The BANT Sales Framework: A Complete Breakdown

Rahul Mathew

January 10, 2025

You’re certainly not alone if you wish for more hours in the day. Modern sales reps are bogged down with many tasks, leaving them far too little time to do what they do best: sell.

Sellers need to spend the time they do have with qualified prospects. But first, these sellers must be able to determine whether or not a prospect is the right fit – and fast.

The BANT framework is a simple yet effective tool for quickly determining whether a prospect is worth pursuing. By using it, sellers can focus their time and effort on deals that are most likely to close and leave dead-end deals behind.

In this post, we’ll cover the basics of the BANT framework, including:

What it is
How to use it
How the BANT framework differs from the MEDDIC framework
How to determine if the BANT framework is working for your sales process.

What is the BANT framework?

First things first, what is the BANT framework?

BANT is a sales qualification framework that helps sellers quickly determine if a prospect is qualified and likely to convert. In other words, it provides a structured framework for determining whether a prospect is worth pursuing.

BANT is an acronym that stands for:

Budget: How much is the prospect willing to spend?
Authority: Does the person you’re interacting with have the authority to make a purchase decision? Or do they influence the decision?
Need: What are the needs of the business, and do you have a solution to address them?
Timing: When does the prospect plan to act and decide?

A lead is generally considered viable if it meets three of the four BANT framework criteria. However, each organization must determine what a qualified lead looks like.

For example, let’s say a prospect has a need that can be addressed by your solution, the authority to make a decision, and the drive to make a decision quickly. But they don’t currently have the budget to pay for your solution. In this instance, the prospect likely isn’t a good fit. However, that could change. For example, the prospect could secure more budget in the next calendar year. Or, if a seller can articulate value in terms of cost or time savings, the buyer may be able to secure a larger budget.

IBM initially created the BANT framework in the 1950s. More than 70 years later, BANT continues to be an effective, go-to sales methodology for quickly qualifying sales leads. According to a Gartner report, over half of sales reps find the BANT framework reliable. Furthermore, four in 10 sellers value the flexibility of the BANT framework.

How to use the BANT sales framework

The BANT sales framework considers four factors to determine whether a prospect is a good fit: budget, authority, need, and timing. But how exactly can organizations use the BANT sales framework to help their sellers quickly identify whether a prospect is worth their time and effort?

There are a few key steps for using the BANT framework.

Step 1: Develop your ideal customer profiles

Before deciding whether a prospect is a good fit for your solutions, you must figure out what a good fit prospect looks like.

If you haven’t already, create ideal customer profiles (ICPs). As the name suggests, an ICP describes an ideal customer for your company. In other words, what are the characteristics of a business that’ll gain the most value from the solutions you offer?

ICPs look different from organization to organization. However, some factors you’ll want to consider including in your ICPs include:

Company size
Industry
Geographic location
Pain points
Revenue
Budget
Current solution

Of course, you may have multiple ICPs. For example, you may have a solution that’s best suited to small and medium-sized businesses – as well as an enterprise solution. You should create ICPs for each.

Be sure your ICPS are rooted in data rather than hunches. For example, analyze your existing customer data to understand the characteristics of companies that have truly:

Made an initial purchase
Seen a significant ROI from your solution
Purchased additional products and services, thus increasing lifetime value
Renewed their contract for multiple years

Your sales and customer success teams will also have insights that can help shape your ICPs.

Step 2: Determine the prospect’s budget

The “B” in BANT stands for budget. So, the next step of the process is to determine whether or not a prospect has the means to pay for your products and services.

Of course, part of this is determining whether the lead can afford your solution. A prospect with a tiny budget and no wiggle room will not be a good fit.

But another critical part is conveying your solution’s ROI. For example, explaining how your solution can deliver significant cost or time savings (or both) may convince the prospect to take action to bump up the budget.

Here are some examples of questions that can help you determine the prospect’s budget:

Do you have a specific budget for addressing this challenge/pain point?
How much are you currently spending to tackle this challenge/pain point?
How significant of a factor is price in your purchase decision?
What ROI are you looking to achieve with this purchase?
What will happen if you don’t address this issue?

Step 3: Gauge the prospect’s decision-making authority

The second component of the BANT framework is authority. This involves determining whether or not the person you’re speaking with has the authority to make this purchase decision.

If you determine the prospect has no authority to make a purchase decision, that doesn’t necessarily mean you should bail out. After all, this person may have some level of influence on the purchase decision. If you gain their trust and can demonstrate how you can help them solve their problems, they can help connect you to the people with the authority to make a purchase decision.

Here are some questions that can help you determine the authority of the person you’re speaking with:

Who initiated the search for a solution for this problem/pain point?
What was the decision-making process the last time you invested in a solution of this size?
Is there anyone else that should be invited to our next call?
Who is the final decision maker on this purchase?

Step 4: Identify the prospect’s needs

The “N” in the BANT framework acronym is “need.” Determining a prospect’s needs is key to deciding whether or not you have a solution to address them.

Asking the right questions is key to uncovering a prospect’s needs, pain points, and challenges. According to a user analysis, sellers using Mindtickle’s conversation intelligence solution ask an average of 20 questions during sales discovery calls.

Sellers ask an average of

questions during sales discovery calls

But regarding discovery questions, quality is just as important as quantity. Limit questions that can be answered with a simple yes or no. Instead, ask strategic questions to get your prospects talking about what keeps them up at night.

Some examples of questions that can help you address the “Need” aspect of the BANT framework include:

What challenges or pain points are you currently experiencing
What goals are you looking to achieve in the short term?
What goals are you looking to achieve in the long term?
We often hear prospects in your industry talking about [challenge]. Do you ever face this challenge?
What process or solution are you currently using to address your needs?
What is/isn’t working with this solution?

Asking the right questions about a prospect’s needs will help you qualify them. If you do determine they’re a qualified prospect, the insight you get can help shape your sales approach.

Step 5: Pinpoint the prospect’s timeline

Once you’ve determined a prospect’s budget, authority, and needs, it’s time to figure out their timeline. In other words, when does your prospect anticipate moving forward with a solution?

Some examples of questions to addressing the timing aspect of the BANT framework include:

When are you aiming to launch a new solution?
What does the timeline typically look like for a purchase of this size?
Are you currently in a contract for another solution?
Does this solution need to be in place for upcoming events/milestones?

Understanding a prospect’s timeline gives you a better idea of how (or if) to move forward. For example, if a prospect anticipates making a decision quickly, you’ll want to prioritize earning their trust and keeping them engaged.

If a prospect’s anticipated timeline is longer than your typical sales cycle, that doesn’t necessarily disqualify them, especially if they check the other BANT framework boxes. However, you may decide it makes the most sense to follow up with them later so you can prioritize more urgent deals.

Step 6: Determine next steps

Once you’ve addressed all four elements of the BANT framework, it’s time to determine the next steps. As mentioned, a prospect meeting three of the four BANT framework criteria is typically considered qualified. However, that’s not a hard and fast rule.

If you determine a prospect is qualified, you can focus on keeping them engaged and moving them to the next step of the sales cycle.

Of course, there will also be prospects you disqualify. In those cases, it’s best to cut your losses.

You may also determine that while a prospect is qualified, they’re not yet ready to move forward. In those cases, you can set a reminder to follow up with prospects when they are ready to move forward.

BANT vs. MEDDIC framework: What’s the difference?

BANT has been a go-to framework for qualifying prospects for over 70 years. But it’s certainly not the only framework for lead qualification.

The MEDDIC framework is another widely used sales qualification framework. While BANT and MEDDIC are frameworks used to qualify prospects, they aren’t the same.

MEDDIC, like BANT, is an acronym. It stands for:

Metrics: What quantifiable outcomes is the prospect hoping to achieve?
Economic buyer: Who is in charge of the purchase?
Decision criteria: What factors will a prospect weigh to make a decision?
Decision process: What things must happen for a decision to be made?
Identify pain: What challenges or pain points is the prospect facing?
Champion: Who will champion for your solution internally?

BANT is a fairly simple, straightforward framework. On the other hand, MEDDIC is more complex. It takes a closer look at things like customers’ pain points, quantifiable goals, and the criteria they’ll weigh when making decisions and navigating the purchase journey. As such, it’s a more time-intensive approach.

Because BANT is simple, it’s typically best for selling products and services that are relatively easy to understand to small and mid-sized organizations. It’s also a good lead qualification framework for deals involving a relatively short sales cycle.

Because MEDDIC is more in-depth, it’s better for technical or complex product offerings sold to enterprise-level organizations. It’s also a good framework for deals that involve long sales cycles.

	BANT	MEDICC
Use	Identifying qualified sales opportunities	Identifying qualified sales opportunities
Stands for	Budget Authoriy Need Timeline	Metrics Economic buyer Decision criteria Decision process Identify pain Champion
Level of complexity	Less complex	More complex
Best for these types of products and services	Less complex, easy-to-understand products or services	Technical or complex products or services
Best for these types of sales cycles	Shorter sales cycles	Longer sales cycles
Best for these types of buying committees	Smaller buying committees	Larger buying committees
Best for these types of deals	SMB Midmarket	Enterprise deals
Best for these sizes of deals	Lower value	Higher value
Level of time commitment	Low time commitment	Higher time commitment
Ease of mastery for seller	Easy to master	More difficult to master

So, which framework is the better option: BANT or MEDICC? Both frameworks are popular for a reason. The right option depends on your organization’s needs.

Furthermore, some organizations use both MEDICC and BANT frameworks during the sales cycle. The BANT sales process can be used to determine which prospects meet basic criteria and are worth pursuing. The MEDICC framework can then be used to guide a more detailed, strategic lead qualification process. The insights you uncover while navigating the MEDICC framework can inform your sales approach and increase your chances of closing the deal.

How do you determine if the BANT sales framework works for your sales process?

The BANT sales framework can be excellent for quickly and easily qualifying prospects. But how do you know whether or not BANT is working for your organization?

For starters, it’s important to provide training and sales enablement to ensure your sellers know the BANT sales framework and how to use it. After all, the framework won’t be effective if sellers aren’t using it – or aren’t using it correctly.

You can also include information about the sales framework in tools and resources like sales playbooks.

Once your sellers are properly trained and enabled, tracking the right metrics is important to determine the efficacy of the BANT sales framework. Some key metrics include:

Conversion rates: If BANT is working well, you should see an increase in conversation rates. That includes the portion of prospects that convert to customers and the portion that advances to different stages of the sales cycle.
Sales cycle lengths: If prospects are qualified, there should be less back-and-forth. Therefore, sales cycle lengths should decrease.
Seller productivity: With the right sales qualification framework, sellers can spend more time engaging with good fit prospects. If the BANT framework works for your organization, you’ll see sellers spend less of their time with unqualified leads.
Sales forecast accuracy: If BANT is working well for your sales process, you’ll likely notice an improvement in sales forecast accuracy. Predicted close rates will better align with actual sales outcomes.

In addition, soliciting seller feedback can help you understand how the BANT sales framework is (or isn’t) working for them. You can use these insights to adapt the framework or provide additional training and sales enablement to help your sellers master the framework.

Sometimes, you may adopt a different framework that’ll be a better fit. For example, if your organization sells highly technical products, you may find that the BANT framework alone isn’t enough to improve key metrics. So, you also decide to integrate the MEDDIC framework into your sales process.

Start qualifying prospects faster with the BANT framework

Sales reps only have so many hours in the day. With the BANT framework, they can quickly qualify leads and ensure they’re prioritizing their most valuable prospects.

It’s important to ensure your sellers understand the ins and outs of the BANT framework. With a platform like Mindtickle, you can deliver training, tools, and resources to ensure your sales reps master the BANT framework. For example, AI-powered role-plays allow your seller to practice the BANT framework and get real-time feedback – before money is on the line.

Once your sellers are trained and enabled on the BANT framework, you can leverage Mindtickle’s conversation intelligence capabilities to see how sellers apply the methodology in the field. AI-powered and manager-deliver coaching can help sellers hone their BANT lead qualification skills. That way, they can spend more time with good fit prospects – and close more deals.