Is BANT Killing Your Business? Why this outdated approach to demand generation will sink your market potential and ability to close more revenue
By Michael Box If you’re selling a low-cost commodity where If we take a deeper look, we can see that the only thing to be discussed is price, BANT fundamentally BANT is (a) too low-resolution (budget, authority, need, timing) is probably a a device to really see the active demand in the decent way to qualify leads. For everyone market and (b) it actually cuts off good sales teams else—especially B2B tech enterprises offering at the knees. a new concept or new paradigm—BANT is likely killing your business. In this paper, we examine Blind as a BANT the reasons why this dated technique falls short in the digital era. To be successful, marketing and sales must be able to capture active demand in the market: Why BANT? the accounts that are actively researching the technology in their field. Key to this is being able BANT—popularized by IBM—has been in use to see who is researching solutions in the market for decades. It came into being at a time when right now, what they are interested in (from you budget, authority, need and timing were easy to and other vendors) and, based on where they establish—a time before buyers had the luxury are in the buying cycle, when is the right time to of Google and relied on your call to get to know reach out to them. Does BANT actually help your business. The idea was to save time by you see this magic triangle of who is researching establishing these “essentials” and making sure what and when? the lead was able and likely to buy.
Even at first glance, however, B2B tech marketers Who understand that budget and timing won’t be there Enterprise IT buying is not done by individuals; it unless there’s a need. And how can there be a is done by full buying teams or committees. BANT need if your product or service is a new concept seeks to establish whether a lead—an individual— or new paradigm? And since when does a single has authority. But in reality, authority does not sit individual, as opposed to a buying team, have with one stakeholder only—it is distributed across authority? If a prospect says they don’t have several roles in a buying committee that according enough budget, would any sales person worth to CEB, averages of 7 members. BANT will not their salt believe them? Even timing isn’t what help you see buying teams and can cause you it used to be. to miss other potential opportunities within a single account.
According to Demand Gen Report’s 2018 B2B Buyers Survey Report, 31% What of buyers said that the length of their Buying teams will demonstrate purchase B2B purchase cycle has increased intent behavior in multiple environments significantly compared with a year ago. throughout the buying cycle before they end up with you. In fact, a buying team
Is BANT Killing Your Business? | 2 will perform an average of 12 searches1 before indicate purchase intent, but they could also mean landing on a vendor’s website. In the meantime, the prospect wanted the caller to get off the phone they’ll read and download content to support as soon as possible. False positives such as these a purchase decision from both you and your will drain marketing and sales resources. competitors. Being able to see what topics and On the other hand, if someone says they don’t content your prospects are accessing in third- have budget, authority or need right now doesn’t party environments outside of your own is critical to understanding true interest in solutions like yours. With static questions A buying team will perform based on point-in-time interactions, BANT cannot show you prospects that have true an average of 12 searches purchase intent. before landing on a vendor’s When website. In the meantime, When an account is surging with purchase they’ll read and download intent, this will be reflected in the frequency and velocity of their research content to support a purchase activity. Marketers and sellers, more than anything, need to see when an account is decision from both you and hyperactive in order to get in on the deal. BANT does not operate like a window into your competitors. purchase intent and without expressly asking, there’s no way of determining exactly when an account is truly ready to buy, mean they won’t be ready for a conversation at assuming you reach someone at precisely the some point in the near future or that one of their right time. colleagues on the buying team may be a better prospect to engage at that particular time. As Avoid creating more discussed, absolute individual authority no longer false positives and exists. And budget can be negotiated if you can communicate a need. That is, if you can provide false negatives your sales teams access to the right insights to give them a chance. This specific type of “false Using the blunt instrument of BANT to separate negative” can be avoided if you possess real “leads” from non-leads without actually being purchase intent data that indicates that an able to see the demand inevitably creates false account is currently ramping up activity in the positives and false negatives: it excludes good areas related to your solution as well as access leads and includes bad “leads.” BANT amounts to to total buying teams. four yeses in a phone call. Those four yeses could
1 Think with Google: The Changing Face of B2B Marketing
Is BANT Killing Your Business? | 3 Don’t let BANT cut your Before I’m even best sales reps off at “going to sell a pen the knees to anybody, I need
There’s a great scene in The Wolf of Wall Street: to know about the Jordan Belfort asks Brad to demonstrate the person. I want to know way to sell a pen. Brad takes the pen and says, “Do me a favor. Write your name down on that what their needs are.” napkin for me.” —Jordan Belfort, The Wolf of Wall Street “I don’t have a pen,” says Jordan.
“Exactly. Supply and demand, my friend.”
Of course, this isn’t the real answer. “The real answer is,” says Belfort in an interview, “before I’m even going to sell a pen to anybody, I need to According to CEB2, the average B2B buyer is 57% know about the person. I want to know what their through the purchase decision before engaging needs are.” In other words, they need to develop a supplier sales rep. That means that by the time an understanding about the buyer by forming a the rep calls, the buyer has performed a ton of relationship with them. research, already has a shortlist, and it’s probably too late for the seller to make an impact. By The job of sales is to create and increase deals depending on third-party BANT qualification, sales by developing relationships, not to wait around are not able to get in early and shape the deals for leads to become BANT qualified. Especially before they’re happening. Timing is everything, for new paradigm or new concept solutions, sales and a call too early can damage a potential need to create or reveal the need, not diagnose it. relationship, while a call too late is—well—too late. This is another way BANT creates false negatives. Waiting for BANT prevents sellers from getting into Buyers can’t possibly know there is a need until potential deals early, before they’re taking shape. you educate them. As Jim Keenan put it in Forbes, If you do wait for BANT, you run the risk of ending “it’s not the customers’ job to recognize they have up in a three-way shootout with another vendor, a need; it's yours to show them.” Furthermore, which means you’ll have to give up margin to win continues Keenan, “stop and think about it for a the deal. moment. Why should a buyer have to ‘justify’ to you, the salesperson, why they’re qualified to buy?”
2 CEB: Stats & Facts for Speakers
Is BANT Killing Your Business? | 4 Why ask when you already About TechTarget know: the right data will TechTarget (Nasdaq: TTGT) is the global leader in purchase intent-driven marketing and sales services help you meet the needs that deliver business impact for enterprise technology companies. By creating abundant, high-quality of real buyers editorial content across more than 140 highly targeted technology-specific websites, TechTarget attracts and In order to help sales do their job and win business, nurtures communities of technology buyers researching marketers should communicate the value of their companies’ information technology needs. By their solution with the right content and delivery understanding these buyers’ content consumption strategies at every stage of the funnel. Marketers behaviors, TechTarget creates the purchase intent insights that fuel efficient and effective marketing and should recognize that authority resides in multiple sales activities for clients around the world. stakeholders that seek consensus and should look for third-party data to help fill in the missing pieces TechTarget has offices in Boston, London, Munich, Paris, of the buying team. Instead of asking if there is a San Francisco, Singapore and Sydney. “need,” it would be more effective to look at the digital body language of leads—what are they For more information, visit techtarget.com and follow researching? How recently and how frequently us on Twitter @TechTarget. are they researching? And instead of asking about a specific timeframe, marketers would do well to About the Author simply “be there” and adapt according to the needs of the buyer. Michael Box is a content creator Don’t let an outdated approach to demand at TechTarget. With a background generation limit your potential in your market. in psychology, communication and content marketing, Michael writes To understand how new sources of data about the value of ABM, brand and insight will allow you to access more real storytelling and purchase intent for B2B tech marketers buyers looking for your solutions now, and sales teams. visit TechTarget.com/Priority-Engine today.
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