BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline)(BANT)
Quick definition
A qualification framework that determines whether a prospect has Budget, Authority, Need, and Timeline to make a purchase.
Detailed explanation
BANT is one of the most widely used qualification methodologies in B2B sales, developed by IBM. It helps sales professionals quickly determine whether a prospect is worth investing time in. Budget: does the prospect have financial resources available? Authority: are you speaking with the decision maker or an influencer? Need: is there a clear pain point or need that your solution addresses? Timeline: when does the prospect want to make a decision and implement? A prospect that scores on all four criteria has the highest chance of converting. Modern variants like MEDDIC or CHAMP add extra dimensions, but BANT remains a solid foundation for lead qualification.
Synonyms
Examples
An SDR asks during discovery: "Do you have budget allocated for this solution?" (B), "Who else is involved in this decision?" (A), "What happens if you don't solve this?" (N), "What's your ideal implementation timeline?" (T)
A prospect scores: €50K budget available (✓), speaking with VP Sales who decides (✓), clear pain point with pipeline visibility (✓), wants to implement before Q3 (✓) → Strong SQL
When to use this?
Use BANT during your first discovery conversations to quickly determine if a prospect is worth pursuing. Train your SDRs to weave BANT questions naturally into the conversation, not as a checkbox interview.
Match-day approach
Match-day integrates BANT into our discovery call frameworks, but we go beyond standard questions. We teach your team to explore BANT subtly through open questions, and we build CRM scoring systems that automatically calculate BANT scores. Prospects with low BANT scores go to nurture, high scores get priority from your best closers.
Related terms
Sales Qualified Lead (SQL)(SQL)
A prospect who has been qualified by sales and is ready for an active sales process.
Discovery Call
An exploratory conversation where you thoroughly investigate a prospect's situation, needs, pain points, and goals.
Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)(MQL)
A prospect who has shown interest in your marketing but is not yet ready for a sales conversation.
Learn more
Wil je weten hoe je bant (budget, authority, need, timeline) effectief inzet in jouw organisatie? Neem contact op met Match-day.
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