So you are talking with a prospect experiencing significant pain. 
You know he needs what you are selling – but doesn’t know it yet.  How
do you get him to come to that decision?  Should you tell him what he
needs?  Or should intelligent salespeople ask prospects what they need,
and then bring them around to the same answer?

It is matter of form over substance here.  We teach in our classes
that when the prospect owns the idea – as opposed to you owning the
idea and preaching what it is – you are more likely to get the sale.

I’ll use EntreQuest as an example.  Our value prop is, we help
companies grow faster than they could grow on their own.  One way we
make this happen is by recruiting and placing what we call Truby™
sales professionals.  From our perspective, our Trubys are what every
company needs because they are exceptionally driven, have great
character, work ethic and coachability.  But we never tell prospects
that they need to hire these traits.  It’s much better to ask prospects
what they want to see in a candidate, and have them say, “I want
someone with drive, character, work ethic and coachability.”  At that
point, we show how our Truby Program was designed for companies with
exactly these requirements.

This approach creates a much deeper understanding.  It positions you as a true partner in helping them get what they need.