Why BANT Isn’t Enough Anymore: A New Prospect Qualification Framework

In this booming era of technology, using outdated methods for qualifying leads such as BANT can produce inefficient results. BANT, the acronym for Budget, Authority, Need, and Timing, was an effective tool used by technology enterprises globally. This mantra is known to almost every single salesperson sitting in any corner of the world. However, with the revolutionization of newly launched technological systems, the BANT framework is now considered inefficacious for quality leads.?

The BANT model, which was popularized by IBM, has been around for decades, developed by tech experts at a time before people had the luxury of using search engines such as Google.

Back then, with the help of BANT, a salesperson could easily identify a problem, confirm the prospect’s interest in finding a solution, qualify on BANT and propose significant solutions all in one go.

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Three Primary Reasons Why BANT Framework No Longer Serves the Needs of Enterprise Technology?

Reason #1) Enterprise IT Buying has Become a Team Sport?

?Enterprise IT buying in the modern world has become more of a team sport rather than an individual thing. For instance, the purpose of the BANT model was to establish whether a lead provides authority to the buyer or not. However, in today’s world, the buying influence and authority have been distributed among several buying committees.?

Therefore, the need for qualifying a single individual for authority through the BANT framework has become obsolete. This is one of many reasons why IT enterprises refrain from using BANT, as it does not cater to the progressive models and systems of the new age.?

Reason #2) BANT is More Time Consuming?

The BANT model relies solely on probing static questions and point-in-time interactions to establish buying intent. If you observe the Avante-Garde technological systems of this world, they are fast-paced, catering to hundreds of buyers daily. Comparatively with BANT, by the time a salesperson reaches a buyer, they might run out of time to secure a deal. Advanced systems are supposed to make processes easier, efficient, and less time-consuming, but with these slow-paced connections, enterprises won’t be able to make a fortune.?

Reason #3) BANT is Unreliable?

For those who have used BANT, they would know that the BANT approach essentially amounts to four yesses in a call. These four yesses determine whether a buyer is ready to buy or not. However, on the contrary, saying "no" doesn't mean they won't be available to contact in the future or that the other member of the buying team holds more value.?

Keep this in mind, Budget and Timing only exist when there is a need. If you are introducing a new concept or paradigm, then chances are this need may not be established in the right way. Therefore, salespeople are required to make their buyers familiar to address authority in a single individual or set timings.?

Thus, many IT enterprises cut off their best salespeople or bring them to their knees when they attempt to qualify their buyers through these flawed processes. No sales personnel can get or even shape a perfect deal by relying on the BANT framework qualifications driven by third parties.?

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Lead Qualification for Modern Times?

In today’s world, all thanks to modern technology, customers are knowledgeable of the software they want to sell to their prospective buyers. Moreover, they have an immense variety of product offerings to choose from. They don’t require a sales representative to educate them about the product. The same goes for making them “qualified” for it. In fact, after having a look at modern sales processes, anyone could be convinced that representatives often behave like consultants for solving an issue. Here is how effective lead qualification works today.?

1. Get to Know your customers

?This is an entire process within itself, and it starts by having an ideal customer profile that clearly outlines what a successful customer looks like. Now, this profile can consist of firmographic data such as the company’s size, turnover rate, annual report details, as well as; weaknesses. The profile needs to be authentic and verified by the person in authority.?

Next, a marketing strategy deployed by marketing professionals needs to target ideal customers for content and achieving marketing initiatives. A sales representative can then track what kind of content the customer engages in to extract valuable data regarding their buying behavior. Lastly, your budget and authority will follow once you have all those things.????

2. Diagnose Customers’ Problems??

Initially, experts need to conduct a profile check to understand the customer’s problem.

Without fully understanding the issue, no effective solutions can be proposed. Analyzing surveys can be fruitful in interpreting what truly motivated them to buy your products and how it helped them to solve their problems.??

All this valuable data extracted from existing customers can be beneficial in understanding why prospects are interested, what solutions you offered and what difficulties they overcame. Additionally, what they expect from you in the future can help you come up with suitable solutions to cater to your audience.?

3. Develop a Mutual Action Plan?

Once a sales representative fully understands the buyer’s problem, they must agree on one solution. For that, an action plan or a timeframe needs to be formed. This is what we call a ‘Mutual Action Plan.”?

A Mutual Action Plan is an agreement between both parties which includes timelines and details objectives that need to be accomplished.?

The sales representative needs to inform the buyer of this action plan and the steps they need to take to accomplish all goals.?

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The Verdict??

Always remember that it’s okay to disqualify a prospect. Sales representatives must only focus on attractive and healthy deals. After all, you will gain trust and more credibility as you disqualify a lead for the customer’s benefit.?

Ultimately, the sales world has come far from when IBM introduced the BANT model, but today it’s not about the sales representatives but what the buyer “needs”. Therefore, we recommend that enterprises modify their processes accordingly to earn lucrative profits.

If you want this process streamlined and conducted by an expert in this field, head on down to my?Upwork profile , and we can set up a meeting and discuss how to increase your sales and scale your business today!??

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