BANT and MEDDIC are Outdated

Every sales organization relies on some sort of qualification framework.

Here’s my challenge: Stop using BANT, MEDDIC, and other old school sales frameworks.

Why?

They’re seller-centric instead of customer-focused. Let’s unpack that a bit.

Here’s BANT:

• Budget - how much money do you have?

• Authority - who is going to give us the money?

• Need - do you have a need we can solve? (this is the best component)

• Timing - are you willing to spend money right now?

Now, let’s look at MEDDIC (slightly better than BANT)

• Metrics - what’s the economic impact of this problem/challenge?

• Economic Buyer - who’s going to give us the money?

• Decision Criteria - what boxes do we need to check?

• Decision Process - how are you going to decide who to give your money to?

• Identify Pain - what’s the pain (people/money) associated with this problem?

• Champion - will you help us sell-in our solution to your leadership?

Take an honest look at these frameworks; they’re focused on the seller extracting information without seeking to understand the prospect’s situation beforehand. Again, MEDDIC is heading in the right direction. The problem is, they’re asking the right questions, but at the wrong time.

Instead, consider using the SPICE Framework:

• Situation - what is your current situation within the context of our conversation?

• Pain - what’s the pain (people/money) this challenge/problem brings?

• Impact - what are the consequences of not solving vs. solving this problem?

• Critical Event - when are you hoping to have a partner identified?

There is no denying that at the end of the day, all salespeople do care about the budget and decision makers - and we have to know these details to close deals.

However, you’ll find more success if you understand their situation as much as possible first. Doing so allows you to connect all of your questions around budget, decision, and timing to the pain and impact they’ve shared with you.

Get some reps in this afternoon 💪 📞