The responsibility of an advertising sales representative is to secure ad sales for a publication. Most of these individuals exhibit an outgoing personality and the ability to convince clients of the benefits of using their publication to increase sales. Since effective oral and written communication is important for the position, ad sales people usually possess at least a four-year degree. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than half of ad sales representatives work in the media, for newspapers, magazines and broadcasters. Since sales quotas must be met, ad sales is a demanding job. However, the benefit of turning a profit for the company includes commission and bonuses on top of a base salary.
Inside/Outside Sales
In a media outlet, there are two types of sales individuals: inside and outside sales. Inside sales representatives handle patrons who visit the business inquiring about advertising sales. Outside sales is more along the lines of "cold calling." These salespeople visit businesses or call companies in an effort to sell ad space or time. With smaller publications, the job usually includes both responsibilities; at larger ones, salespeople tend to specialize in one or the other.
Reading the Client
One of the keys to making a sale is to build a rapport with the client. One area that salespeople focus on is knowing the client's needs. Before establishing a face-to-face meeting with the client, the sales person must have a firm understanding of the business' needs and how the publication can meet them. This includes knowing every facet of advertising options available to the potential advertiser, as well as circulation and subscriber numbers.
Know Your Audience
Being well prepared for the task is what will make or break the deal for the advertising representatives. She always has to keep abreast of changes within the publication's demographics. One area that is a new selling point for advertisers is online media. Many larger newspapers have developed an online sales representative to better serve advertising customers. Also, reading trade magazines will allow ad representatives to use new-found statistics in their sales pitch.
Customer Service
Once the sale is made, the advertising representative takes on the role of customer service representative for the advertiser. All ad changes and discrepancies become the responsibility of the sales agent. In addition, maintaining a working relationship with current advertisers might open the door for other advertising avenues. Sometimes a business' needs change and the ad representative must keep the client happy. Ad sales agents focus on two areas to keep their clients: trend analysis and rapport building.
Job Outlook
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, companies tend to reduce their advertising expenditures when the economy falters. This can make advertising representatives' work a bit stressful. The agent's task is to boost advertisers' confidence in the usefulness of advertising with their publication. Advertising job opportunities are influenced by the business cycle. Although many opportunities for advertising sales positions will still exist, competition for jobs, especially for the positions with a base salary and commission, become stiff in times of less prosperity.
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