BANT is dead. In fact, various coroners have made the pronouncement 9,250 times, if I’m to believe what my search results tell me.
OK, OK – facts don’t lie. Even though BANT still makes sense, it’s far from perfect. So I accept the conclusion. But, something’s nagging me. If BANT is really dead, and by that I mean dead-dead, and not kind-of-dead or mostly dead, why do bloggers keep reminding us? It seems like I’ve been reading BANT’s obituary since before 1998, and the evidence cited is always emphatic. C’mon! Do strategies and tactics actually die? Cease to exist? I know it’s Halloween, but pronouncing something dead smacks of sensationalism. Maybe we should step out of graveyard!
Here are some other prominent obits I’ve read:
Recruiting is Dead. That recently fluttered through my email inbox, and it wasn’t an apparition. I’m sure of it. Really. I’m sure.
And, what’s this? SEO is Dead? OK. That seems reasonable. After all, on a technological timeline, it’s considered ancient. Still, I was surprised to learn it. Until a few days ago, I never knew it was receiving palliative care.
Alas, Content Marketing is Dead, too, I recently learned. Pity. It was so young. Not sure what happened there. Computer virus, maybe.
Cold calling is dead / the sales funnel is dead / the hunter-farmer sales model is dead / door to door selling is dead / transactional selling is dead.
Stop, already! Ebola is scary enough! Besides, I don’t know of one strategy or tactic on this list suffering from a flat line heartbeat. In fact, just yesterday, my phone rang, and a telemarketer from a company I’ve never heard of was on the other end of the line. Hmmmm. There’s still some breath left in cold calling.
Not dead yet! Monty Python would be proud, but I’m not sure whether to be disappointed, or grateful.
