Understanding BANT: A Key Framework in Sales to Qualify Prospects

Understanding BANT is an important component in the sales process of an organization. Identifying the right kind of leads and nurturing them to successive levels help in the organic growth of the organization. This requires channelling the efforts of the sales team by fixing priorities on the leads that can be easily converted.

The BANT framework analyses the prospect with respect to several aspects and thus lands on the right prospect. Going forward, you will learn more about the concept and how organizations have successfully implemented the same.

What is BANT?

When there are several leads available, salespersons need a strategy to identify those that qualify as potential customers. Budget Authority Need Timeline (BANT) is the framework that assists salespersons in this task.

Developed way back in the 1950s by IBM, this strategy helped improve the sales process. The framework streamlines the lead qualification process and thus saves a lot of time that could be used in nourishing the qualified leads.

BANT in relation to sales and some sample questions

Let us understand what BANT stands for:

Budget:

What amount of money has the prospect allocated for the project?

• What is the current spending on this need?
• How far does the cost factor affect your purchase decision?
• What is your expected ROI?

Authority:

Who is the decision-maker you should connect with in relation to the sale?

• What was the decision-making process, the previous time you purchased the same product/service?
• Who are all involved in the final decision?

Need:

Is there a genuine need for my product at present?

• How important is it to address the need?
• How far do the needs fit your organizational goals?
• What will happen if the need is not addressed at the moment?

Timeline:

What is the time required for the prospect to finalize the purchase decision?

• Is it important to address the need within the next quarter?
• Can you complete the purchase decision before the date agreed upon?
• Is there any expected administrative delay in the approval process?

Sales reps should ask questions such as these to qualify the prospects. Questions may differ based on the industry and type of products. As understanding the prospects is easier this way, the sales process can be completed quickly and efficiently.

How to use the BANT framework in sales?

Follow the below listed points to effectively put to use BANT for lead qualification:

1. Understand the prospect’s budget and expected ROI

Prospects fix their budget keeping in mind the returns expected from the project. Money is a dominant factor that guides the purchase decision. So, your approach should be tailored according to the spending abilities of the prospects.

A prospect may not be able to spend at present but may have future plans when their budget can be increased. Hence, it is important to keep these prospects under consideration, and the company must not hastily omit them.

For example, in the case of subscription based pricing models, there are various categories of pricing that can be suited to the budget of prospects. This can help them achieve the expected ROI. Ultimately, when the prospect's ROI and your pricing plans match, you can qualify such prospects.

2. List the stakeholders

Every organization will have a set of people who are the decision-makers. Sometimes, sales reps make the error of not approaching the right person, due to which the sales process faces a stumbling block.

To avoid this, it is essential to identify, list and map the stakeholders from the prospect’s side. Who has the authority to sanction the budget, whose approval would be final, and what is the procedure to approach the decision-maker for a discussion about the product? There are some questions to ponder.

When you establish contacts with people with authority, you can easily continue the sales process to the next level.

3. Analyze the prospect’s pain points

The need of the prospect is their pain point. What type of solution is the prospect looking for? This is a crucial factor to consider, as this determines whether you are approaching the right prospect.

To analyze the problems of the prospect, you should ask a lot of questions like:

• What is the problem you are currently facing?
• Have you tried any solution so far, and how far did you find it effective?
• How is the problem affecting your operations?
• How crucial is it to address the pain point?

These questions give the salesperson an idea to proceed with a prospect. When the salesperson is confident that the solution available can be the best fit for the prospect’s problem, it is easier to convert this communication into a sale.

4. Understand the timelines

This is the fourth stage in the BANT framework, where you are aware of the budget, know whom to connect with, and what problems to address. You should find out the timeline within which the prospect will complete the purchase decision.

Though the other aspects are conducive to continuing the sales process, if the prospect is going to take a long time for approvals and decisions, it can affect your sales process.

The average length of your sales cycle should match that of the prospect’s timeline to be able to continue. A low cost transaction may be completed in a short time, but for high value purchases, approvals can take time. When you identify a prospect whose timeline is less than or equal to the length of your sales cycle, it turns out to be a good opportunity.

5. Prepare to address the prospect’s concerns

With the above BANT steps, you have qualified the right prospect and are ready to address their concerns through your product. You should also prepare to address any delays and objections in the process of addressing their concerns.

For this, it is essential to plan ahead. Also, staying alert and gaining information about your prospects through various channels like social media  helps. This will enable you to identify any new needs that may arise or any issues they are stuck with. This assists a lot in the process of finalizing the sale with the right prospect.

6. Use automated tools

Automated tools are a great help in managing the sales process. It assists in tracking the progress and managing the timelines. It is with great effort that you have identified the right prospects, so maintaining them and continuing the sales process effectively is highly important.

The use of automated tools also gains importance since you deal with several prospects, and managing them individually becomes difficult.

BANT framework example

Certainly! BANT is a sales qualification framework used to identify and pursue the most qualified prospects based on their Budget, Authority, Need, and Timing. Let's break down each component with an example:

1. Budget:

• Question: "Do you have a specific budget allocated for this project?"
• Prospect's Response: "Yes, we've set aside $50,000 for the new software implementation this year."

2. Authority:

• Question: "Are you the decision-maker for this project or is there someone else we should involve?"
• Prospect's Response: "I'm the lead for this initiative, but any final decisions will be made by our CTO, Jane Smith."

3. Need:

• Question: "What challenges are you currently facing that led you to consider our solution?"
• Prospect's Response: "We're struggling with manual data entry and it's causing significant delays in our processes. We need an automated solution to streamline our operations."

4. Timing:

• Question: "When are you hoping to have the new software up and running?"
• Prospect's Response: "Our goal is to have it implemented by the end of Q2."

Using this BANT example, the sales representative can determine:

• The prospect has a decent budget of $50,000.
• While the prospect is a lead for the initiative, the CTO has final decision-making power.
• The company has a clear and immediate need for an automated solution.
• They have a timeline in mind, which means they are likely serious about making a purchase soon.

By qualifying the prospect using BANT, the sales rep can prioritize their efforts on leads that are more likely to convert.

BANT examples to understand the strategy

1. The case study presented here gives a clear understanding of how the BANT framework helps accelerate customer acquisition. The client, a software giant, was planning to generate highly qualified leads in the North American region. There were gaps in the sales process that were preventing the client from identifying the right leads.

Datamatics Solutions helped the company increase the BANT qualified leads, thereby reducing customer acquisition costs. The software company was able to generate a healthy pipeline of leads through the effective use of BANT.

2. This case study lets you understand how Lenovo used the BANT strategy for its lead generation activity. Lenovo’s objective was to raise 150 highly qualified leads. It was planning to introduce high performance, light weight laptops and was looking to qualify leads for the sales of this newly launched product.

With the help of the BANT framework, Lenovo was able to achieve 120 highly qualified leads in just 30 days and generated a business of INR 7.35 Cr.

Conclusion

BANT is a powerful strategy that has been successfully used by businesses over several years. The success of the framework depends on the type of questions asked. They should be appropriate and not drag the sales process. Train your sales reps to frame BANT questions with a natural flow so that you get the desired response.

With practice and the use of tools like HubSpot, you can implement the BANT strategy for an efficient lead qualification process.