Want to hear. A weak salesperson tells his clients what he thinks they want to hear. He believes that doing this will make his clients like him. He believes that by telling his clients that they can achieve the results they desire without making necessary changes or spending more money, he increases the likelihood of winning their business.
But the client's baby is ugly, so to speak. That's the truth. And pretending that it isn't does not help your client, which is your main goal. If this strategy works, you've found yourself a client who needs to feel important and doesn't want to deal with his real issues.
Need to hear. A great salesperson tells her clients the truth. She believes that by telling her clients what they need to hear, no matter how uncomfortable, they will trust her. A great salesperson knows that her clients need to understand which changes they need to make, why they need to make them and how to make them in order to improve their results. The great salesperson also knows that helping her clients produce better results may require asking the client to invest more in those results.
