// Sales
BANT
Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline, IBM's 1960s qualification checklist, still the default for inbound SDR triage.
In depth
BANT asks four questions: does the prospect have Budget, the Authority to spend it, a real Need, and a Timeline to buy? It's fast and easy to teach, which is why it survives, but it's a buyer-centric checklist, not a deal-progression framework, and it fails on modern committee-based deals where authority is diffuse.
Related terms
MEDDIC
A B2B qualification framework: Metrics, Economic buyer, Decision criteria, Decision process, Identify pain, Champion.
Champion
An internal advocate inside the buying org who sells the deal when you are not in the room.
Economic Buyer
The single person with discretionary authority to release the funds for the purchase.