Sales prospecting

How to Use the A-I-M Approach to Prospect More Effectively

Use the AIM approach to prospect more effectively.

You’re about to start cold calling. Before you dial the number, think about what you are going to say that will be of value to the prospective buyer.  

A powerful template to develop messaging for your sales prospecting is Anxiety, Influence, and Motivation (A-I-M). A-I-M is a well-researched and documented approach to increase engagement with prospects based on leveraging the way the brain is wired to react to specific situations. 

It stands for:

• ANXIETY: A feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease about something with an unclear outcome. Creating anxiety triggers the “curiosity mechanism” in the brain, which strives to find a solution or understanding. 

• INFLUENCE: The process of producing effects on the actions, behavior, or opinion of others. This is based on many factors, but you’ve “piqued the curiosity,” and this is how you can move the conversation in the right direction. 

• MOTIVATION: A strong reason to identify a problem your solution can solve that provides enough value to inspire action.

Construct your phone call, voicemail, LinkedIn InMail, or email message using this AIM structure. Here’s an example:

We’ve been working with CIOs to help them solve their biggest concerns such as escalating storage costs in cyber security.

I recently helped one of my customers reduce their cost of storage by 40% and ensure they are 100% compliant.

It would be great to have an opportunity to discuss some approaches with you. 

Breaking down the template.

Let’s dissect this simple composition. 

First sentence. Mentioning the prospect’s job title is a good tactic to show you work with people just like the prospective buyer. Saying you help solve problems that the prospect is likely to encounter creates anxiety and triggers the curiosity mechanism in their brain.

Second sentence. Sharing success and value metrics from similar situations influences the prospect and piques their curiosity. You’re showing what you were able to achieve working with someone just like them. 

Third sentence. Asking for a conversation with the prospect to discuss ways your solution can solve their problem provides value. This call to action provides motivation for them to contact you. 

Understanding a Cadence for Prospecting.

Now that you have created a message to use for cold calls, let’s talk about creating a cadence for prospecting using the A-I-M method. A prospecting cadence is a sequence of strategically choreographed sales activities that a rep follows to connect with prospects, and it typically includes social media interactions, email exchanges, and phone calls. Sales cadences give sales reps a systematic framework to successfully fill the revenue pipeline with qualified prospects.

The primary objective of the prospecting cadence is to have a live conversation with a potential buyer to gather basic information and determine if an opportunity exists. If so, the ultimate goal is to schedule the first meeting with the potential customer. 

As we mentioned in our earlier blog, How to Warm Up Your Prospecting: It's About Persistence and Variety, the first few times you contact a potential buyer, you are priming their memory and using the sphere of influence and sphere of engagement to build common connections with them. When initially reaching out to prospects, it’s important to not pitch immediately. 

Start by liking a post that the prospect shared on LinkedIn. A second social interaction could be inviting them to connect with you. And, a third interaction could be emailing them value-added content such as a relevant thought leadership article or an invite to a webinar.

As you progress in your outreach, the A-I-M process comes into play by offering market insights and case studies. By the sixth or seventh touch, begin asking why change? Why now? Why us?

The takeaway

Building a prospecting cadence and using the A-I-M approach in your messaging will help you be persistent, consistent, and leverage the way our brains are wired to generate higher response rates.

Don’t be afraid to pick up the phone! Half of B2B sales reps fear making phone calls. By developing the discipline and confidence to include calls in your cadence, you’ll set yourself apart and open doors that may otherwise remain firmly shut. This isn’t just for warm opportunities either — yes, cold calling still works in this day and age.

You’re about to start cold calling. Before you dial the number, think about what you are going to say that will be of value to the prospective buyer.  

A powerful template to develop messaging for your sales prospecting is Anxiety, Influence, and Motivation (A-I-M). A-I-M is a well-researched and documented approach to increase engagement with prospects based on leveraging the way the brain is wired to react to specific situations. 

It stands for:

• ANXIETY: A feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease about something with an unclear outcome. Creating anxiety triggers the “curiosity mechanism” in the brain, which strives to find a solution or understanding. 

• INFLUENCE: The process of producing effects on the actions, behavior, or opinion of others. This is based on many factors, but you’ve “piqued the curiosity,” and this is how you can move the conversation in the right direction. 

• MOTIVATION: A strong reason to identify a problem your solution can solve that provides enough value to inspire action.

Construct your phone call, voicemail, LinkedIn InMail, or email message using this AIM structure. Here’s an example:

We’ve been working with CIOs

to help them solve their biggest concerns

such as escalating storage costs in cyber security.


I recently helped one of my customers

reduce their cost of storage by 40% and

ensure they are 100% compliant.


It would be great to have an opportunity

to discuss some approaches with you. 

Breaking down the template.

Let’s dissect this simple composition. 

First sentence. Mentioning the prospect’s job title is a good tactic to show you work with people just like the prospective buyer. Saying you help solve problems that the prospect is likely to encounter creates anxiety and triggers the curiosity mechanism in their brain.

Second sentence. Sharing success and value metrics from similar situations influences the prospect and piques their curiosity. You’re showing what you were able to achieve working with someone just like them. 

Third sentence. Asking for a conversation with the prospect to discuss ways your solution can solve their problem provides value. This call to action provides motivation for them to contact you. 

Understanding a Cadence for Prospecting


Now that you have created a message to use for cold calls, let’s talk about creating a cadence for prospecting using the A-I-M method. A prospecting cadence is a sequence of strategically choreographed sales activities that a rep follows to connect with prospects, and it typically includes social media interactions, email exchanges, and phone calls. Sales cadences give sales reps a systematic framework to successfully fill the revenue pipeline with qualified prospects.

The primary objective of the prospecting cadence is to have a live conversation with a potential buyer to gather basic information and determine if an opportunity exists. If so, the ultimate goal is to schedule the first meeting with the potential customer. 

As we mentioned in our earlier blog, How to Warm Up Your Prospecting: It's About Persistence and Variety, the first few times you contact a potential buyer, you are priming their memory and using the sphere of influence and sphere of engagement to build common connections with them. When initially reaching out to prospects, it’s important to not pitch immediately. 

Start by liking a post that the prospect shared on LinkedIn. A second social interaction could be inviting them to connect with you. And, a third interaction could be emailing them value-added content such as a relevant thought leadership article or an invite to a webinar.

As you progress in your outreach, the A-I-M process comes into play by offering market insights and case studies. By the sixth or seventh touch, begin asking why change? Why now? Why us?

The takeaway

Building a prospecting cadence and using the A-I-M approach in your messaging will help you be persistent, consistent, and leverage the way our brains are wired to generate higher response rates.

Don’t be afraid to pick up the phone! Half of B2B sales reps fear making phone calls. By developing the discipline and confidence to include calls in your cadence, you’ll set yourself apart and open doors that may otherwise remain firmly shut. This isn’t just for warm opportunities either — yes, cold calling still works in this day and age.

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