Brian Grazer, the Oscar-winning producer, built his career on curiosity (and a crazy hairdo). He made a habit of scheduling “curiosity conversations” with people outside of Hollywood—scientists, politicians, and even astronauts.
In 1986, fresh off the success of Splash, Grazer landed a meeting with the most prolific science fiction writer alive: Isaac Asimov. By then, Asimov had already published more than three hundred books, from Foundation to I, Robot.
Grazer sat down at the table, eager to dive in. But before he could begin, Asimov’s wife, Janet—a psychiatrist—cut him off.
“You clearly don’t know my husband’s work well enough to have this conversation,” she said, rising from her chair. “This is a waste of his time. We’re leaving. C’mon, Isaac.”
And with that, they walked out, leaving Grazer stunned, mouth half-open.
Preparation Matters
You may not be interrupting Isaac Asimov, who wrote an average of fifteen books per year in his last decade of life, but the people you’re prospecting also value their time.
When you pick up the phone to interrupt someone, preparation is how you demonstrate respect.
But how much preparation is enough?
Grazer admitted he felt overwhelmed by Asimov’s sheer output. His strategy was to keep things light—curiosity-driven and open-ended—without heavy prep.
Reasonable in theory.
Disastrous in practice.
For salespeople, you must demonstrate, quickly, that you’ve done enough.
And the best way to do that is The RRI Framework. It’s the simplest, most effective way to prove you’re prepared in the opening moments of a prospecting call.
TheRRI Framework:
- Referral: Name someone you both know.
- Research: Prove you’ve learned something specific and relevant about them or their business.
- Idea or Insight: Share one thought that could help your prospect make, find, or save money.
That’s it. Hit those three points and you’ve earned the right to interrupt.
How I Know It Works
Before I left the purchasing department at PulteGroup to start my own business, I saved and later studied nearly three hundred voicemails from LBM salespeople. I wanted to reverse-engineer why some messages made me return those calls first.
The answer is The RRI framework.
What It Sounds Like
Here’s the RRI framework in action:
Prospect:
Frith Custom Homes. Jacob speaking.
You:
Hi Jacob, Bradley Hartmann here from Benes & Sons Lumber. A mutual friend, Bobby Krueger, encouraged me to reach out. I also visited your Manchester Heights community last week, studied your homes, and spoke with Manny, your framer—who was terrific.
I came away with a few insights I’d like to share that could boost Manny’s productivity and your profitability.
I realize I’m interrupting you, and I appreciate you picking up. Would you be open to a fifteen-minute meeting next week to discuss these ideas?
Quick RRI Recap:
- Referral: Bobby Krueger and Manny, the framer.
- Research: I visited his jobsite, studied his homes, and talked with his crew.
- Idea/Insight: I had specific, actionable ideas to share.
The next step is straightforward: Ask for a short meeting. Then stop talking.
Closing the Loop
Isaac Asimov wrote or edited more than five hundred books. No one expected Brian Grazer to read them all before requesting a conversation.
But he needed to have read enough.
The same is true for sales prospecting. I can’t specify the exact number of minutes or hours you’ll need to prepare.
Sometimes it’s five minutes.
Sometimes it’s five hours.
But the standard is always the same: enough research to show you’ve thought carefully about this person and what they care about. Enough to prove you’re not just dialing for dollars.
That’s the bar.
That’s the RRI Framework.
Thanks for reading.
See you next Thursday.
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Bradley Hartmann & Co.
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Contact Bradley Hartmann:
bradley@bradleyhartmannandco.com
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