How Make More Productive Sales Calls with BANT
The discovery call is the first conversation you have with a potential customer after they show interest in your product/service. In this initial call, you have to determine whether they are a good enough fit for your product to keep the discussion going - or if it’s not going to work out.
This process is also referred to as lead qualification. Lead qualification is the process of figuring out if they’re likely to make a purchase, and worth approaching. While there are tools like marketing automation to help you out with this step, it’s still essential to have a good old-fashioned conversation and see if they have actual needs and are open to the idea of your solution.
Though, sales prospecting is a delicate art. You need to guide the conversation and ask all the right questions, excavate the challenges they’re facing, and then smoothly offer your solution, all the while personalizing the pitch to their unique situation. For most people, this is a difficult task. That’s why there are certain guidelines we can employ, like BANT, to help keep us on track and seeking out the right information. Let’s look into how the famous BANT framework works and how it could potentially improve your sales calls.
Table of Contents
What is the BANT framework?
BANT is a methodology used in sales calls to determine how qualified a lead is and if they are a good match for your solution. It stands for Budget, Authority, Needs, and Timeframe. When following BANT, you ask a series of open questions that probe into each of these key areas.
With the help of BANT, you can quickly differentiate the hot, quality prospects, to those that are still very cold or out of target. For example, you can ask your prospects how much budget they’re working with. If their budget is way too low for your services, then your solution probably isn’t a good fit at that point in time and you shouldn’t bother wasting time and resources trying to sell to them. In other words, BANT can help us to allocate sales resources to the prospects who are most likely to make purchases, and to close more sales with minimal resources.
Examples of BANT questions
B - Budget
The client’s budget is a critical piece of information to seek out in B2B negotiations. Whether or not the prospect has enough funds set aside to adopt your solution can reveal the likelihood of them making a purchase.
Examples of questions:
1. Could you give me an estimate of how much you’re willing to spend on a solution?
2. (If already using a similar service) How much are you currently spending?
3. Would you be willing to meet us at our price if it means great service?
4. Is [price range] within your budget?
A - Authority
In B2B business, even if your contact is a high-ranking manager, often, they are not able to make a final decision on a purchase by themselves. For this reason, we need to ask questions to figure out who the actual decision maker is and try to get them involved in future negotiations.
Examples of questions:
1. Is there anyone else on your team who should be a part of this discussion?
2. Which team members would be working with this solution?
3. When was the last time you adopted a similar solution? Who were the stakeholders involved in that process?
4. Would you like to include them (all stakeholders mentioned) in our next meeting?
N - Needs
If your company’s sales proposal isn’t aligned with the prospect's actual needs, then naturally, they’re just going to reject it. Note that these “needs,” aren’t so much referring to the individual needs of your point of contact, but rather to the needs of their organization as a whole.
Examples of questions:
1. What would you say are your biggest priorities this year?
2. What are the main challenges your team is facing right now?
3. One of the most common issues we hear about is [problem]. Is this an issue for you?
4. What motivated you to try something new now?
5. How did you get to know about us?
6. What were the limitations of similar solutions you’ve tried in the past?
T - Timeframe
Getting a sense of the customer’s timeline is also important, so that you’re both on the same page. If you try to close the sale too early, when they were only trying to gather information on their options for the time being, then you might end up damaging the relationship and lose your chance at a sale.
Examples of questions:
1. How urgent is the issue?
2. What is your timeline for seeing results?
3. How soon would you be open to trying out [solution]?
4. How long have you been dealing with these problems?
5. Realistically, when would you like to have this problem solved?
Why is BANT so popular?
BANT was originally developed by IBM in the 1950s, and still continues to be a go-to method for lead qualification used around the globe. The reason for its long-lasting popularity is because it is straightforward, with four simple categories to focus on, and flexible, as the framework can be applied with every kind of potential customer in B2B. On top of this, BANT is known for generating real results; it enables you to quickly pinpoint the quality leads and spend more time and energy selling to them, rather than to those who it’s too early for / who have no real needs / who have no budget. Through this method you will be able to save considerable amounts of time and improve your appointment rate.
What happens when you fail to follow BANT?
First of all, if you fail to inquire into their budget restrictions, you could end up putting a lot of time into crafting a personalized presentation, only to be met with shock when the price point is discussed. As a general rule, if it’s only slightly out of the prospect’s budget, they still have the power to lobby for more funding, so you can continue trying to sell to them - however, if it’s way more expensive than they are expecting, you’ll most likely lose the sale.
Second, even if the company has the budget and the needs, if you’re talking to the wrong person, then a purchase decision will never be made. You have to take action to get the decision maker involved in your sales meetings.
Third, this one’s obvious - but you can never sell something in B2B if the organization has no clear need for it. You have to build a firm understanding of their challenges and current situation before proposing a solution, so that they actually match up, and your solution is solving real problems.
Lastly, finding the right timing is also key in closing sales. Often, you can’t control or sway the timing yourselves, so you have to inquire into when they’re thinking the issues at hand need to be solved, and adapt to that timeline. In the case that they aren’t ready to consider a purchase, do not try to force it! Instead, you should revert to lead nurturing - sending them helpful content by email, holding educational webinars, etc. - and gradually increase their interest. Once the prospect becomes more active, then you should follow-up and check if their needs have grown stronger.
Summary
The BANT framework helps you to clarify your lead qualification criteria, increase your closing rate, and optimize the sales process. You can make it the standard strategy for sales calls at your organization, and make sure that all sales reps are asking the right questions while prospecting. For now, though, just try tweaking your call script to match the BANT format and see the difference for yourself.
Related Articles:
The Top 5 Sales Methodologies to Consider for Your Business
