Why is BANT no longer the way to go?

BANT, the acronym standing for Budget, Authority, Need and Time, was until recently considered as an impeccable guide, 4 step checklist used by sales representatives to best qualify leads and win opportunities. As almost everything in this fast paced world becomes outdated in a blink of an eye (except for perfectly tailored suits, high heels, and fried food), it has come the time for BANT to pack up and retire somewhere warm and exotic.

As I have stated before, and yes I will continue even after you have had enough, buyer’s behavior has drastically changed in the past few years due to the amounts of information available at their fingertips and the increase in popularity of social networks. Therefore shifting the initial stages of the sales cycle in their hands.

According to this process, a strong sales opportunity lead would be one who:

- has an evident need that your company can satisfy

- has the authority to finance and approve the purchase

- has the budget to purchase your service or product

- has a specific timeline to which it attains when buying your product or service

Times have changed, and it has become harder and harder for a single lead to meet all the criteria imposed by the process. A strict use of BANT may cause sales reps to ignore valuable leads.

Though need, still remains an essential criteria because without it there would be no sale from the beginning; time, budget and authority have to be analyzed differently in order to prevent the prospect to establish a relationship with a competitor.

Why though? Because:

• most companies no longer budget for purchases in advance
• it is now common that 3 or more people are involved in the buying decision instead of 1
• time as budget is not set until the buyer has selected a supplier

The demand for alternative approaches is constantly increasing allowing the introduction of new guidelines such as:

FAINT (Finance, Authority, Impact, Need, Timing),

ACNE (Authority, Compelling Trigger Events, Need, Engagement) and,

IFISU (Issue, Fit, Impact, Sponsor, Urgency)

It is important to say that BANT is still a significant process in situations where the customer is already aware of what type of solution he is looking for and the budget he will allocate for the purchase. On the other hand though, BANT should not be followed in situations where the client may not recognize the problem or has not defined a specific budget or has not identified you as a possible solution.

Keep in mind that before jumping into a process, you have to analyze whether it is the best way to go based on the situation you and your prospect are in; otherwise you risk spending valuable time on leads that will eventually bring you down a slippery-slope.