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21 Super-Effective BANT Questions

Top reps close deals because they know how to find the right buyers. But you don’t have to be an A-team seller to supercharge your qualification process. You just need to ask the right BANT questions, which we’ve compiled in a handy asset that any rep can use.

What you’ll learn about BANT questions:

The BANT framework
The questions are categorized by each part of the BANT framework, that is: budget; authority; need; and timing. Learn the framework and you learn what the right buyer looks like.

Become a BANT master
The power of BANT questions is what they reveal about the buyer. Are they really a decision maker? Is your solution really the right fit? And are they really ready to move forward? Our BANT questions examples help you find the answers.

How to trigger long responses
Here’s a little secret: the longer your buyer talks in response to a question, the better it is for the overall deal. In fact, our research shows a direct correlation between response lengths and close rates.

How to use the BANT questions:

Confirm the buyer’s budget and pain
These two indicators might be the most reliable in terms of qualifying a buyer. If their budget is outside your target, or their pain is misaligned with your solution, the deal might cause more headache than it’s worth.

Triangulate the influencers
Among these BANT questions examples, the authority questions are about connecting with the shot-callers in the organization. These questions will help reps add more threads, expand their own influence, and understand the best path toward purchase approval.

Keep slow-walkers out of your pipeline
Some buyers only think they’re ready to buy right now. Use these BANT questions examples to ensure that the prospects in your pipeline are engaged and aligned with your organization’s ideal sales cycle.

Get the BANT questions and in seconds, you’ll learn:

How to confirm budget:

What the buyer is willing to spend, what they’ve spent on previous solutions, and who exactly holds the purse strings, is all crucial budget information that reps need to make the right plan.

How to identify decision-makers:

The last thing a rep needs is a single-threaded deal in which their contact isn’t a decision-maker. Use these BANT questions examples to expand reach within an account and connect with all the right stakeholders.

How to confirm buyer pain:

To build a rock-solid business case, reps need to understand the buyer’s objectives and where their solution fits in. Where’s the pain now? Who all would be affected by a new solution?

How to nail down timing:

There’s the question of when a buyer is looking to make a move. There’s also the question of urgency and what happens if the buyer waits. All of our timing questions help reveal this intel and make sure the buyer’s timeline aligns.

Questions for long answers:

If a buyer is giving one-word answers, it’s not a good sign. It might sink the deal, too. According to data from Gong Labs, there’s a strong link between buyers’ response lengths and closed deals. Learn how to ask questions that trigger long responses.

BANT question examples:

For each aspect of BANT, we give you a number of nuanced questions to help you get the job done—21 in total, to be exact. Use this BANT questions list as a quick reference while on calls, or as part of your training and onboarding program for new reps.

Ready. Set. Qualify.

Download the BANT questions and qualify buyers like a pro.

FAQ: Discovery questions for sales

What’s included in the 21 extra-powerful BANT questions list?

When you download our BANT questions examples, you’ll quickly gain access to the following:

Twenty one BANT questions, broken down into four categories: budget; authority; need; and timing.

A bonus section with tips for asking questions that trigger longer responses (including the data showing why this is so important)

A quick reference that you can use to improve your sales qualification calls

Okay, BANT question examples—who are they really for?

This collection of BANT questions examples is for any rep or sales leader involved in the qualification process. The questions are especially pertinent to salespeople looking to develop multi-threaded accounts, find the right leads, and strengthen their pipelines.

What format are the BANT question examples sent in?

You’ll get a spiffy new PDF document with all 21 questions broken down by the four categories of BANT. Share it with teammates. Print it out and tape it to your wall. Most of all, brainstorm additional questions based on this list, questions more tailored to the particular industry or audience your team sells to.

What are the common mistakes that reps make when qualifying buyers?

Here are some of the more common mistakes that we see:

Making assumptions about a person’s job title

Narrowing the target company profile too much

Asking dead-end questions that prompt one-word answers

Disqualifying too early based on budget

Failing to reveal enough pain for building a solid business case

Not establishing qualification criteria that reps can rely on

Do you have any more resources about sales qualification?

First of all, the Gong blog is a veritable goldmine for sales leaders. In fact, we have a full length blog post on BANT questions that goes into great depth. Of course, the BANT framework isn’t the only framework you can use during sales qualification. There’s also the MEDDIC sales qualification framework, which breaks down as follows:

Metrics

Economic buyer

Decision criteria

Decision process

In The Sales Cycle: A Complete Breakdown, we contextualize the sales qualification process within the broader sales cycle. It’s another highly useful post, with plenty of actionable strategies. Finally, you can read a case study about how EdgePetrol qualified more deals and increased its pipeline by 300%.

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