My husband, a retired lawyer, conducted over 150 jury trials during his career. While our professions seemed worlds apart, I always noted striking similarities between effective sales and effective lawyering.
If you want to improve your sales team effectiveness, train your sales team to approach their profession like a trial lawyer. Here are three parallels:
Case Analysis = Pre-Call Planning
This is the equivalent of pre-call planning. A lawyer reviews all the details of the case, evidence and legal precedents. Research and preparation is key to winning cases and my husband was (still is) the research king. He’d win cases because he out prepared the opposing attorney.
He also researched the opposing attorney, analyzing both their strengths and weaknesses. Who was the judge presiding over the case and the style by which he or she conducted trials.
Likewise, a salesperson analyzes the many details of the “prospect’s case:”
- What evidence is there that the prospect needs my services? (And being willing to meet with you isn’t enough evidence to prove there is a big enough problem to fix.)
- What is the precedent to be considered? Has the prospect even tried to fix or alleviate the problem. If not, is there evidence of a compelling trigger event driving the need to change or improve?
- Who is your competition? What are strengths and weaknesses in their offering. Who is the “judge” in this sales process and what do you need to know about their decision-making process?
Jury Selection – Qualifying Prospects
A good attorney asks strategic questions to assess potential jurors’ biases. A juror with a pre-determined verdict will sink a case.
A salesperson must also qualify prospects to make sure the prospect matches the company’s ideal client profile or they will sink your pipeline.
- Does the prospect have biases—unspoken objections—towards your company or services?
- Do they think they can do it themselves and are meeting with you only to obtain free consulting?
- Have they already chosen a vendor and just using proposal as a negotiation tool?
Trial Strategy and Rehearsal = Sales Execution
There is NO WAY that an attorney shows up and “wings” their opening statement or closing argument. I remember seeing my husband rehearsing at the kitchen table, hand up, signaling, “Do not disturb.” Or pacing in his home office practicing tonality and the right choice of words. He’d prepare for cross examinations, objections and conduct mock trials. And when he presented the closing argument, he didn’t try to overwhelm the jury, trying to cover everything. He’d reinforce the one thing or two things to persuade a jury to rule in his favor.
A prepared salesperson:
- Opens meetings by mirroring the prospect’s communication style to deepen rapport and lower defenses.
- Asks thoughtful, carefully researched question, ones that make a prospect answer, “Huh, I never thought of that.”
- Thinks about and plans for objections so they can be addressed in a calm, emotionally intelligent manner.
- Role-plays (yes, a mock trial) to sharpen skills under pressure.
- Closes with a compelling argument—not a canned presentation— that closely aligns with prospects desired outcomes, eliminating buyer’s remorse or doubt.
Sales managers, if you want a better sales team, train them up like trial lawyers.
Good Leading and Selling!