The numbers
| Measure | UK & Ireland | Dataset average |
|---|---|---|
| Prospects contacted | 68,300 | 389,890 total |
| Reply rate | 35.1% | 31.9% |
| Meeting rate | 5.2% | 4.6% |
| Rank on reply rate | 1st of 9 | – |
| Rank on meeting rate | 1st of 9 | – |
What the data says about this market
The UK and Ireland is the strongest market in the dataset on both measures and the one we recommend first to anyone choosing where to start. 35.1 percent replied and 5.2 percent booked, three points and half a point above the overall averages, across 68,300 prospects.
It also had the shortest time to first meeting of any region we ran. Part of that is language and part of it is norms: LinkedIn is treated as a working channel rather than a formal one, so a direct message from a stranger with a specific question is a normal thing to receive rather than an intrusion.
For anyone selling from Ireland or the UK, this is worth saying plainly because the instinct is usually the opposite. Founders here often assume they need US traction first. On our numbers the US West Coast was the worst-performing region of the nine, at 27.6 percent replies and 3.8 percent meetings, and the home market was the best.
All nine regions
| Region | Prospects | Reply rate | Meeting rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK & Ireland | 68,300 | 35.1% | 5.2% |
| Nordics | 38,900 | 34.6% | 5.0% |
| CEE | 41,400 | 33.8% | 4.9% |
| DACH | 63,800 | 32.4% | 4.7% |
| Benelux | 36,090 | 31.2% | 4.4% |
| Iberia | 18,800 | 30.5% | 4.3% |
| France | 32,200 | 29.8% | 4.1% |
| US East | 58,600 | 28.9% | 4.0% |
| US West | 31,800 | 27.6% | 3.8% |
What does not change by region
The mechanics held everywhere we ran them. A connection request beat InMail by ten times. Two and a half sentences, question-led, with no pitch beat the longer version by 2.4 times. Messages of 240 to 420 characters peaked at 38.6 percent replies. Replies answered inside 24 hours converted at 21.4 percent against 3.6 percent after 48 hours.
What changes by region is register and pace, not structure. DACH needs a formal tone and voice notes underperform there. France needs the message written in French by someone who speaks it, and a longer runway. Everywhere else, the same playbook applied without modification.
Method
Figures come from 68,300 prospects in this region inside a dataset of 389,890 prospects and 15,018 meetings, run for 17 clients across 41 programmes between 2018 and 2026. Prospects were split at random inside each client account so industry, geography, seniority and company size are held constant on both sides of every controlled test.
Full method and all fifteen tests are on the 2026 outbound benchmarks page. See also the breakdowns by persona and company size.
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Cite this page as: Prospectio.ai, B2B outbound benchmarks in UK & Ireland, 68,300 prospects, 2018 to 2026.