BANT — Budget – Authority – Need – Timing
Checking in 15 minutes whether a sales opportunity has an allocated budget, an accessible decision-maker, an urgent need and a defined timeline — before investing time in a detailed proposal.
Filtering serious opportunities in 15 minutes
Quickly qualifying whether a sales opportunity is worth the time investment of a detailed proposal, by checking 4 fundamental criteria.
Why it exists. 60 to 70% of sales time is wasted on unqualified opportunities. BANT lets you qualify in 15 minutes what would otherwise take 2 weeks of back and forth.
The 4 criteria of the method
- BBudget — the budget is allocated, not merely under consideration.
- AAuthority — your contact can sign, or access to the decision-maker is confirmed.
- NNeed — the need is urgent and specific, not generic.
- TTiming — a decision date or a start date exists.
From an SME inbound lead to an enterprise RFP
Budget: "For this kind of engagement, we're typically looking at an investment of X to Y euros over 3 months. Is that order of magnitude in line with what you've budgeted?"
Authority: "Who else will be involved in the final decision alongside you?"
Need: "What led you to look for someone now rather than earlier in the year?"
Timing: "Do you have a start date or a deadline in mind?"
"Before investing a week in a response to your RFP, I need to understand a few things. Has the budget allocated to this programme already been approved by your executive committee? Who will be the final decision-maker in choosing a partner? Does the project have a fixed start date, or is it contingent on other approvals? Your answers will let me calibrate how much we invest in our response."
Freelance variant
BANT stops you spending 5 hours on a proposal for a client with no allocated budget. Qualify in a 15-minute phone call before writing anything down.
Common mistakes
- ✕Firing off all 4 questions back to back — it feels like an interrogation.
- ✕Taking the prospect's word on Budget — "we have the budget" with no validation means nothing.
- ✕Ignoring Authority — convincing someone who can't decide is wasted time.
- ✕Not qualifying the Need — a "general" need isn't a qualified one.
Quick checklist
- ✓The budget is allocated (not "under consideration").
- ✓My contact can sign, or access to the decision-maker is confirmed.
- ✓The need is urgent and specific.
- ✓There's a decision date or a start date.
BANT in one sentence
BANT = fast opportunity qualification. Allocated Budget + signing Authority + urgent Need + defined Timing. All 4 green: invest in the proposal. 2 red: qualify further, or walk away.
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