Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Ad Sales Executive

🎯 Role Definition

The Ad Sales Executive is a revenue-driving sales professional responsible for identifying, pitching, closing, and managing advertising opportunities across print, digital, mobile, programmatic, and cross-platform inventory. This role blends consultative selling, media strategy, campaign operations, and relationship management to meet and exceed sales quotas while delivering measurable marketing outcomes for advertisers. The ideal candidate understands advertising ecosystems (direct and programmatic), leverages CRM and reporting tools to manage pipelines, and collaborates with internal teams (ad ops, creative, analytics, product) to ensure campaign success and client retention.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Sales Development Representative (SDR) or Business Development Representative (BDR) with exposure to advertising
Junior Account Executive or Media Sales Coordinator supporting senior sellers
Media Planner / Buyer or Marketing Executive transitioning to client-facing revenue roles

Advancement To:

Senior Ad Sales Executive / Account Director
Sales Manager / Team Lead (Ad Sales)
Head of Sales, Director of Revenue, or Regional Sales Director

Lateral Moves:

Client Success / Account Management for strategic advertisers
Strategic Partnerships / BizDev with agency and platform partners
Product Marketing or Monetization roles within media/advertising companies

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Prospect, qualify, and develop a robust pipeline of advertisers, agencies, and brand partners through outbound outreach, networking, and lead follow-up to consistently meet or exceed monthly and quarterly sales quotas.
Conduct consultative sales conversations to understand client marketing objectives and design tailored advertising solutions across display, native, video, mobile, audio, and sponsored content that align with advertiser KPIs.
Prepare and deliver persuasive sales presentations and media proposals, including audience insights, reach/frequency forecasts, creative recommendations, and clear ROI metrics to support advertiser investment decisions.
Negotiate commercial terms, pricing, and contractual agreements with advertisers and agencies while protecting product value and margin; finalize and execute insertion orders and contracts in a timely manner.
Collaborate closely with Ad Operations and Campaign Management teams to scope campaign technical requirements, trafficking instructions, targeting parameters, creatives, and tracking pixels to ensure flawless campaign delivery.
Manage campaign performance post-sale with regular reporting, optimization recommendations (bidding, targeting, creative), and campaign recalibration to maximize performance and client satisfaction.
Use CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce) to track all client interactions, forecast revenue, maintain opportunity stages, and generate pipeline reports for leadership and forecasting accuracy.
Build and maintain strong, long-term relationships with agency buyers, brand marketers, and media planners by acting as a trusted strategic advisor and primary point-of-contact for campaign planning and performance reviews.
Identify upsell and cross-sell opportunities within assigned accounts by recommending complementary ad formats, programmatic/direct bundles, premium placements, and audience extensions.
Monitor market trends, competitor offerings, and industry innovations (e.g., identity solutions, contextual targeting, connected TV) to inform product positioning and client conversations.
Develop custom proposals and new product pilots for strategic advertisers, coordinating internal resources to prototype, test, and scale novel promotional concepts or sponsored content programs.
Lead RFP responses and pitch processes with agency teams, ensuring proposals are data-driven, brand-aligned, and compliant with client requirements and timelines.
Collaborate with Marketing and Content teams to ideate creative campaigns, branded content, and sponsored events that align editorial context with advertiser goals and audience interests.
Produce and present post-campaign analyses with actionable insights, attribution outcomes, and recommendations that demonstrate value and inform future buys.
Maintain thorough knowledge of inventory availability, audience segments, measurement methodologies, and pricing structures to advise clients and negotiate effectively.
Work with Finance and Billing teams to verify campaign invoicing, payment milestones, and resolve discrepancies or billing disputes quickly to preserve client relationships.
Train and mentor junior sales colleagues and cross-functional partners on product offerings, sales best practices, and client escalation protocols to elevate team capability.
Attend industry conferences, trade shows, and agency/client-side events to network, generate leads, and raise brand visibility in target markets.
Execute territory and account planning, setting cadence for outreach, prospecting sequences, and account review meetings to systematically grow revenue and retention.
Maintain high standards of data hygiene, ensuring contracts, IOs, ad specs, and contact information are accurate and stored in centralized systems for auditability and operational efficiency.
Coordinate with legal and compliance teams to make sure campaign content and targeting meet regulatory and platform-specific requirements, including privacy and brand safety standards.
Lead renewal negotiations, prepare renewal packages with performance summaries, and proactively address client concerns to achieve contract renewals and multi-term commitments.
Contribute to product feedback loops by relaying client pain points, feature requests, and market demand to product management for roadmap prioritization.
Execute market/competitor analysis and report findings to sales leadership to refine go-to-market strategies, pricing, and promotional campaigns.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc reporting requests and deliver customized performance dashboards to clients and internal stakeholders.
Assist in crafting creative briefs and liaisoning with creative teams to ensure ad assets meet platform specifications and client brand guidelines.
Participate in cross-functional campaign kickoff meetings and post-mortems to identify process improvements and operational efficiencies.
Contribute to sales enablement materials including case studies, one-pagers, and product sell sheets that highlight value propositions and success stories.
Help maintain and optimize internal processes for deal desk approvals, IO templates, and contract workflows to shorten sales cycles.
Provide input to marketing on demand-generation campaigns and content that will attract target advertisers and agencies.
Backfill and manage smaller accounts when necessary to ensure continuity of service and retention.
Represent the company at client-facing workshops or webinars to showcase platform capabilities and measurement approaches.
Coordinate with data analytics teams to test attribution models and validate campaign lift studies for enterprise clients.
Participate in training to stay current with new ad products, privacy changes, and measurement tools.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Proven proficiency with CRM platforms (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot) for pipeline management, forecasting, and reporting.
Strong experience with ad trafficking and campaign management platforms (e.g., DoubleClick/Google Ad Manager, Google Campaign Manager, Adzerk).
Knowledge of programmatic buying concepts, DSPs/SSPs, PMP deals, and header bidding mechanics.
Familiarity with digital analytics and reporting tools (Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics, Looker, Data Studio) and ability to translate metrics into actionable recommendations.
Competence in preparing media plans and audience targeting strategies using first- and third-party data segments.
Comfortable creating and interpreting performance dashboards, KPI reports, and ROI/CPA calculations using Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP) or BI tools.
Experience negotiating insertion orders (IOs), rate cards, and contractual terms for advertising campaigns.
Understanding of ad tech measurement methodologies, viewability standards, fraud detection, and brand safety solutions.
Basic familiarity with creative specifications for display, video, audio, and native ad units and ability to liaise with creative teams.
Working knowledge of programmatic platforms and demand-side tools (e.g., DV360, The Trade Desk) or ability to partner closely with programmatic specialists.
Experience with proposal and RFP response tools and the ability to build client-facing presentations in PowerPoint/Google Slides.

Soft Skills

Consultative selling mindset with strong client empathy and ability to translate business goals into advertising solutions.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills for pitching, negotiating, and reporting to senior client stakeholders.
Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple simultaneous campaigns and client requests under tight timelines.
Resilience and persistence in outbound prospecting and lead development to achieve quota targets.
Strategic thinking and problem-solving capabilities to design integrated media strategies and troubleshoot campaign issues.
Collaborative team player who partners effectively with ad ops, product, analytics, and creative teams.
Attention to detail and high standard for accuracy in contracts, IOs, and campaign specs.
Analytical mindset and comfort working with performance data to optimize campaigns and demonstrate ROI.
Time management and prioritization skills for managing territory plans and renewal pipelines.
Professional presentation skills and the ability to influence decision-makers in agency and brand organizations.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, Media Studies, Advertising, or a related field.

Preferred Education:

Bachelor’s degree with coursework or certifications in digital marketing, advertising technology, or data analytics.
MBA or advanced degree in Marketing/Business is a plus for senior or enterprise roles.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Marketing and Advertising
Communications and Media Studies
Business Administration and Sales
Data Analytics, Statistics, or Information Systems

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

2–5 years in media sales, digital advertising sales, or agency-side account roles for mid-level positions.
5+ years preferred for senior or enterprise-focused Ad Sales Executive roles.

Preferred:

Demonstrable track record of meeting or exceeding sales quotas in advertising/media companies.
Experience working directly with agencies and brand clients on cross-platform campaigns.
Familiarity with programmatic ecosystems, ad ops workflows, and measurement best practices.
Proven history of new business development, territory/account planning, and contract negotiation.