3 Things Salespeople Can Steal from Defense Lawyers

Good Morning and welcome to May. *Insert mandatory Justin Timberlake “it’s gonna be May” meme here*. We're officially in month two of Q2, with exactly 50 days until summer. That sweet spot where "end of quarter" feels far enough away to not panic, but close enough to start rehearsing your "the deal is still on track" speech for your next pipeline review. 😄 

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Sales Tactics You Should Steal from Defense Lawyers

Have you ever sat through a trial?

Like, in a real courtroom. Or even just a movie scene where the lawyer objects dramatically.

The best trial lawyers listen intensely while their minds race through every possible angle they can take.

Every question, statement, and dramatic objection is part of a calculated strategy to push the jury exactly where they want them.

The best sales reps operate the same way.

They think in moves and countermoves, making it a no-brainer for a prospect to say "yes."

Today, we’re covering three tactics you can steal directly from the courtroom playbook to turn standard sales calls into closed deals.

1. Treat Discovery like a Cross-examination

Imagine walking into court with zero understanding of the case. *Cue anxiety*

You wouldn’t do that.

Yet a lot of salespeople treat discovery like a generic checklist: "Budget? Timeline? Authority? Great, let me tell you about our features!"

Deals don't fall apart because you failed to mention some obscure feature. They die because you missed the core objections.

Instead of accepting surface level answers, dig deeper:

• "What's the actual cost if this problem isn't solved in the next 90 days?"

• "Who on your team will fight against this solution and why?"

• "What have you already tried that failed?"

These questions uncover the real motivations, office politics, and landmines that determine whether deals close.

When you have these insights, you can craft proposals that sell themselves - even in boardroom meetings where you won't be present to defend them.

2. Objections are legal loopholes waiting to be exploited

When a prospect hits you with an objection like: "That's too expensive for what we need" or "We don't have budget for this right now."

It’s easy to panic, start hard-selling, or offering discounts.

But in reality, this is an opportunity.

Like a defense attorney finding holes in the case, they calmly dismantle the objection:

• "Can I show you how three banks in your industry got this through compliance in under 30 days?"

• "What if we stripped out the features you don't need to hit your price point?"

• "Would you be open to a phased approach that fits your current budget cycle?"

Objections can be gifts. They tell you exactly what's standing between you and the deal.

Without objections, you'd waste hours guessing what's holding them back.

Now you know precisely what gap to bridge.

3. Give your champion ammunition

Here's the truth: You don't just have to convince your point of contact.

You have to arm them with everything they need to convince 5-10 other people who never saw your demo and don't care about your features.

Generic follow-up emails don’t cut it.

Elite sales reps give their champion battle-ready info:

• "Your CFO will probably question the ROI, so here's a one-pager showing payback in 8 months."

• "IT will worry about security, so I've attached our SOC 2 certification and implementation timeline."

• "The end users will resist change, so here's how we handle training and adoption."

Give your champion the exact scripts, logic, and proof they need to fight for you when you're not in the room.

Because at this point, your job isn't just closing your contact - it's persuading them to sell on your behalf.

More buyers believe your customers than your sales team. Use that to your advantage.

77% of buyers talk to someone outside sales before engaging.

SlashExperts makes sure that someone is your happiest customer or user, turning word-of-mouth into a measurable, scalable growth channel that builds trust, shortens sales cycles and increases win rates.