75% | 25–38% | Extended discovery or strategy calls |
| 60 minutes | 55–70% | 30–45% | Deep-dive consultations |
| 90+ minutes | 45–60% | 40–55% | Workshops / audits |
The difference between a 15-minute and a 60-minute meeting is roughly 10–18 percentage points of show rate. This doesn't mean you should shorten all your calls—a 15-minute triage call serves a different purpose than a 60-minute strategy session. But it does mean that if you're scheduling 60-minute discovery calls where 30 minutes would suffice, you're paying a measurable show rate penalty.
For teams running two-call closes (setter call + closer call), consider keeping the initial setter call at 15–20 minutes. The shorter time commitment increases the likelihood of attendance, and the setter can then warm-transfer or book the longer closer call with significantly higher intent.
Show Rates by Company Size (B2B)
When selling B2B, the size of the company you're calling into influences show rates. Larger organizations tend to show up more reliably, while smaller businesses and solopreneurs are more likely to no-show.
| Prospect Company Size | Avg. Show Rate | No-Show Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Enterprise (1,000+ employees) | 72–85% | 15–28% |
| Mid-Market (100–1,000 employees) | 65–78% | 22–35% |
| Small Business (10–100 employees) | 55–70% | 30–45% |
| Micro-Business / Solopreneur | 45–60% | 40–55% |
Enterprise prospects show up at higher rates for several reasons: they typically have structured evaluation processes, their calendars are managed carefully, and the decision to take a vendor call is usually deliberate rather than impulsive. Solopreneurs and micro-businesses, by contrast, often book calls from their phone between tasks and may not have the same calendar discipline.
If your team sells to smaller businesses or individual buyers, this data underscores how critical pre-call reminders are. The gap between the average and top-performer show rates in this segment is often 20+ percentage points—and most of that gap can be closed with a well-designed reminder sequence.
What Is a Good Show Rate for Sales Calls?
This is the most-asked question in show rate optimization, and the answer depends on context. But here's a framework that applies across most high-ticket sales environments:
| Show Rate | Rating | What It Means |
|---|---|---|
| Below 50% | Critical | More than half your booked calls are wasted. Immediate intervention needed. |
| 50–64% | Below Average | Significant revenue leak. Basic reminders and scheduling changes can move the needle fast. |
| 65–74% | Average | In line with industry norms but leaving 25–35% of potential conversations on the table. |
| 75–84% | Good | Your SRO system is working. You're outperforming most competitors. |
| 85%+ | Excellent | Elite territory. You've optimized across all five pillars. |
The Target
75–85% is the realistic target range for most high-ticket sales teams. Getting from sub-60% to this range typically takes 30–60 days with a structured implementation of pre-call reminders, calendar optimization, and source-level tracking. Reaching 85%+ requires ongoing optimization of all five SRO pillars: reminders, tracking, source analytics, no-show re-engagement, and rep personalization.
It's worth noting that your show rate target should be adjusted based on your source mix. A team that generates 80% of its leads from referrals should reasonably target 85%+. A team that relies heavily on paid social ads should consider 70–75% a strong result, and invest in improving the reminder sequence and nurture for those lower-intent leads.
How to Improve Your No-Show Rate
If your show rate falls below the “good” threshold for your industry and source mix, there are proven interventions that move the number. Here are the highest-leverage changes, ranked by typical impact:
1. Implement Automated Pre-Call Reminders
This is the single highest-ROI change most teams can make. A four-touchpoint reminder sequence (confirmation email, 24-hour email, 1-hour SMS, 5-minute SMS) sent from the rep's real email address typically produces a 15–25 percentage point improvement in show rates. If you do nothing else, do this.
2. Reduce Time Between Booking and Call
Open up near-term calendar availability so prospects can book within 24–48 hours. Every additional day between booking and call costs you roughly 2–4 percentage points of show rate.
3. Track Show Rates by Source
You can't fix what you can't see. Start measuring show rate by acquisition channel so you can identify which sources produce no-shows and either improve the nurture for those leads or reallocate budget toward higher-performing channels.
4. Build a No-Show Recovery Sequence
A three-touchpoint re-engagement workflow (immediate follow-up, 24-hour value add, 48–72-hour final nudge) can recover 15–30% of no-shows. That's not just better metrics—it's recovered revenue.
5. Personalize Every Touchpoint
Move reminders from generic scheduling-tool emails to personalized messages from the rep. Add prospect-specific context from the booking form. Route replies to the rep's inbox. Every layer of personalization increases the prospect's sense of social obligation to attend.
For a detailed implementation guide, see: What Is Show Rate Optimization? The Complete Guide for Sales Teams
Methodology and Data Sources
The benchmarks in this article are compiled from multiple sources: published research from Chili Piper (2024 Meeting Benchmarks Report), RevenueHero (Sales Meeting Analytics), ZoomInfo (B2B Engagement Study), and HubSpot's annual sales statistics. Industry-level and source-level ranges reflect aggregated data across these sources. Where published data was insufficient, we supplemented with patterns observed across high-ticket sales teams using scheduling and reminder tools. All figures represent ranges rather than precise averages to account for variance across team sizes, verticals, and geographies.
We update this benchmark page annually. As WarmKit's platform data grows, we will incorporate first-party show rate data with the consent of participating teams.
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This article is part of WarmKit's Show Rate Optimization Resource Center.