If your sales development team uses BANT to qualify leads, you may push prospects towards your competition.
The traditional BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline) qualification method, introduced by IBM in the 1960s, has been used by B2B salespeople at the behest of their sales managers ever since. However, applying BANT too early in the buying cycle can harm the sales process, especially when viewed through the Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD) framework.
The JTBD framework, popularized by Clayton Christensen and Bob Moesta, posits that customers 'hire' products or services to make progress and accomplish specific jobs. This concept aligns closely with the modern B2B buying journey, which can be broken down into several stages:
1. Awareness of a problem or opportunity – first thought
2. Exploration of potential solutions – passive looking
3. Consideration of specific alternatives – active looking
4. Decision and purchase - deciding
5. Implementation and evaluation – first use
Early in this timeline, when a potential customer is just becoming aware of a problem or exploring potential solutions, they are far from ready to be subjected to BANT questioning. At this stage, they are focused on understanding their own needs and the range of possible solutions available in the market.
When a Salesperson or Sales Development Representative (SDR) attempts to apply BANT qualification too early, several issues arise:
1. Lack of Context: Early in the buying process, prospects may not have fully defined their needs or understood the potential value of a solution. Without this context, questions about budget or timeline seem premature and irrelevant.
2. Erosion of Trust: Pushing for BANT information before establishing if you can even help can make the salesperson appear self-interested rather than focused on solving the prospect's problem. It is more important for salespeople to listen and understand the buyer’s story, their struggles, and what they are trying to achieve than to ask self-interested BANT questions.
3. Incomplete Information: Early-stage prospects often lack the necessary information to answer BANT questions. Budgets may not be set, decision-makers may not be identified, and timelines may be fluid.
4. Missed Opportunities: Rigidly applying BANT criteria too early can disqualify potentially valuable opportunities that are simply not yet mature, i.e., early in their buying timeline.
5. Disruption of the Buyer's Journey: Premature BANT questioning can derail the prospect's natural progression through their buying process, potentially pushing them away rather than guiding them forward.
Instead of forcing BANT qualification early in the process, salespeople should align their approach with the prospect's position in the buying timeline. That is why the second question salespeople should ask when meeting a new prospect is, “Where are you in your timeline to find a better solution?”
In my next post, I will discuss where to apply qualification criteria in the buy-sell process.
#JTBD #BANT #Salesdevelopment #Consultativeselling