Here's the truth about cold emails: Most sales reps focus too much on their solution without first establishing why the prospect should care.
Enter the 4Ps framework—Problem, Promise, Proof, Proposal. Developed by Michael Masterson, this approach transforms cold outreach into a compelling case that leads prospects naturally toward your offering.
Think of 4Ps as a mini-sales presentation that validates the problem before presenting your solution, making your proposal feel like a logical conclusion.
But here's the catch: Creating emails that effectively establish a problem, make a credible promise, offer convincing proof, and present a compelling proposal isn't easy.
Most sales reps rush to their solution without adequately validating the problem, resulting in emails that fail to resonate or build sufficient credibility.
This is where AI steps in.
Tools like ChatGPT can help sales reps craft 4Ps-driven emails that establish relevance, create desire, build trust, and drive action.
In this blog, we'll explore the 4Ps framework, provide a ready-to-use ChatGPT prompt for creating cold emails, and share why this approach consistently outperforms traditional outreach.
What Makes 4Ps Work?
The power of 4Ps lies in its problem-first approach. Rather than leading with your solution, it establishes the problem's importance before offering your solution as the answer.
1. Problem: The Relevance Anchor
The first component focuses on identifying a specific challenge that resonates with the prospect's current situation. This isn't about generic pain points—it's about naming a problem the prospect actually cares about solving.
2. Promise: The Solution Preview
The promise phase boldly states how your solution addresses the problem, creating curiosity and hope. This section helps prospects envision the positive outcome your solution can deliver.
3. Proof: The Credibility Builder
With the problem and promise established, the proof component provides evidence that your solution actually works. This section uses concrete examples, data, or testimonials to build trust and overcome skepticism.
4. Proposal: The Clear Path Forward
The proposal component offers a simple, low-risk way for the prospect to move forward. This clear call to action feels like a natural next step after establishing the problem, promise, and proof.
💡 ChatGPT Prompt: 4Ps FRAMEWORK
Write a Problem-Promise-Proof-Proposal (4Ps) style cold email to {{Fullname}} from {{Company}}.
These are inputs about my company which I'm trying to sell:
Ideal Customer: {ICP}
What does my product do? {Description}
The value we provide for the user: {Value Proposition}
What pain points do we solve? {Painpoints}
Competitor Advantage: {Competitor Advantage}
How we have helped people: {Case Study}
This is the input about the prospect: {Prospect_Research}
Write the subject in the following format:
Keep it simple, stating the main topic of the email. Avoid being overly creative or fancy. Limit it to 3-4 words max.
Write the email in the following format:
Problem: Identify the core challenge or pain point the prospect faces, based on {Prospect_Research}, that directly affects their business or industry.
Promise: Explain the benefit of resolving this issue, using insights from {Painpoints}. Highlight the positive impact it will have on their business.
Proof: Provide evidence of how our product or service from {Description} has helped other companies facing similar challenges. Reference a relevant case study or success story from {Case Study} to showcase real-world results.
Proposal: Make a low-pressure offer to explore further. Either - "Worth a chat?" or "Worth exploring?"
Guidelines:
Keep the email under 80 words.
Use a friendly, direct tone.
Make sure to bring forth all the mentioned elements of formatting.
Avoid vague terms like "streamline," "optimize," "maximize," etc.
Be as specific as possible without making assumptions about the prospect.Sample Output:
Conclusion
The 4Ps framework and prompt provided are your blueprints for writing problem-centric cold emails that build credibility and drive action.
But the real challenge is scaling this approach for hundreds of prospects. Even with AI, executing this effectively at scale is a struggle.
That's why we built SDRx—an AI outbound agent that handles everything from in-depth prospect research to perfectly timed follow-ups, creating qualified pipeline without the manual grind.
By analyzing prospect behavior and leveraging advanced copywriting frameworks like 4Ps, SDRx generates highly personalized emails at scale, ensuring every outreach effectively establishes the problem, makes a compelling promise, offers credible proof, and presents a clear proposal.
Want to use AI to create personalized, problem-solving emails for every prospect?
Book a demo of SDRx today.
