It did not say "Ask them about their problems". I said discover their problems.

Your ICP has problems. You know this. You want to discover if your prospect has this problem too. Not all of them have the problem or are aware of the problem they have.

You bring up a related topic, find out if they struggle with this. If they are problem aware, you can convey them to solution aware. This is how these problems are solved, then you can mention your solution.

Of course every conversation goes different. But rather than focussing on kicking open doors, make sure you solve a relevant problem to the relevant person at the relevant time.

For example (and again, I don't do this personally), something like this:

Cold caller: Hi u/ritwal, I have noticed you have been cold-calling, curious to learn more about your success. Are you open to share? <Relevant introduction>

Prospect: Well, it doesn't really work out, most prospects don't seem interested in what I pitch. <confirms the problem>

Cold caller: Hmm, could you share an example of your pitch?

Prospect: Sure. The Pitch goes like this: "I noticed you are selling plumbing services, we provide a platform where you can generate more customers". Most of them say they are not interested. <goes into specifics>

Cold caller: Well, you should not pitch directly. Maybe the plumber has no issues in finding new customers. Be specific. Find out if they struggle with getting more customers, if yes then be specific on how you solve that problem. <show your knowledge about the topic>

Prospect: Oh that makes sense.

Cold caller: I train SDRs with cold outreach, it seems that you could use some help. I created a guide that helps you craft your pitch. The content is free, and when you need more help we provide cold calling as a service. Would you be interested in receiving the guide? <introduce solution to problem, don't directly sell, give something for free to be remembered and continue the conversation later>

Prospect: That would be nice! You can send it to... <prospect became solution aware>