Episode 12- NBAT

In this episode of From Idea to Done, we talk about the acronym "NBAT" and what it means for your business. We take a look at each portion of the acronym coined by Jason Swenk and how it can help you with prospective clients.

J/E: I'm Josh and I'm Erick

E: Today's Idea is: Another random sales acronym NBAT. Everyone handles sales differently. This is actually an idea I learned from you can you talk about what exactly NBAT is

J: Well, actually I stole this from Jason Swenk. It stands for Need, Budget, Authority, and Timing. It really is the 4 things that you need to be paying attention to when in a sales conversation. Let's break those 4 things down a bit. Need - Do you have a service or product that the person you are talking to would purchase? 

E: Budget - If they need what you offer can that person actually pay for your service? Or does their need fit financially with what your team brings to the table?

J: Authority - Are you talking to the person who signs the checks, or does this person need to talk to the person that signs the checks. If you are not talking to the decision maker, don’t rely on them to translate what you do to them, try and get a meeting with the decision maker.

E: Timing Last, what is the actual timeline? You may have something in the budget for this month, this year, in your 5 year plan. Finding when things are going to happen also can help determine if your team is the right fit.

J: It also helps with follow up, what is better “hey just checking in”, or “hey you had said that this was important to get it done in August, guess what, it's now August”

E: It’s interesting as a salesperson to be so targeted in looking for that. I have coffee meetings all the time, like literally all the time. The main goal of the meeting is to find out the NBAT, or see if the NBAT is out of their power or unknown. If they are missing any piece, a sale is improbable to close. 

J: Not only you can’t close, but you now have a clear reason for the meeting or discussion. I think a lot of sales people go have a coffee or lunch with someone and say, man that is a great lead when they didn’t get enough information to even consider them that.

E:  I think it’s important though to discover if the person you are meeting with has any of the NBAT because at the same time you never know when things could change. 

J: Well it helps understand if it is a lead, a prospect, or just a coffee conversation.

E: It’s the job of sales people to be in people’s heads before the go to blasted google. This is why finding out a potential customer’s NBAT, and checking in is so important.

J: Yeah its really the difference between two people catching up and an actual sales lead. Getting brand awareness is another subject for another day Erick.

E: And there you go, the idea of NBAT is done. The weird Michael Scott way I remember NBat is pairing it with the Batman theme Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na NBat. I hope that helps everyone remember it forever.

J: Thanks for listening, if you know a startup that could use our advice have them subscribe and leave a review on iTunes.