Why BANT Is Not Enough Anymore: A New Prospect Qualification Framework

With changing times comes the need to change strategies. What once worked flawlessly has become outdated and in need of replacement. In the era of Google, social networking, and online information, the old mantra of Budget, Authority, Needs and Timeline just no longer fits the bill for successful sales and marketing techniques.

Why BANT Is Not Enough

BANT, in its day, revolutionized sales by qualifying prospects in an easy-to-understand framework. As a salesperson, you could determine your prospect’s problem, confirm their interest, and schedule a presentation. Prospects were reliant on you to help them solve their issue. Nowadays, prospects are much better informed about possible solutions, competitors, products, and services offered. They can begin to design their own solutions all without even needing to speak to a salesperson.

So what can salespeople do to increase their value? In a world where every problem’s solution is just one Google search away, and buyers are already 57% of the way towards a buying decision at the very start of connecting with a salesperson, what can you do to add worth to the prospect’s choice?

One option to improve your lead generation, management and assessment is a three-part framework called the GPCTBA/C&I (admittedly a very long acronym, but the technology behind it is faultless).

The first step is identifying Goals, Plans, Challenges and Timeline (GPCT). Have an active listening session with your client to determine what their goals are, what their company aspires to, what might hold them back, and what their current plans are, as well as the timeframe they might already have.

Next are Budget and Authority (BA). This is a critical part of the process, because of course if they do not have the capital to invest in your solution, there is no way for you to assist them. Find out what else they might be investing in – pay attention to any areas which might be addressing the same problems that aren’t working, where you can easily highlight the value of your product. Determine where their funding is coming from, as a crucial part of any salesperson’s job is to turn their prospect into a champion of your solution.

Finally, establish any negative Consequences and positive Implications (C&I). Which positive implications does a successful project, thanks to your solution, have? What might go wrong if your prospect cannot achieve their target? The point of this step is to ascertain that your product can help them avoid negative consequences and help them achieve any following targets.