Can I Be Useful?

One of the reasons I absolutely love sales training, coaching, etc., is that I get free training from my clients every day. (Well, actually, they pay me, and I learn from them, so it's even better than free.)
Take yesterday, for example.
I was working with two executives and two salespeople at Access US. The purpose of the meeting was to help with a salesperson (let's call him "Sam") the company just hired -- to get him ready to start dialing the phone, which included guiding him on his opening script for the phone calls.
The basic plan was quite simple: The executives assigned Sam 98 small customers. And his task was to do the following:

1. Spend about five minutes looking at a customer's billing records and website (i.e., try to learn something timely about the customer's business).
2. Call the customer.
3. Introduce himself.
4. Tell the customer something along the lines of "I'm new at Access US, and I've been assigned to your account."
5. Mention the current services being provided, such as "I understand that you're currently hosting your website with us."
6. Incorporate the current information into the conversation: "I just visited your website and noticed you're trying to find some new truck drivers."
7. Ask how he could help.
8. If the customer engaged, say anything along the lines of "I'd like to meet you and learn more about your business. Can I buy you a cup of coffee sometime soon?"

While Sam understood the basic concept, we could tell that a live example would bring it home, so Vic Mattision, the president of Access US, picked up the phone, dialed one of the 98 customers, introduced himself, and said, "I'm calling to see whether I can be useful to you."
I've been selling and teaching sales for pushing 30 years now, and I've never heard "How can I help?" phrased so eloquently:

"I'm calling to see whether I can be useful to you."

I've had people get hostile when I asked whether I could help, but I can't imagine anyone getting hostile if I ask whether I can be useful.
And I don't know about you, but this is exactly the kind of Internet service provider and web-development company I want (not to mention attorney, accountant, phone company, printing company, etc.).
And more importantly, it's the kind of professional I want to be. So ...
... Can I be useful to you?
--
Gill E. Wagner, Sage of Selling
President of Honest Selling
Founder of the Yellow-Tie International Business Development Association