How to Cold Call Using Core Problems
by Ari Galper, Founder, Unlock The Game
We rarely think about our prospect’s problems before we make our cold calls.
So to make this process easy for you, let’s look at three specific examples of how to help clarify the problems matched with specific products or services. I think you’ll see that this new way of thinking can make your cold calling much more effective.
1. Tom sells insurance plans that companies add to their benefits packages.
Ari: “So you’re saying that if the company has your type of insurance, it’ll make
them look more attractive to potential employees. The company will be in a stronger position when it tries to attract or keep better-quality employees. Because employees are looking for companies that offer good insurance?”
Tom: “Yes. Employees want benefits. They aren’t just looking for a job where they have to work their lives away.”
Ari: “Then maybe we can refine your formulation of the problem along the lines of, “I’m just calling in relation to the issue of hiring and retaining top-quality employees by improving your insurance coverage and benefits package...”
2. Frank sells life and health insurance and securities (a role-play)
Frank: “I was wondering if you might be able to help me get in touch with the person involved with solving problems related to the insurance coverage that your company currently has?”
Ari: “Frank, where are you calling from, and what do you folks do?”
Frank: “Oh, sorry. I’m from XYZ Insurance here in Chicago.”
Ari: “And what do you do, your company?”
Frank: “We’re a life and health insurance brokerage and we specialize in
helping small companies solve problems of finding hidden costs related
to employee benefits?”
Ari: (out of role-play) “Frank, you can refine that piece a little by saying,
“I’m with XYZ Insurance, and we solve specific problems related to gaps in
insurance...” and that sort of thing.
“What we do,” you could say (and this is the actual language you could use), “is provide solutions related to problems that relate to...”
‘Also, notice how we went from insurance to retention. That’s the key here.You need to take your benefits and convert them to problems that people can relate to. What happens when people hear about problems that they can relate to? How do they typically respond?”
Frank: “Positively. They get really interested. It’s obvious.”
Ari: “And that’s because it has to do with them, not you. That’s the whole shift you have to make - to keep everything you say 100 percent about their business and the problem that your product solves.”
3. Rosalie sells fitness equipment
Rosalie: “I guess the basic problem we solve is that we provide commercial fitness
equipment. We sell to 23 different markets, but fitness equipment for a fire station
solves a different problem than fitness equipment for an apartment complex.”
Ari: “Providing commercial fitness equipment is a what we do statement about you, not a statement about your potential clients’ problems.”
Rosalie: “Yes, but apartment complexes use their fitness centers and equipment to attract new residents, to keep their residents happy so they don’t move, and to stay competitive in the real-estate marketplace. Whereas fire stations use it for the firefighters’ wellness and health and so they stay in good condition to protect the public. But I’m having trouble moving from those things to figuring out what problem I’m solving in each market.”
Ari: “All you need to do is look at the other side of it, about what problems the
fitness equipment solves for these facilities.”
Rosalie: “The reason the apartment complexes buy our equipment isn’t because it’s great and it works well. It’s not because of the features. They buy it to attract new customers to their facility.”
Ari: “So now that you know the issue and the problem that they’re trying to solve, you can start your conversation, not with Hi, I’ve got great fitness equipment - but rather “Hi, would you be open to some ideas on how to attract new residents to your apartment complex, decreasing your vacancy rate?” That’s the logic.”
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