No salesperson can afford to waste time and resources chasing dead leads. An organization that wants to make more revenue and scale quickly needs qualified prospects that are ready to buy from them right away.
To streamline lead generation for better results, it’s essential to understand the BANT framework and how it can be utilized in a variety of marketing scenarios. Let’s explore this acronym and see what it can offer your business.
What is BANT?
IBM developed BANT to explore opportunities for its business needs and solutions while talking to potential customers. If a prospect meets three of the four BANT criteria, they are considered to be a valid opportunity, as per IBM guidelines.
BANT is an acronym for Budget, Authority, Need, and Timeline. According to this framework, these are the four criteria that are used to qualify a lead.
BANT’S philosophy is that a salesperson must-have information around all four of these components in place to qualify a prospect. If you don’t possess all four criteria, then you’ll be wasting both your time and that of the person you’re trying to reach out to.
The BANT method is one of the most effective ways to generate leads for your business.
Budget is the first step in any lead generation effort because it tells you how much they can spend on your product or service. The next step is Authority, which tells you if the prospect has the power to make a purchase decision or not.
Then comes Need, where you figure out what problem your product will solve for them. Last but not least is Timeframe, which gives you an idea of when they need to make a decision.
How To Use BANT To Streamline Lead Generation
Budget
Can the potential customer have a budget to buy your product?
It is essential to check that the potential budget parameters are compatible with your pricing strategy. Find out if they have a budget for your product type, how much they intend to pay, and if they have budget flexibility.
If the prospect cannot buy your product or is unwilling to pay within the price range of your booking, it is better to avoid a potential dead end.
Authority
Does the prospect have a position in the company to authorize the purchase? Who is the main point of contact for the decision reference? Who are the other participants involved?
Understand how your prospect’s company makes budget decisions and determine whether someone else should be involved in the buying process.
Even if your customer is responsible for finalizing the purchase, they may still need to consult a group of shareholders during the decision-making process to come to an understanding.
If you find that your prospect lacks the Authority to complete the sale, try to convince them to bring the authoritative person to make the right decision.
Need
Can your product solve the potential problem of your prospect?
Ask your prospect about painful areas, the most challenging problems, the solutions they’ve tried, and the things your business needs to support.
If you feel that your solution cannot solve their problems correctly, it’s not worth extending the sale.
If your product can help solve the problem, make sure that the problem is more than a minor inconvenience to get the prospect to act.
Timeline
How fast is the prospect ready to make the purchase?
To determine their urgency, ask how quickly they plan to resolve their problems.
If they want to get rid of your problems in a few months, you are in good shape. When the time to make a purchase decision is closer to a year or more, it is usually best to use your time to postpone and follow up.
You can also create a sense of urgency by offering a temporary discount on your product.
Common Questions To Qualify Leads Using the BANT Framework
When the opportunity presents itself, ask additional questions for more information. Here are some questions to consider when using BANT to qualify your prospect:
- Budget
- Did you budget for new technologies? What is the budget exactly?
- Is your budget shared with other departments?
- What would you do if you had no financial constraints?
- Authority
- Do we need to include someone else in our discussion?
- Are you currently using similar items? Do you expect overlaps or repetitions?
- What about previous products? Is your team open to new ideas?
- Need
- Tell us about the most challenging part of your job. Since when has that been annoying?
- Do you already have a plan to solve these problems?
- What possible disadvantages do you expect?
- Timeline
- What other challenges do you face? What is your main troubleshooting priority?
- When do you want to solve your problem?
- Do you have other solutions or services in mind?
By keeping track of what’s going on, you can discover new gaps that your product can fulfill and assist you qualify a prospect based on the information you’ve gathered.
However, you can use intelligent GTM software like Slintel to automatically capture potential business decision-makers, existing problem-solving software, business purchasing power, etc. before speaking to a prospect.
Slintel’s Chrome Extension helps you execute the ANUM framework? Yes, the extension helps you:
- Find decision-makers and their contact details in an organization that covers the ‘A’ part
- Gauge needs (N) by sharing the software stack and the desire to buy or the buying intent score of a target account
- Determine if an organization might spend on a tool like yours by sharing the software stack or technographic data
- Understand if a target account fits your ICP through the firmographics of an organization
All this information is free of cost. You only spend money when you unlock contact details. Know more about the extension here.
To Wrap Things Up!
The BANT method can be a great tool to streamline your lead generation efforts. By following this system, you will know precisely what is needed from each lead and how to move them along through the sales funnel so they become repeat customers of your business.
Using the right combination of these steps will help you achieve your goals and improve your results in lead generation. Use the information provided here to enhance your BANT strategy!
