Example:
I have a drop-down in A1 with 5 options (A, B,C,D,E)

I need to be able to have a formula that looks at A1, and if it's value is
"A" (from the drop-down) then place a "1" into cell B1.

I am trying to perform this without a formula residing in B1 because a
calculation is being performed on the value of B1. If the formula is there
and the value is displayed, the calculation fails because it sees the formula
instead of the value.

The formula I use to display the value is:

=IF(A1="A","1",IF(A1="B","2",IF(A1="C","3",IF(A1=" D","4",IF(A1="E","5")))))

But, I need the end result to be a number that can be a part of another
calculation.

Help!