You will be able to write a reason for the call that names something specific to the buyer.
Listen to the reasons most cold callers give and you will hear the same handful of sentences. "We're a leading provider of..." "I wanted to introduce our services." "I'm calling to share an exciting opportunity." Each one tells the buyer something about the caller. None of them gives the buyer a reason to keep listening.
In lesson 3.1, The four-part cold call opener, the reason is the third part, one sentence long. It is the sentence that decides whether the call becomes a conversation. This lesson is about writing that sentence so it is about the person you are calling.
A weak reason describes your company, your product or your intentions. "We're one of Singapore's fastest-growing bookkeeping firms." "I'd like to introduce our new financial planning service." "We help businesses with their accounting needs."
From the buyer's side, these sentences are noise. They have no way to check whether you are leading or growing, and they did not ask to be introduced to anything. Worse, these sentences sound identical to the last five calls they declined, so they file you with those callers within seconds.
There is a simple test. Read your reason and ask whose name could go at the front of it. If the sentence would still make sense on a hundred other sellers' scripts, it is about you. If it only makes sense for this one buyer, or for buyers in exactly their position, it is about them.
The strongest reasons start with something you noticed about the buyer, usually one of the trigger events from lesson 1.3, Trigger events tell you when to reach out.
"I saw you're hiring two outlet managers, which usually means a new branch is coming." "I noticed you've just moved into the new office at one-north." "Siti mentioned you've just come back from maternity leave."
Each of these tells the buyer three things at once. You did some homework. You are calling them, not a list. And the call is probably about something on their mind already. A trigger turns a cold call into something closer to a timely one.
The reason should then link the trigger to the problem you solve, in a few words, without describing your product. Mei's full reason sentence reads: "I saw you're hiring two outlet managers, and founders I work with often find the books get harder to keep up with once a new outlet opens." She mentions the trigger, then the problem, and stops. The product comes later, if the buyer wants it.
You will not always have one. Some lists are built from your profile rather than from fresh events, and some buyers keep a low profile online. You can still give a reason that is about them.
Name the problem that people like them usually have, and ask whether it applies. "Most parents I speak to with a child under two tell me they haven't had time to look at their cover since the baby came. Is that true for you, or have you managed to sort it?" That is Darren's version for a young parent where all he knows is the life stage.
This works because it is honest and easy to answer. You are not claiming to know something about them. You are describing a pattern and inviting them to say whether they fit it. If they do, they will often tell you more than you would have found by research. If they do not, you have learned it in ten seconds and can move on politely.
Draw these common problems from your personas in lesson 1.2, especially the words line. A problem described in the buyer's own words lands much better than one described in yours.
When callers are nervous, they stack reasons. "We help with bookkeeping, payroll, GST, cash flow forecasting and investor reports." The idea is that if one does not hit, another might.
On the phone, the buyer only really hears the first one. Spoken lists are hard to follow, and by the third item the buyer has stopped listening and started planning how to end the call. A long list also suggests you do not know what their problem is, which is exactly what you were supposed to show you understand.
Pick the one reason most likely to matter to this buyer this month. If it misses, the question at the end of your opener will tell you, and you can ask about something else. One clear sentence, then a question, keeps you in a conversation. A list keeps you in a pitch.
Take the reasons you currently use, whether written down or just the words you tend to say on calls. For each one, find the sentences that describe your company and delete them. Then ask what you know, or could find out in a few minutes, about the buyer: a trigger, a recent change, a problem common to their persona. Rebuild the reason around that.
The rewrite is usually shorter than the original. That is a good sign. In the activity below you will rewrite three of your own reasons this way, cutting every sentence about your company.
Rewrite three of your current call reasons so each names a trigger or a specific problem, and cut every sentence that describes your company.
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