Formula Selling - Definition & Meaning

Published in Marketing and Strategy Terms by MBA Skool Team

What is Formula Selling?

A selling technique that is based on a well-defined sequence of steps or formula is known as formula selling. In this technique, the selling approach does not change with any external factors like demand, season, change in technology etc. The sequence could be of various types. Some of the sequences are AIDA, BANT etc


a. The AIDA sequence

It describes the events that are made to occur to engage a customer in an advertisement. AIDA stands for:

i) Attention- Grab the attention of the customer. A salesperson needs to start with a concept that the consumer can relate to. Before starting with anything, one needs to ask questions like who is the target audience, what do they ask for, what is the main problem, do you have a solution to that etc. One needs to use the right words.

Example if your target audience is the one suffering from mid-life crisis, you could use words like ‘Doubtful while making that investment decision?’

ii) Interest- Once you have grabbed their attention, you need to make the approach more interesting. A thorough study of the consumer’s profile will help you make the approach more interesting to the user. Claims like ‘5 steps to make wise investment decisions’, ’20 facts you did not know about mutual funds’ etc. could be used.

iii) Desire- Convince the customer that they want and need the product to satisfy their needs. Example- For a finance executive, you could say, ‘Do you know that most finance executives invest in our ABC mutual funds?’

iv) Action- The last step is to lead the customers into taking some action or decision.

Example- ‘Contact our customer care executive, now’.

 

b. The BANT sequence

IBM designed this approach. BANT stands for:

i) Budget- Determine if the customer has a budget for whatever you are selling.

Example- You cannot sell a luxury car to a very average household.

ii) Authority- The person you are talking to should have the right to make the purchase/decline decisions.

Example- One cannot sell a new food product to the cleaner at a café. A purchase manager or executive chef is needed to make such decisions.

iii) Need- There should be a need for the product by the business.

Example- There’s no point selling an imported food product to a restaurant using the best in class products already.

iv) Time- Calculate the time frame that might be needed for the sale or purchase decision.

 

At the end, it all depends on what kind of questions are asked to the company or what sort of information is available about the company.


Hence, this concludes the definition of Formula Selling along with its overview.

This article has been researched & authored by the Business Concepts Team. It has been reviewed & published by the MBA Skool Team. The content on MBA Skool has been created for educational & academic purpose only.

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