BANT Sales Template

The acronym BANT stands for: Budget, Authority, Need, and Timing.Each of these helps sales representatives better qualify potential leads. Budget, for example, refers to how much money the prospect can afford to spend on a solution. Authority evaluates the degree to which the prospect influences the purchasing decision. Simply put, do they have the authority to close this deal? Next, Need refers to whether or not the prospect’s company has an ongoing need that you can solve. Finally, Timing refers to the timeframe in which the prospect will make their purchasing decision. If there is no urgency to get the deal done, prospects may be best disqualified from the sales process until the need is more pronounced.

There are a number of questions sales representatives can ask prospective leads in order to qualify them via the BANT sales methodology. Here are commonly asked questions by sales reps using the BANT qualification method.

Budget:

• How much money is budgeted for this?
• How much do you spend on similar products and services?
• What do you need from me before getting the budget approved?

Authority:

• Who would be the decision-maker on this purchase?*
• What is your company’s decision-making process for similar solutions?
• How can I help you position this solution to fellow decision-makers?

Need:

• What problems are you trying to solve with this solution?
• What do you hope to achieve when this solution is implemented?
• What is the revenue implication of not solving this issue?
• What are potential roadblocks?

Timing:

• What is a realistic timeframe from resolving this problem and implementing a solution?
• How does this solution align to the broader company strategy at this time?
• Would you have the appropriate resources to start implementation right away?

The BANT Sales Methodology is still prominently used to qualify potential leads, dating back to over 70 years ago. The BANT qualification process can be leveraged in a modern context, however, with slight changes to the framework. When discussing a prospect’s budget, sales representatives should take into account value delivered (i.e. cost-savings, revenue created) rather than simply determining whether the lead can afford their services. For authority, sales representatives should inquire further of their prospect’s decision-making hierarchy and process. Sales representatives that go one step further with the BANT sales methodology and questioning will ultimately have more success at closing deals.

The BANT sales methodology is a great way to help sales representatives determine whether or not a prospect is a good fit for them. The BANT qualification model takes into account a prospect’s potential budget, their internal influence to close the deal, their need for the product, and ultimately, whether the timing is right. The BANT sales process ultimately helps sales representatives focus their efforts on qualified prospects, ensuring all leads are a good fit with the company’s business objectives.

BANT is popular because of its simplicity when compared to more thorough sales methodologies like MEDDIC.

Ultimately, the BANT sales methodology allows your sales representatives to focus their efforts on qualified prospects. While other sales models take into account similar factors such as budget, and timing, the BANT qualification process is far more stringent. In fact, if prospects fail to meet BANT sales methodology criteria, they are disqualified from the sales process. The BANT sales process is essentially an easy-to-follow checklist, ensuring your sales representatives are spending their time with prospects that not only have the budget and internal influence, but also have urgency to close the deal.