Week 42: Types of Lead Qualification Methods & Frameworks: ANUM, BANT, ChAMP, FAINT, MEDDIC, NOTE

ANUM, BANT, ChAMP, FAINT, MEDDIC, or NOTE?

Before you call for an SOS, let's understand why picking a lead qualification method is so critical to your lead generation campaigns.

The end goal of any of these lead qualification methods is to make sure that you have the right prospects in front of your sales team.

The right prospects mean more efficient sales, less effort wasted and a boost in productivity.

Most importantly however, the right prospects also mean better relationships which lead to more value from your end that can lead to more growth for your company.

We have always been an advocates of creating better relationships.

And part of that challenge is developing internal filtering mechanisms to help you get to your ideal customer.

Now this is by no means a complete list, but this should provide you with enough foundational knowledge to establish your brand's own lead qualification metrics.

We wrote a comprehensive guide on lead qualification frameworks that you can check out, but we've included some of them in this newsletter so that you can reach your ideal customer profile with ease.

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BANT

BANT (not to be confused with the?best LinkedIn marketing agency?– BAMF?) is probably the most popular type of lead qualification out there and it stands for Budget, Authority, Need, and Timing.

This methodology has quite a rich history starting off as the brainchild of the people over at IBM, and it has grown in popularity because of its simplicity.

BANT does suffer from one infamous flaw.

It’s seller-centric and tends to discard leads for the sake of high efficiency.

That means it works if you know that the buyer has bought a solution that’s similar to yours or might be shopping for it in the future.

In effect, it only works for people with the budget to buy from you.

Here’s how you can use it for lead qualification:

B - Budget

This refers to the prospect’s ability to have a budget for the solution that you are offering them.

More often than not, one of the greatest obstacles to a prospect purchasing from you is their ability to pay.

This is why BANT attempts to tackle this issue first before moving on to the rest of the qualification questions.

Regardless if the prospect is in love with the product, it would make no sense – from the efficiency standpoint – to try and sell them something that they don’t have the budget for.

(Note: you can still keep them in one of your lead lists for the future.)

A - Authority

Getting the solution in front of the right person is another important part of BANT’s lead qualification methodology.

Lead generation teams should make sure that they are targeting people who can make the decision to purchase from their organization.

However, this shouldn’t be mistaken as just looking for the DMU (decision-making unit), marketers can also target people who help the “authority” make the decision.

N - Need

This refers to their current (or future) need for the solution that you are selling.

The prospect needs to need the solution, or else the entire process is a waste.

When qualifying based on needs, make sure you consider what problems, bottlenecks, or roadblocks they are currently facing.

Also, take into account if they are considering other alternate solutions that other a substitute for what you’re providing.

Be aware of what the competition can offer them so that you can leverage your USP.

You can do this via a sales discovery or triage call, but to make sure you make the most out of your questions in this phase, make sure you know enough about the company.

T - Timing

This refers to the priorities that your prospect has.

Are they looking to solve the problem, possibly with your solution, in the near future?

Does this time frame align with your own organization’s selling goals?

Is this solution a priority?

By figuring out priorities and timing, you know how to position your organization or determine if the prospect can be considered to be a colder lead that should be dealt with at a later time.

For example, take a look at B2B healthcare and education, since their budgets are usually predetermined at the start of the fiscal year, a lot of consideration is put into the timeframe of the sale with an emphasis on lead nurturing.

Find out how to get more QUALIFIED leads today.

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ANUM

ANUM was developed by Ken Krogue and it’s pretty much similar to BANT’s approach with significant emphasis placed on authority - A.

It stands for authority, need, urgency, and money.

Money is the last priority because this particular sales framework depends on the rapport that you have with the DMU and takes into account that companies don’t always have a fixed budget for the solutions that you propose.

It’s also seller-centric like BANT.

But, it’s simple enough for an appointment setter to work with effectively.

A - Authority

The priority of ANUM is to find the right authority to pitch to first.

So this means if the prospect that you’re talking to doesn’t have the capability to make decisions for a company, they don’t make the cut.

At BAMF, we’ll suggest that before you find someone else, see if the current prospect has any connection to the DMU and if they can help connect you to them.

You can use this opportunity to find out more about the company, and this can help you with your next pitch to the real DMU.

Also, check if they are part of the technical team, it helps to sell to the technical team before you hit the DMU because you can get them to vouch for your product.

N - Need

ANUM also includes a “needs” portion where you try and identify if they have a need for the solution that you have or if they have other pain points you can help them with.

Note, you want to be a consultant here.

Don’t start pitching right away if you’re in a sales call.

You want to determine how their company functions and how you can fulfill their needs, either today or sometime in the future.

U - Urgency

Just like T for Timing in BANT, this refers to how urgently the prospect wants to solve the needs that they have, preferably with the solution that you have.

If they don’t want to move it right now, you should probably mark the lead off for nurturing until they’re ready.

M - Money

As we mentioned earlier, ANUM assumes that money is the least to prioritize when qualifying because a budget is not always fixed when it comes to more unique solutions to problems.

Also, rapport is a major consideration.

People are more willing to spend if they’re more familiar with the person they’re dealing with.

ChAMP

ChAMP or CHAMP, stands for Challenges, Author...

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>> I want to check out the rest of the frameworks <<

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