How do you make sure you’re putting your time and money in the right place? At the end of the day, which customers are going to buy? These questions—and more importantly, their answers—can make a huge difference in your sales performance.
Think about buying a toaster. When you’re at the store comparing two products on the shelf, what jumps to your mind? Do I like it? Is it a good value? Will it get the job done? Are there any special features I’m interested in? Is it affordable? In a split second, you’ll sift through each characteristic and make a decision about which toaster earns a place on your counter.
Your customers are doing this too. Everyone does it. This evaluation process is second-nature to us as consumers. But it turns out, weighing criteria and evaluating different options doesn’t just apply for customers. It can apply to them!
Welcome to lead qualification frameworks. Lead qualification frameworks give you a set of criteria to weigh different leads, or potential customers. This criteria can help you decide which customers to invest in by determining the most qualified leads. In this case, asking the right questions won’t give you the best toaster, but the best lifelong customers.
Here are some popular lead qualification frameworks that you can use to identify and prioritize your prospects: BANT, CHAMP, ANUM, FAINT, and MEDDIC. Let’s dive in!
1. BANT
BANT stands for Budget, Authority, Need, and Timing. This framework helps you assess whether your prospect has the money to buy your solution, the decision-making power to sign the deal, the problem that your solution can solve, and the urgency to buy now. BANT is a classic framework that many salespeople use, but it has some drawbacks. For example, it can be too rigid and miss out on opportunities where the prospect doesn’t have a clear budget or need yet.
2. CHAMP
CHAMP stands for Challenges, Authority, Money, and Prioritization. This framework shifts the focus from the budget and the need to the challenges and the goals of your prospect. It helps you understand what pain points they are facing, what outcomes they want to achieve, how much they are willing to spend, and how important your solution is for them. CHAMP is a more modern framework that aligns with the consultative selling approach, but it can also be too complex and time-consuming for some situations.
3. ANUM
ANUM stands for Authority, Need, Urgency, and Money. This framework is similar to BANT but with a different order. It puts the authority first because it assumes that if you don’t talk to the decision-maker, you won’t be able to close the deal. It also puts the urgency before the money because it assumes that if your prospect has a pressing problem, they will find the budget to solve it. ANUM is a simple and effective framework that works well for high-value and complex sales, but it can also be too simplistic and ignore other factors that influence buying decisions.
4. FAINT
FAINT stands for Funds, Authority, Interest, Need, and Timing. This framework is similar to BANT but with an added element of interest. It helps you gauge not only whether your prospect has the budget, the power, the problem, and the urgency to buy your solution, but also whether they are genuinely interested in it. FAINT is a useful framework that helps you avoid wasting time on prospects who are not serious or motivated to buy from you, but it can also be too subjective and hard to measure.
5. MEDDIC
MEDDIC stands for Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, Decision Process, Identify Pain, and Champion. This framework is more detailed and comprehensive than the others. It helps you quantify the value of your solution for your prospect, identify the key person who can approve the purchase, understand how they evaluate and select vendors, map out their buying process and timeline, uncover their main challenges and goals, and find an internal advocate who can influence the decision in your favor. MEDDIC is a powerful framework that helps you close large and complex deals with multiple stakeholders, but it can also be too overwhelming and cumbersome for some scenarios.
Wrapping Up
So there you have it: five lead qualification frameworks that you can use to improve your sales performance. Incorporating a lead qualification framework into your marketing and sales efforts will help you focus on the most promising prospects and avoid wasting time and resources on unqualified leads. Of course, the best method for your business will depend on your industry, product, target market, and goals. Which framework do you prefer? And what’s easier: evaluating toasters, or evaluating customers? Let me know in the comments below. And don’t forget to subscribe for more sales insights. Thanks for reading!