1 Understand your buyer persona

Before you start asking BANT questions, you need to have a clear picture of your ideal customer profile and buyer persona. This will help you target the right prospects, align your value proposition, and avoid wasting time on unqualified leads. Research your target market, industry, and competitors, and create a detailed profile of your ideal buyer, including their goals, challenges, pain points, and preferences.

2 Ask open-ended questions

The key to BANT is to ask open-ended questions that encourage your prospects to share their situation, needs, and goals. Avoid yes or no questions that can limit the conversation and make you sound like a robot. Instead, use questions that start with what, why, how, when, or who, and probe deeper into their answers. For example, instead of asking "Do you have a budget for this solution?", ask "How do you plan to fund this project?"

3 Listen actively and empathize

BANT is not just about collecting information, but also about building rapport and trust with your prospects. To do that, you need to listen actively and empathize with their pain points and challenges. Show genuine interest and curiosity, use verbal and non-verbal cues, and paraphrase or summarize what they say to confirm your understanding. Also, express empathy and acknowledge their emotions, such as frustration, urgency, or excitement.

4 Qualify or disqualify

As you ask BANT questions, you need to evaluate whether your prospects are qualified or not for your solution. This means that they have a clear need, a sufficient budget, a decision-making authority, and a realistic timeline. If they meet these criteria, you can move them to the next stage of the sales process. If they don't, you can politely disqualify them and focus on other opportunities.

5 Provide value and urgency

Once you have qualified your prospects, you need to provide value and urgency to motivate them to take action. This means that you need to demonstrate how your solution can solve their pain points, meet their goals, and deliver a positive return on investment. You also need to create a sense of urgency by highlighting the risks of inaction, the benefits of acting now, and the availability of incentives or discounts.

6 Follow up and close

The last step of BANT is to follow up and close the deal. This means that you need to maintain regular communication with your prospects, address any objections or concerns, and confirm their commitment and readiness. You also need to propose a clear and compelling call to action, such as scheduling a demo, signing a contract, or making a payment. Finally, you need to close the deal and celebrate your success.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?