One of the basic rules of psychology states "If you are working harder to help someone than they are working to help themselves, you are in fact the problem."  When applying this to the Business Development role, it becomes apparent that too many traditional sales people are working much harder to sell something than the prospect is working to buy it.  

In a balanced relationship, it is incumbent upon the prospect to acknowledge both to themselves and the Business Development professional their problem, their awareness of the problem, and their desire to solve it.  The willingness to identify, quantify and detail the scope and depth of their problem is the responsibility of the prospect. It is the Business Development professional's responsibility to ask insightful questions regarding the situation that enlists thought, reflective evaluation, and motivation to act.  A Business Development professional comfortably and inquisitively engages the prospect in Socratic questioning, allowing the individual to discover and focus on the actual problem, acknowledge the scope of it and become motivated to act to solve it.  The Business Development professional simply facilitates the process wherein they allow the prospect to seek a solution to their problem, whether they provide it or not. 

It is through this reflective dialogue that trust and understanding is established, the scope of the problem is understood by both parties, and a partnership is established to seek the solution.  The prospect is indeed working just as hard getting their problem solved as the Business Development professional is with the solution.