BANT Explained: How to Qualify Sales Leads

Created by IBM in the 1950s, BANT is a sales qualification methodology that helps salespeople identify qualified leads by focusing on four considerations: budget, authority, need, and timing. For sales teams, the main goal of BANT is to save time and shorten their sales cycles. A sales rep can use the BANT lead qualification process to weed out inadequate prospects and instead focus on leads who have a high probability of making a purchase.

When qualifying leads using the BANT framework, focus on the following criteria: budget, authority, need, and timing. Most sales teams consider a lead viable if the lead satisfies at least three out of the four BANT criteria, but this can vary depending on the sales organization. Use this breakdown of BANT to determine whether to continue pursuing your sales leads.

1. 1. Budget: Can the prospect afford your product? It's important to determine whether your prospect's budget parameters align with your pricing model. You should find out if they have a dedicated budget for your type of product, what they're expecting to pay, and if they have any budget flexibility. If your prospect can't afford your product or simply isn't willing to spend in the ballpark of your minimum price, it's best for you to avoid chasing a likely dead-end.
2. 2. Authority: Does the prospect have enough power at their company to approve the purchase? You want your main point of contact to be a decision-maker at their company. Find out how your contact's company makes their budget decisions, and ask if anyone else should be a part of the buying process. Even if your contact is in charge of finalizing the contract, they still may need to consult with a group of stakeholders for approval during the decision-making process. If you discover your contact doesn't have enough authority to make the deal, try to convince them to bring the real decision-maker into the conversation.
3. 3. Need: Does the prospect have problems that your product can solve? Ask your prospect to tell you about their pain points, the challenges they struggle with the most, the solutions they've already tried, and what they need your company to do to help. If you don't think your product will effectively solve their issues, it's not worth pushing the sales process further. If your product can help solve a problem, make sure the problem is more than just a minor nuisance so that your prospect will be motivated to take action.
4. 4. Timeline: How urgent is it for the prospect to make a purchase? To assess the urgency of their time frame, ask how quickly they want to address their issues. If they want to be rid of their problems within a few months, you're in good shape. If their timeline to make a purchase decision is closer to a year or more, it's probably a smarter use of your time to pause your pursuit and follow up with them down the road. As an alternative, you can also try to create a sense of urgency by offering them a limited-time discount on your product.

When you’re hunting for information that satisfies the BANT criteria, keep in mind that you're not interrogating your prospect. Build a congenial rapport, and ask questions in a natural, conversational manner. Be subtle in your approach, and whenever possible, try to frame your questions in a way that highlights the value of your product. Remember, the BANT methodology is just one helpful lead-generation tool. To stay organized and increase your sales efficiency, you'll want to use CRM software along with BANT, and you can also incorporate SPIN selling.

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