B2B Sales Prospecting - Qualify Prospects with BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, & Time)

Summary

In this insightful sales video, Patrick Dang introduces BANT, a framework essential for sales success. BANT stands for Budget, Authority, Need, and Time, guiding salespeople to assess a prospect's financial capacity, decision-making power, necessity for the product, and purchase timeline. Dang's step-by-step explanation demonstrates how to integrate BANT into sales meetings to qualify leads effectively and close deals efficiently, emphasizing the importance of each component in the sales cycle.

Takeaways

• 🚀 The BANT framework is a time-tested method for sales qualification, focusing on Budget, Authority, Need, and Time.
• 💰 Budget is crucial to determine if the prospect has the financial capacity to purchase the product or service being offered.
• 🛂 Authority is about identifying the decision-makers who have the power to approve the purchase and commit resources.
• 🔍 Need signifies the necessity of the product or service for the prospect to achieve their goals or solve their problems.
• ⏰ Time is essential to understand the prospect's urgency and decision-making timeline, which can affect the deal's closure.
• 🤔 Asking about budget can be tricky; it's important to inquire in a way that doesn't make the prospect feel pressured to reveal too much.
• 🔑 When discussing budget, it's better to get a range rather than an exact figure to avoid surprises and facilitate smoother negotiations.
• 👥 Authority is not just about who is involved in the decision-making process but also about their influence and ability to commit.
• 🔑 Understanding the need involves uncovering the prospect's pain points and how the product or service can address those issues.
• 🗓 Time is a critical factor in sales; knowing when the prospect plans to make a decision helps in managing expectations and follow-ups.
• 🔄 Effective follow-ups are based on the context of previous conversations and the timeline provided by the prospect to maintain momentum.
• 📈 The BANT framework helps in forecasting deal closures by ensuring all aspects of qualification are covered during sales meetings.

Q & A

What is the main secret to successful sales according to the video?

The main secret to successful sales is to sell to people who are qualified to buy the product or service. This means targeting prospects who actually need and can afford what you're offering.

Why is it a mistake to try to sell to someone who doesn't need what you offer?

It's a mistake because even if you put a lot of energy into selling, the prospect may never buy because they were never qualified to begin with. This can lead to wasted effort and missed opportunities with more suitable prospects.

What is the BANT framework and how is it used in sales?

BANT is a sales framework that stands for Budget, Authority, Need, and Time. It's used to qualify prospects by understanding if they have the financial capacity (Budget), decision-making power (Authority), a genuine need (Need), and a timeframe for making a purchase (Time).

How can you determine if a prospect has a budget for your product or service?

You can determine if a prospect has a budget by asking direct questions about whether they have set aside funds for a purchase like yours. If they're hesitant, you can ask for a budget range to get a better understanding without pressuring them for an exact figure.

What is the importance of identifying the authority in a sales process?

Identifying the authority is crucial because it ensures that you're speaking with someone who has the power to make a decision and sign off on the deal. This can prevent wasted time and effort trying to convince someone who doesn't have the final say.

Why is it necessary to uncover a prospect's need during a sales meeting?

Uncovering a prospect's need is necessary to ensure that your product or service can solve their problems or help them achieve their goals. If there's no need, there's no reason for them to make a purchase, regardless of how good your offering is.

How can you effectively uncover a prospect's need during a sales conversation?

You can uncover a prospect's need by asking questions that reveal their current situation, their goals, and the obstacles preventing them from achieving those goals. This helps you understand how your product or service can address those specific needs.

What does the 'T' in BANT stand for and why is it important?

The 'T' in BANT stands for Time. It's important because understanding the prospect's timeline for making a decision helps you forecast when a deal might close and allows you to follow up effectively without seeming intrusive.

How can you use the information about a prospect's timeline to your advantage in sales?

You can use the timeline information to set expectations and follow up at appropriate times. It also helps in managing the sales pipeline and ensures that you're focusing on prospects who are ready to make a decision in a timely manner.

What is a common mistake made when a prospect asks about the cost of a product or service?

A common mistake is directly quoting a price without first understanding the prospect's budget. Instead, you should try to get them to reveal their budget range first, so you can provide a price that fits their expectations and budget.

How can you handle a situation where a prospect is reluctant to share their budget?

If a prospect is reluctant to share their budget, you can ask about the budget range they are considering or explain the importance of knowing their budget to tailor a solution that fits their needs without overstepping their financial limits.

Outlines

00:00

💼 Understanding BANT for Effective Sales

Patrick Dang introduces the BANT framework as a key to successful sales, emphasizing the importance of qualifying prospects who are genuinely capable of purchasing a product or service. BANT stands for Budget, Authority, Need, and Time. The framework guides salespeople through a process to determine a prospect's financial capacity (Budget), decision-making power (Authority), necessity for the product or service (Need), and the timing of their purchase (Time). Patrick illustrates how to apply BANT during sales meetings to avoid wasting energy on unqualified leads and to increase the likelihood of closing deals.

05:01

🗓 The Importance of Timing and Decision-Making in Sales

This paragraph delves deeper into the BANT framework, focusing on the 'A' for Authority and the 'T' for Time. It discusses the necessity of identifying the person with the decision-making power, such as a director or higher, to avoid lengthy approval processes. Patrick recounts a sales call scenario to exemplify the point. The section also highlights the significance of timing, using the adage 'Time kills all deals' to stress the urgency of understanding a prospect's decision timeline. Techniques for uncovering a prospect's timeline and following up effectively are provided, emphasizing the use of context to prompt responses and maintain momentum in the sales process.

10:02

🔍 Uncovering the Need and Budget in Sales

Patrick Dang continues the discussion on the BANT framework by examining the 'N' for Need and revisits the 'B' for Budget. He explains that identifying a prospect's need is crucial, as even the best products or services won't sell if there's no demand. Techniques for uncovering pain points and determining if the offering can solve them are outlined. For the Budget aspect, Patrick advises on how to tactfully inquire about a prospect's financial allocation, handle hesitancy in disclosing budget details, and navigate the negotiation process. The goal is to ensure the proposed price fits within the prospect's budget range and to qualify them as a viable lead.

📞 Effective Follow-Up Strategies Using BANT

In the final paragraph, Patrick wraps up the BANT framework discussion by emphasizing the importance of follow-up based on the timeline established during the sales meeting. He suggests using the context of previous conversations to remind prospects of their stated intentions and to prompt action. This approach is shown to be more effective than generic check-ins, as it leverages the prospect's commitment and can prevent deals from falling through the cracks. Patrick also invites viewers to engage with the content by liking, subscribing, and sharing their thoughts on which aspect of BANT they find most critical in the sales cycle.

Keywords

💡Sales

Sales is the process of selling products or services to customers. It is the core theme of the video, which focuses on strategies for successful sales. Patrick Dang discusses the importance of selling to qualified prospects and introduces the BANT framework as a tool for salespeople to assess potential customers' suitability for a product or service.

💡Qualified Prospects

Qualified prospects are potential customers who have the interest, authority, and financial capability to purchase a product or service. The script emphasizes the importance of identifying these individuals to avoid wasting time and resources on those who are not genuinely interested or able to buy, as illustrated by the common mistake of salespeople trying to sell to unqualified leads.

💡BANT Framework

BANT is an acronym for Budget, Authority, Need, and Time, which is a sales framework used to qualify prospects. The video explains that understanding these four aspects of a prospect's situation is crucial for determining whether they are ready to make a purchase, as it helps salespeople to focus on leads that are truly likely to convert.

💡Budget

Budget refers to the financial allocation a prospect has for purchasing a product or service. In the script, Patrick explains that ascertaining a prospect's budget is essential to ensure they can afford the offering and to guide the sales negotiation process, as seen in the example where he asks Sally about her budget range.

💡Authority

Authority in the sales context refers to the decision-making power of a prospect. The video script mentions the importance of identifying who has the final say in the purchasing process, as this can affect the sales strategy and the need for involving higher-level executives in the deal.

💡Need

Need signifies the requirement or problem that a prospect has which a product or service aims to fulfill or solve. The script discusses how uncovering a prospect's need is vital for a salesperson to demonstrate the relevance and value of their offering, as it directly relates to the prospect's goals and challenges.

💡Time

Time, in the context of the BANT framework, refers to the prospect's timeline for making a purchasing decision or starting to use the product or service. The video emphasizes the importance of understanding this timeline to manage expectations, prioritize leads, and avoid losing deals due to delays.

💡Sales Meeting

A sales meeting is an interaction between a salesperson and a prospect, where the former presents the product or service and assesses the latter's interest and suitability. The script uses the term to describe the setting where the BANT framework is applied to evaluate prospects and determine the potential for closing a deal.

💡Negotiation

Negotiation is the process of discussion and compromise between parties to reach an agreement, often used in sales to determine the terms of a transaction. The script touches on the aspect of negotiation when discussing how a prospect's budget might influence the pricing strategy of the salesperson.

💡Follow-up

Follow-up refers to the actions taken after an initial sales meeting to maintain contact with the prospect and move the sales process forward. The script provides examples of how to use the information gathered during the meeting, such as the prospect's timeline, to create context for follow-up communications and ensure the sales process remains on track.

💡Decision-making Process

The decision-making process is the series of steps or considerations that a prospect goes through to decide whether to purchase a product or service. The script highlights the importance for salespeople to understand this process for each prospect, especially in terms of identifying the authority figure and the timeline for decision-making.

Highlights

The key to successful sales is selling to qualified prospects who can actually afford and need the product or service.

Salespeople often waste energy trying to sell to unqualified leads, which is ineffective and unproductive.

BANT framework is introduced as a decades-old, proven method for qualifying sales prospects.

BANT stands for Budget, Authority, Need, and Time, which are essential criteria for assessing a prospect's suitability.

Understanding a prospect's budget is crucial to gauge their financial capacity to purchase.

Salespeople should tactfully inquire about a prospect's budget range to avoid pricing shock.

When a prospect is hesitant to reveal their budget,销售人员 should ask about the budget range instead of a specific number.

Authority in BANT refers to identifying the decision-makers who have the power to approve purchases.

It's important to ascertain whether the person you're talking to has the final say in the purchasing process.

Need in BANT involves determining if the prospect actually requires the product or service being offered.

Uncovering a prospect's pain points can help establish the necessity of your offering in relation to their goals.

Time in BANT is about understanding the prospect's decision-making timeline to avoid deal stagnation.

Asking for a specific timeline from the prospect can help in effective follow-ups and deal closure.

The importance of follow-up emails that use context from previous conversations to remind and nudge prospects.

Using the BANT framework helps in forecasting deal closures and managing sales pipelines effectively.

A reminder that not all prospects will be upfront about their budget or decision-making process, requiring salespeople to navigate these conversations skillfully.

The video emphasizes the importance of not just identifying a prospect's need, but also understanding the barriers preventing them from achieving their goals.

Patrick Dang encourages viewers to engage by liking, subscribing, and turning on notifications for more sales and lead generation content.

A call-to-action for viewers to share their thoughts on which BANT component they find most critical in the sales cycle.

Transcripts

- One of the biggest secrets to be successful in sales

is actually just to sell to people who are qualified

to buy product or service.

Now, most salespeople make the mistake

of trying to sell something to somebody

that doesn't actually need what you have to offer.

And when this happens, sometimes you can put a lot of energy

trying to sell someone and kind of push them

in the right direction, but in the end, they never buy

because they were never qualified to buy in the first place.

Now to qualify your prospects and make sure

that whoever you're talking to can actually buy your product

or service, I'm gonna teach you a special framework

that's been around for decades and it's proven to work

and it's called BANT, B-A-N-T.

And what we're gonna do is I'm gonna show you step by step

how you can use this framework during your sales meeting

to figure out whether or not someone should buy your product

or service, and you want to make sure you watch this video

until the end because if you don't know

how to use this framework

and you're not using BANT properly,

it's gonna be extremely difficult for you to close deals.

(bright electronic music)

Hey, what's going on, everybody?

My name is Patrick Dang.

Welcome to my channel

where we're gonna talk about all things sales.

Before we get started, make sure to give this video a like,

subscribe, and turn on notifications.

Now diving right into it,

we're gonna talk all about BANT, B-A-N-T.

Now BANT is gonna be an acronym

for budget, authority, need, and time.

So how we're gonna use this is during any type

of sales meeting where you're talking to someone

over the phone or in person,

we want to go through each of the steps.

It doesn't have to be in this exact order.

It can be in any order you want, but by the end of the call,

you need to understand if a prospect has a budget,

who the authority decision-makers are,

if there's a need for the prospect to even buy,

and timing on when they will buy.

So we're gonna break down these steps one by one

and I'm gonna show you exactly how you can execute

on these strategies during your sales meetings.

Now, the first letter that we're gonna cover

is gonna be the B, budget, okay?

So, in any type of sales meeting, you have to understand

whether or not the prospect or the customer

that is gonna buy from you has a budget.

Do they even have money set aside

to buy what you have to offer?

Because if they don't have money in the bank

and they don't even have a budget

to buy whatever it is you're selling,

well, you can't actually close a deal.

Even if they wanted to buy, they can't

because they can't, they don't have the money to afford it,

so that's why during your sales meeting,

usually it's in the middle or at the end,

you want to ask a prospect if they have a budget.

For example, you could say something like,

hey, Sally, I was just curious,

did you already set aside a budget for something like this?

And when you ask Sally, or the prospect,

this type of question, they might say,

yeah, we have a budget of about three to $5,000 a month

to invest in this type of solution.

So when you ask it like that,

people are willing to give you an answer

if they have a budget.

Now, in some scenarios, they may be a little hesitant

to give you their budget because they might feel

like if they give you a budget,

you're gonna charge the max amount of money

that they have, right?

Because even when you're selling,

it always is some type of negotiation.

So when someone is hesitant to give you a budget, right,

if you say, hey, Sally, do you have a budget

set aside to invest in something like this?

Sally might say, ah, yeah, we kind of have a budget

and she might just stop talking there, right?

And she doesn't want to give you a number,

and you need to figure out that number because,

one, you need to charge appropriately

so you don't come in too high and you don't come in too low,

and second, you need to qualify Sally to make sure

that she can buy your product or service.

So you can go a little further and say,

okay, cool, you have a budget.

Just curious, when it comes to that budget,

do you have a range you're working with,

whether it's 1,000 to 3,000 or maybe 3,000 to 5,000?

What is that range looking like?

And Sally might just give you a number

and she might say, oh, it was probably the second one,

3,000 to 5,000, and you don't have to get the exact amount

of budget that she has, but you need to get some type

of range so that when you give your pricing

towards the end of the call, Sally doesn't get shocked

and be like, oh my god, that was so expensive.

It has to be fitting to what Sally wants.

Now there are scenarios where maybe sometimes the prospect

will ask you how much your products or services cost,

and you're in a situation where you kind of have to answer,

and what you want to do is, one, the first thing you got

to try is instead of answering with the number directly,

so you can say something like this.

Sally, thanks for asking that question.

I really appreciate it.

Now before I go ahead and give you a budget,

I want to make sure that this is something that fits you

and what you're looking for, so what was the range

of investment you were looking for

to invest in something like this?

So as you can see, I'm not answering the question directly.

I'm actually just answering her question

with another question so that she can give me her budget.

Once she gives me her budget, then I'll give her my price

based on her budget, right?

So you want to try that a couple times

and if Sally or whoever it is keeps pushing

to just get a number and she doesn't want

to give any numbers, then fine,

you can kind of anchor it high

and then negotiate from there.

That would be my recommendation.

Now that we covered the budget,

we're gonna go into the next letter which is A,

and that is authority.

Now authority is all about who has the decision-making power

when it comes to buying a product or service.

For example, the other day, I was on a sales call

selling some consulting and coaching services, right?

And I was talking to a director of marketing,

director of sales type of person.

Although this person is the person in charge

in running the sales team, I need to figure out

whether or not this person is the one

who is actually going to sign off

and make the decision, right?

Because even if the director is executing on the strategy,

sometimes they need approval from their boss,

like a VP or a CEO or a chairman

or somebody needs to sign off and spend the money

to buy my coaching services, right?

So I can say something like,

hey, John, I'm really just curious.

I understand that you're the director of sales.

You're the one that's gonna be executing all of this,

but I'm curious to know if we were to move forward

with this coaching program, is there anybody else

who we need to involve before we actually move forward

with the deal?

And John might say, yeah, I'm the one

that needs to filter out and find the right person,

but I need to give it to my boss, make sure he's okay

with it and sign off and approves the budget

before we get started.

As simple as that.

You just need to ask, is there anybody else

we need to involve before we move forward with this deal?

And people are really okay with telling you

how the decision-making process works in their company

because if they like you, they like your product or service,

they see a clear fit, then they're just gonna tell you

how they work internally and give you all the steps,

so then from there, you can kind of figure out

if you need to get on the phone with their boss

or if you just need to send a proposal

and they pass it to their boss, whatever the case is,

and you just move from there, but the most important thing

is to understand who makes the decision, right?

Because you don't want to talk to, let's say,

a lower level person, let's say, like a sales rep

or sales manager, and hope that they're gonna push your deal

through their boss and through their boss

because it's very difficult to do that, right?

You want to make sure you talk to the director level

or above because you want people

who actually have some sort of influence

within their company, and the higher, the better, right?

Because if you're talking directly to the CEO

and that's the person that makes the decision,

well, there's no approval process.

That person doesn't have to go one level higher.

They just have to either like you are not and sign the deal.

All right, the next letter we're gonna cover is N

which is need, all right?

So when it comes to need, all that really means

is does a prospect need your product or service?

A lot of times, we might feel like our product or service

is so good that we should sell it to everybody,

but if people don't really need what you have to offer,

well, they shouldn't even be buying in the first place.

So that's why during a sales meeting,

you have to ask questions to uncover pain,

which I talk a lot about in all my other videos,

and uncover these pains, see if your product or service

solve those pains, and that will give you your answer

to whether or not the prospect has a need, right?

If there's no need to buy your product or service,

no matter what you do, they're not gonna buy, right?

Because there's no need, there's no reason for them to buy.

But if you find that need, then okay,

now it's starting to make sense

and you can kind of move forward with the deal.

So when it comes to need and uncovering the need

from a prospect, so basically, it's like this.

You have as current situation

of where the prospect currently is, right?

And they have a certain goal that they want to achieve,

and you want to find all the things that are blocking them

from achieving their goals,

whether it's to generate more revenue, hire more employees,

become more efficient, whatever their goals are,

what's stopping them, right?

And hopefully, your products or service

remove those blockers so that they can get

from point A to point B, easy as that, right?

So if they want to go somewhere,

but something's stopping them, you want to dig deeper

of what exactly is stopping them?

How long has it been stopping them?

Why haven't they been able to fix it on their own?

Why do they need help from an outsider to get this job done?

You start asking these questions and you uncover the need,

and again, if there's no real need

for your product or service,

there's no way you are going to sell it.

Now, the final letter of the BANT acronym is going to be T,

which is going to be time.

Timing is especially important because I remember

when I was at Oracle, somebody said, "Time kills all deals."

And that is somewhat true, right?

Because sometimes when you're on a sales meeting,

everything is going good

and the prospect says they're gonna buy

and they'll say something like, okay, be in touch, right?

And then the more time that passes,

the more chances your deal is killed.

And you always want to know the timeline

on when someone will make a decision.

So at the end of a meeting, instead of just saying,

oh, let's be in touch and hopefully they'll come back

to you, you want to say like,

hey, look, when exactly do you want to move forward

with something like this if we were to move forward?

And they're gonna give you a timeline.

They might say, if we did hire you, Patrick,

well, we want to get started two weeks from now.

Okay, cool, so you have a timeline

on when they want to get started.

Then you ask questions like, okay, well,

when it comes to actually finalizing the deal,

was there a certain date

that you're trying to get this done by?

And they might say, yeah, if we are gonna do it,

we might sign the deal by next week, right?

So now you're getting a timeline

on how their decision-making process works.

If you don't know this timeline,

it's hard to really know when you can close a deal, right?

You always have to forecast when these deals are coming in,

and that's why you always have to ask a prospect,

when is their timeline?

When are they trying to sign the deal,

or when are they trying to do a demo

if there's multi-stages before you sign a deal,

and when you sign the deal,

when are they trying to get started?

And the reason why you want to do this

is because sometimes things fall through the cracks.

They might say, hey, we want to get this done by next week.

And then next week comes by

and they don't respond back to you, right?

And it's kind of like, okay, well you said next week

but you didn't really do it, so what am I supposed to do?

Now because you asked for the time in the initial meeting,

when it comes to following up, all you want to do

is remind them about the conversation that you had

and you say something like, hey, Jim, last week we talked

and you let me know that you were gonna talk

to your boss next week to see

whether or not this is gonna work for you.

I haven't heard back from you yet,

so I was just curious to know

if you had any more additional questions

or if there's any help that I can offer

before you can actually make a decision.

So when you're following up with this person,

it's not as if you're bothering them

and just saying something like, hey, just checking in.

You're actually using context and you're using something

that somebody said last week or in the past

and you just remind them that they actually said it,

so when you use that context in your followup email,

and you say, hey, you told me this,

but I didn't hear back from you.

Now they feel a little guilty, right?

That what they said doesn't match with what they did,

and people don't want to do feel like they're lying

or incongruent with what they say and what they do,

so they will give you an immediate response

a lot of the times because they don't want to feel

like they're lying, right?

And so they might say, oh, I meant to follow up with you

but this and this happened and I'm gonna reach back to you

in three days, right?

So it could be something like that,

and so you say, okay, cool, totally fine,

and then three days happen and you say,

hey, John, it's been three days and you let me know

that you're gonna follow up and is there anything

that you need help with and things like that, right?

That's why you always want to have context

and get a timeline.

If you don't get a timeline, you don't have permission

to follow up and it doesn't feel as natural.

So that's pretty much how BANT is going to work,

budget, authority, need, time.

In any sales meeting, make sure you ask the right questions

to uncover all of these things.

If you're missing one of these pieces,

it's very difficult to know if a deal will close.

Now, if you enjoyed this video, make sure to go ahead

and give it a like.

Subscribe, turn on notifications

if you want to see more videos like this

on how to sell and generate leads and things like that.

And let me know in the comments, when it comes to BANT,

budget, authority, need, and time,

which one do you feel is gonna be the most important

in the sales cycle?

Is it budget, finding the authority decision-makers,

the need of the customer, or time?

Let me know in the comments which one you personally feel

is most important.

And if you want to see more videos on how to sell

or if you want to generate more leads,

make sure you check out my other videos on this screen.

And so with that said, my name is Patrick Dang.

Hope you guys enjoyed this video

and I am going to see you guys in the next one.