The BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, and Timeline) framework is a lead qualification model used to assess the likelihood of a prospect becoming a customer. Originally popularised by IBM, it remains a reliable tool in B2B sales and demand generation for evaluating inbound and outbound leads.
In practice, BANT helps sales and marketing teams prioritise leads by understanding whether a prospect has the financial resources, decision-making authority, business need, and urgency to buy. This structured approach ensures that pipeline efforts are focused on opportunities with genuine conversion potential.
While some consider BANT traditional, it still serves as a useful baseline—often adapted with modern frameworks like MEDDICC or SPICED to account for more complex buying journeys and collaborative decision-making within enterprise accounts.
