Intro: What is BANT?
The BANT sales framework is a classic approach to qualifying leads and boosting your sales game.
BANT stands for Budget, Authority, Need, and Timeline - the four crucial factors to assess a lead's potential for conversion.
- Budget: First things first, figure out if the potential customer has the financial muscle to make the purchase. It's pointless to engage if they're not equipped to invest.
- Authority: Identify the decision-makers in the organization. Are you speaking with the person who can give the final nod? If not, it's time to climb up the ladder to the real authority.
- Need: Understand the customer's needs and pain points. What problem are they trying to solve? Your solution should address their specific needs and provide value.
- Timeline: Pin down their timeline for making a decision. Is it a priority for them right now or in the future? Knowing the timeline helps in managing your sales pipeline effectively.
Now, to implement BANT effectively:
- Ask the Right Questions: During your interactions, dig deep to uncover the budget, authority, need, and timeline. Craft questions that unravel this information smoothly.
- Listen Actively: Pay attention to the responses. Listen to what they're saying and what they're not saying. This will give you cues about their true situation and intentions.
- Qualify Wisely: Based on the information gathered, qualify the lead. Is this a hot lead or one that needs nurturing? Tailor your actions accordingly.
BANT is all about focusing your efforts where they matter most. You want to invest your time and energy into leads that have the potential to convert into valuable customers. Assessing BANT elements early in the sales process helps you prioritize and target your efforts strategically.
Customize the below template for your organization and surface this coaching directly where your reps are prospecting to drive pipeline with Spekit.
https://vimeo.com/867975017
1. How to use BANT in Initial Qualification
A sales team can use the BANT framework (Budget, Authority, Need, and Timing) as a systematic approach to qualify and assess potential sales opportunities.
BANT helps sales professionals determine whether a prospect is a good fit for their product or service and whether the opportunity is worth pursuing further.
How a sales team can effectively use BANT in initial qualification:
- Budget: In the early stages of engagement, ask questions to understand the prospect's budget for the solution.
Determine if they have the financial resources to invest in your product or service. - Authority: Identify and engage with the decision-makers who have the authority to approve and finalize purchasing decisions.
This could involve asking questions like, "Who else is involved in the decision-making process?" - Need: Understanding what the prospect is trying to solve for that is enough to do some initial discovery?
Do they have immediate pains or a business problem? - Timing: Is this something they are looking to purchase in the next 3-6 months?
2. BANT Discovery Questions
Use these questions to uncover an opportunity and ask 'Why' or 'Tell me more' to dig further in their responses.
Click into Specific Persona Questions here:
➡ #Persona card 1
➡ #Persona card 2
- Questions to uncover 'Budget': Is this a problem you've budgeted to solve this year? Why? Tell me more...Are you looking to buy, or build a solution?Is budget set aside for solving this issue, or are you looking to request budget based on the vendor?A solution like this (spekit aside) would typically cost between $X, and $Y for the number of users that you have, is that what you were expecting?Are you able to spend the budget freely, or are there additional budget approvals needed?Have you bought a tool to solve this issue before? How long ago and what was the result?What is the process to purchase software in your organization?Who needs to be involved in the evaluation to sign off for budget?
- Questions to uncover 'Authority': Who is typically involved in the purchase of tools at your company?Most of our customers have X,Y, and Z person involved in the discussion to determine if our solution is a fit. Is it possible to involve those individuals at your company?What's your usual procurement process and timeline?Are you looking to buy this tool for yourself, your team, or another team?Who else knows that you're shopping for this solution?
- Questions to uncover 'Need': What are the top three issues you're looking to solve in the next 6 months?Do you currently have any solution, bought or built, in place?How long have these issues persisted?What teams are being impacted?What happens if you don't solve it
- Questions to uncover 'Timeline': Why is now the right time to do something different? Tell me more...What's your urgency around solving this problem? Why? Tell me more....How soon do you want to solve for this?When would you ideally want a solution in place?How quickly can you implement a new tool?How long did it take to adopt the last tool you purchased?Is anyone internally working on a different timeline for solving this issue?Are any priorities currently more urgent than solving these issues?
3. BANT Email Flow
Between the cold call answer & the "meeting booked" call you schedule with the prospect, try to secure BANT via email.
Based on your 1st interaction, see below flow chart of how to integrate BANT into your email follow-ups.
🐙 BANT EMAIL same day
🐙 BANT EMAIL pre-meeting
4. Meeting Reminder | BANT Email Template
Challenge: Buyers come unprepared. Can change the agenda and we are not prepared = wasted meeting.
Goals: What BANT criteria do you have left to uncover? How responsive have they been (watching videos, answering via email, webinar signups?, etc).
Based on their level of activeness, craft your pre-condition email to set yourself up.
- Sent 24+ hours before meeting
- Confirms Date/Time/Attendance of meeting
- Offers a teaser or small valuable insight (include a resource for them to pre-read or watch)
- Sets/Reframes expectations
- Builds confidence in partnering with you
HI <INSERT NAME>,
Looking forward to our conversation on <DATE AND TIME>. When you have a chance, here are a few questions I'll cover or you can send back prior to ensure we're aligned on our call. [Insert BANT Questions that you still need to capture]
- Learn more about some of your challenges & top priorities:
- What is driving the need for a ‘XXX’ solution? (specific project rollout, poor tool adoption, etc)
- Is there a specific timeline you are looking to implement a solution to this need or are you in the exploratory phase?
- Do you have a specific budget amount set aside to fund this project, or would that need to be requested based on vendor's solution?
- Overview of 'Just in time Learning'
- Next Steps in your evaluation
Here is a great resource for you to review ahead of our call: <INSERT RESOURCE>.
Look forward to connecting.
5. Meeting Booked | BANT Email Template
Challenge: Keeping the momentum of interest from the prospect + YOU WANT a BANT or NO BANT quickly.
Goals: As soon as you make a connection [cold call, email response, LinkedIn] you are starting or continuing BANT.
- Sent SAME DAY you set the meeting
- Confirms Date/Time/Attendance of meeting
- Offers a teaser or small valuable insight (include a resource for them to pre-read or watch)
- Sets/Reframes expectations
HI <INSERT NAME>,
Looking forward to our conversation on <DATE AND TIME>. I wanted to share this agenda and a few questions for you to answer prior to ensure we're aligned with the proper context for our call.
Agenda:
- Learn more about some of your challenges & priorities over the next 3-6 months:
- What is driving the need for a ‘XXX’ solution? (specific project rollout, poor tool adoption, etc)
- Is there a specific timeline you are looking to implement a solution to this need or are you in the exploratory phase?
- Do you have a specific budget amount set aside to fund this project, or would that need to be requested based on vendor's solution?
- Quick Overview of ‘Just in time Learning’ & Spekit
- Next Steps in your evaluation
Please let me know if you want to add anything or anything specific you would like to cover. In the meantime, [Here is a great video resource] for you to review ahead of our call to give you context as to what Spekit solves for.
If you feel anyone [Authority] else should be invited to this call, feel free to add them! I look forward to connecting.
[Signature]
6. Objection Handling | Budget
https://vimeo.com/867975017/5562232a1c?share=copy
Spekit Scuffles: Objection Handling Secrets
How can we overcome 'Budget Objections':
🎥 Navigating budget conversations (4 mins)
🗣️What will you hear from a prospect or customer?
- We don't have budget for a new tool.
- We don't have a line item for this, so we'd need to pull budget from elsewhere.
- This isn't something we are looking to purchase right now.
- We are on a budget freeze.
- We only budgeted $5k (or some other low amount) for this.
- We are just in the exploratory phase.
- We aren't comfortable sharing our budget.
💲We need to teach our buyers how to buy...
Use this framework to craft an objection response:
- Acknowledge: Show empathy & understanding of the objection
- Respond: Re-confirm the problem, intent to solve and timeline (this means you should start by outlining their pains/need)
- Pivot: Ask open-ended questions
📞 Example Talk Tracks:
- We don't have budget for a new tool: Budget is always foundational, and you weren't likely expecting my call or the possibility that you could buy a tool to solve some of the problems you're faced with. What's the usual process for uncovering budget for needed tools?
- We don't have a line item for this, so we'd need to pull budget from elsewhere: Collecting budget for an initiative like this is common amongst our customers when we were first introduced! I imagine that asking for budget is a process that comes with a lot of scrutiny. I wouldn't want you to start that process unless you're sure it's the right solution, right now. In the event that you find the right tool, agnostic of our tool, do you feel comfortable securing the budget?
- This isn't something we are looking to purchase right now:Timing is very important, as even the best solution at the wrong time isn't helpful. Purchase date aside, are you shopping for a future solution? If so, when is this a priority?
- We are on a budget freeze: It's painful to need tools or services and have to do more with less. Many of our customers are in a similar boat. In what ways have you been able to make room for needed initiatives during past budget locks?
- We only budgeted $5k (or some other low amount) for this: I love that! What kind of research have you done thus far to give you insight needed to solve these issues, and how did that research play into the budget decision?
- We are just in the exploratory phase: Absolutely, it's where all great things start. In fact, research suggests that buyers today are more self researched than ever. What is the driving factor in your decision to explore a solution like our tool?
- We aren't comfortable sharing our budget: Understood, my goal is to make this as comfortable as possible. If it helps, perhaps I can give you a range of what solutions to your issues cost, tool agnostic, and you can determine from there if it makes sense to keep talking?
Additional Resources:
