The NRP is killing your prospecting
No Response — The silent indicator destroying your outbound call campaigns.
Short answer
The NRP (No Response) measures the percentage of outbound calls that do not reach a human contact. A high NRP means your numbers are probably flagged as spam.
Each NRP point above 75% drastically reduces your profitability.
Beyond 82% NRP, your numbers are in immediate danger of being blocked.
How is NRP calculated?
THE FORMULA
Ex: 750 unanswered out of 1000 calls
→ NRP = 75%
TYPES OF UNANSWERED CALLS
| Rings out (6+ rings) | Yes, counts as NRP |
| Goes to voicemail | Yes, counts as NRP |
| Manually rejected call | Yes, counts as NRP |
| Blocked by carrier/app | Yes, counts as NRP |
| Busy / line saturated | Sometimes |
| Invalid number / out of service | No (network error) |
The NRP vicious cycle
High NRP
Your calls go unanswered, your NRP rises.
Spam flagging
Carriers detect the pattern and flag your numbers.
Blocking
Your numbers get blocked or displayed as "Suspected spam".
The higher your NRP goes, the more your numbers get flagged, the higher your NRP goes... The vicious cycle is self-feeding.
NRP benchmarks by sector
| Sector | Average NRP | Acceptable | Dangerous |
|---|---|---|---|
| B2B Qualified | 55 - 65% | < 70% | > 75% |
| B2B Cold Call | 70 - 75% | < 78% | > 82% |
| B2C Qualified | 65 - 72% | < 75% | > 80% |
| B2C Cold Call | 75 - 82% | < 85% | > 88% |
| Real Estate / Listing | 80 - 88% | < 88% | > 92% |
| Energy / Training | 82 - 90% | < 90% | > 93% |
How to interpret your NRP
| NRP Rate | Status | Required action |
|---|---|---|
| < 65% | Excellent | Maintain current pace |
| 65-75% | Correct | Optimize call schedules |
| 75-82% | Warning | Reduce volume, diversify numbers |
| 82-88% | Problematic | Immediate rotation, audit call lists |
| > 88% | Critical | Stop — change numbers, forced rest |
NRP vs Pickup rate
Inverse relationship
NRP 75%
= Pickup 25%
NRP 82%
= Pickup 18%
NRP 90%
= Pickup 10%
An NRP of 75% means only 1 in 4 calls reaches a contact. At 90%, it is 1 in 10. The difference between 75% and 90% NRP divides your productivity by 2.5.
The Prospector's Balance
NRP 75% = Only 25% of your calls get through
The 6 causes of high NRP
Already burned numbers
Your numbers are already flagged as spam by carriers or anti-spam apps.
Volume too high
Too many outbound calls per number per day triggers detection algorithms.
No rotation
Always using the same numbers without rest accelerates their degradation.
Bad time slots
Calling outside optimal hours reduces the natural pickup rate.
Outdated lists
Expired prospect lists contain invalid or disconnected numbers.
Toxic sector
Some sectors (energy renovation, training) have structurally higher NRP.
How to reduce your NRP
Alternate your outbound numbers to dilute volume per line.
- → Minimum 3-4 numbers per sales rep
- → Rotation every 30-40 minutes
- → Minimum 48h rest between 2 cycles
| BEFORE | Calling raw unverified lists |
| AFTER | Cleaned lists, validated numbers |
→ Impact: -15% to -25% NRP
🎯 10am - 12pm (best B2B slot)
🎯 2pm - 4:30pm (second B2B slot)
🎯 Tuesday → Thursday (best days)
→ Impact: -10% NRP on average
- → Check your numbers before each session
- → Monitor spam status continuously
- → Immediately remove flagged numbers
- → Automatic alerts on status change
→ Impact: prevention before the crisis
✗ Bad: Aggressive script, no introduction
✓ Good: Clear introduction, legitimate reason
→ Impact: reduces manual reports
- → Automatic verification of all your numbers
- → Instant alert when a number gets flagged as spam
- → Reputation history to anticipate degradation
Frequently asked questions
What is a good NRP rate?
Is NRP the same as the unanswered call rate?
How do carriers use the NRP?
Does number rotation reduce NRP?
How long does it take to lower a high NRP?
Key takeaways
- •NRP measures the % of calls without human contact.
- •Above 75%, your productivity drops drastically.
- •Number rotation is the first action to implement.
- •10am-12pm slots and Tuesday-Thursday are the most effective.
- •Proactive monitoring prevents your numbers from getting burned.
- •huhu.fr alerts you instantly if a number gets flagged as spam.
Monitor your NRP in real time
Check if your numbers are already flagged as spam and receive alerts before it is too late.
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