BANT

BANT is an acronym for: Budget (is there a budget for the purchase), Authority (are you talking to the decision maker), Need (is there a real need for the product), Timeline (when are they planning to buy). The model originated at IBM in the 1950s and is still used today as the basic qualification framework in B2B sales.

In my practice, BANT is not a rigid checklist, but a minimum set of questions that a manager must clarify in the first 15 minutes of a conversation. A lead that does not pass at least three of the four criteria is not transferred to the “hot” funnel - it goes into negative or is disqualified. This saves sales people time and increases their conversion into a deal by 30–50%.

BANT's weak point is its chronologically outdated emphasis on "budget." In modern B2B transactions, the budget is often approved for a specific solution, rather than in advance. That’s why I supplement BANT in projects with the question: “What problem are you trying to solve and how are you currently dealing with it?” - this gives the context of the need deeper than just “do you need a product.”

Alternatives to BANT for complex transactions: MEDDIC (Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, Decision Process, Identify Pain, Champion) and CHAMP (Challenges, Authority, Money, Prioritization). For short-cycle transactional B2B sales, BANT is still sufficient and quick to implement.