What Is AIDA In Industrial Maintenance Sales?

Have you heard of AIDA? Short for "Attention, Interest, Desire and Action," it's become a hot topic among industrial maintenance sales reps. It shows the steps that a typical buyer from the moment he or she becomes aware of a product to the time he or she purchases the product. By utilizing AIDA, industrial maintenance sales reps can gain a better understanding of how prospective buyers move through their sales pipeline.

The Basics of AIDA

AIDA consists of a graphical representation of the steps a typical buyer takes when making a purchase. The steps include Attention, Interest, Desire and Action. During the Attention step, buyers become aware of your industrial maintenance company's brand. During the Interest step, buyers become interested in your industrial maintenance company's brand. During the Desire step, buyers are now eager to make a purchase from your industrial maintenance company. Finally, during the Action step, buyers make the pivotal jump by contacting your industrial maintenance company's sales team to purchase its products or services.

While it may sound like a modern sales tactic, AIDA has been around for well over a decade. It was proposed by St. Elmo Lewis in the late 1800s as an advertising strategy. Lewis discovered that most buyers perform the same set of steps. As a result, he created the AIDA model to express the steps in a buyer's purchasing journey. Since them, it's been adopted by companies throughout the world.

How to Use AIDA

Now that you know the basics of AIDA, you might be wondering how to apply it to your industrial maintenance company's sales process. There's really no wrong way to use AIDA. Rather, you can reference it to gain a better understanding of where, exactly, prospective buyers are located in your industrial maintenance company's sales process.

If you're contacting a prospective buyer for the first time, for example, it's safe to assume he or she is in the Attention stage. Therefore, you should consider sending him or her high-quality content to raise awareness for your industrial maintenance company's brand. Following this initial communication, the prospective buyer may progress to the Interest stage, in which case you should continue providing him or her with relevant content.

If you subscribe to SalesLeads, you know that the Project Reports, or sales leads, is already identified as a project. This means that you are ready to contact the company and discuss your industrial maintenance solution to them, as you know that may be in need of your services. It's the fastest, and most efficient way of moving a sales opportunity through the sales funnel to close.

Utilizing the AIDA model in your industrial maintenance company's sales process allows you to track buyers through each stage. With this information, you can adjust your sales approach to create the strongest response that drives sales for your industrial maintenance company.