Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Advertising Sales Account Executive

🎯 Role Definition

The Advertising Sales Account Executive is responsible for driving revenue through new business acquisition, managing client relationships, and delivering high-performing advertising campaigns across digital, video, mobile, CTV/OTT, and cross-platform channels. This role combines consultative sales, media planning, negotiation, campaign trafficking oversight, performance analysis, and collaboration with product, ad operations, and creative teams to meet or exceed revenue targets and client KPIs.

Key searchable skills and terms: Advertising Sales Account Executive, ad sales, media sales, digital advertising, programmatic, PMP, DSP, direct-sold, IO, CPM, CPC, CPA, CTV, OTT, Salesforce, campaign optimization, ad ops, client retention, revenue growth.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Sales Development Representative (SDR) or Business Development Representative (BDR)
Junior Account Executive / Associate Account Executive
Media Coordinator or Marketing Coordinator

Advancement To:

Senior Account Executive
Account Director / Senior Account Director
Sales Manager / Regional Sales Lead
Director of Advertising Sales / Head of Revenue

Lateral Moves:

Client Services / Account Management Lead
Programmatic Specialist or Trading Desk Lead
Solutions Consultant / Pre-Sales Specialist
Ad Operations Manager

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Prospect, identify, and qualify new advertising business opportunities across target verticals (e.g., CPG, tech, finance) through outbound outreach, warm leads, event follow-up, and agency relationships to consistently build a healthy sales pipeline and meet quarterly revenue quotas.
Develop tailored media solutions and strategic proposals that align client business objectives with our ad products (display, native, video, CTV/OTT, sponsored content), including detailed audience targeting, inventory plans, CPM/CPC/CPA estimates, and KPI forecasts.
Lead the full sales cycle from initial discovery and needs assessment to proposal, negotiation, and closing — preparing and presenting persuasive pitch decks, rate cards, insertion orders (IOs), and statements of work (SOWs).
Negotiate commercial terms and contract details with advertisers and agencies, balancing revenue maximization, margin, and client satisfaction while ensuring legal and compliance alignment.
Manage and submit insertion orders (IOs) and trafficking instructions accurately and on time; validate IO terms, flight dates, creative specs, and billing milestones with ad operations and finance.
Collaborate closely with ad operations, trafficking, and programmatic teams to ensure campaigns are launched correctly, creatives are approved, tags are implemented properly (VAST, HTML5), and any technical issues are resolved quickly.
Monitor live campaign performance daily and provide proactive optimization recommendations (bid strategies, pacing, creative rotation, audience targeting) to improve delivery against KPIs such as CTR, viewability, completion rate, conversions, and ROI.
Build and present clear, data-driven campaign performance reports to clients and internal stakeholders using BI/reporting tools (Tableau, Looker, Google Data Studio) and explain insights, learnings, and next steps.
Execute upsell and cross-sell strategies by identifying expansion opportunities within existing accounts — new formats, audience extensions, remarketing, programmatic guaranteed, and advanced targeting options — to grow account lifetime value.
Maintain accurate pipeline and activity records in CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot), log communications, forecast revenue, and provide weekly/monthly forecasts and sales performance updates to leadership.
Achieve or exceed monthly, quarterly, and annual sales targets (quota attainment), and participate in incentive/commission plans tied to revenue, new logos, retention, and margin metrics.
Build and maintain trusted, consultative relationships with agency buyers, media planners, brand marketers, and procurement to become the preferred vendor and drive repeat business and contract renewals.
Respond to RFPs and media pitches with timely, customized proposals, audience insights, and case studies demonstrating campaign effectiveness and ROI for prospective clients and agency partners.
Coordinate with product, engineering, and analytics teams to provide client feedback and market intelligence that informs product roadmap, creative ad formats, and inventory packaging.
Maintain up-to-date knowledge of digital advertising ecosystem trends — programmatic, header bidding, DSPs/SSPs, privacy regulations (GDPR, CCPA), measurement standards (MRC), and emerging channels (CTV, podcast) — and communicate implications to clients.
Execute territory and account plans that include target accounts, revenue goals, competitive differentiation, and tactical outreach strategies to accelerate new business and customer retention.
Manage campaign billing and reconciliation in partnership with finance, ensuring accurate invoices, timely collections, and resolution of billing disputes or credits.
Provide pre- and post-sale support for creatives, landing page QA, tracking pixel implementation, and measurement tagging; ensure creative meets technical specs and brand safety guidelines.
Conduct competitor and market research to identify gaps, price benchmarks, and creative best practices; use insights to refine pitches and value propositions.
Prepare and deliver executive-level presentations and quarterly business reviews (QBRs) for top clients that highlight performance, strategic recommendations, and roadmap for future campaigns.
Mentor and collaborate with junior account executives and cross-functional teams, sharing best practices on negotiation, campaign optimization, and client communications to raise team capabilities.
Track and report key performance indicators (KPIs) tied to sales performance and ad effectiveness, such as win rate, average deal size, pipeline velocity, churn, and lifetime value.
Ensure compliance with legal, brand safety, ad policy, and fraud-prevention guidelines; escalate and remediate any issues with third-party verification partners.
Manage programmatic and direct-sold buys, including private marketplace (PMP) deals and preferred deals, coordinating with trading desks and programmatic sales leads to execute complex buys.

Secondary Functions

Serve as a subject-matter expert on advertising products during marketing initiatives, webinars, industry panels, and sales enablement sessions.
Support marketing and demand generation teams with case studies, testimonials, and conversion-focused collateral that showcase media effectiveness and ROI.
Participate in cross-functional product discovery sessions and beta programs to test new ad formats and targeting capabilities, providing client-facing feedback.
Work with analytics and insights teams to design A/B tests, incrementality studies, and attribution models that demonstrate campaign lift and incremental revenue.
Assist with special projects such as pricing pilots, bundled offerings, seasonal promotions, and strategic partnerships that expand business opportunities.
Represent the company at industry conferences, trade shows, and client events to network, generate leads, and maintain visibility within the advertising ecosystem.
Provide ad hoc competitive intelligence and market trend analyses to sales leadership to inform strategic planning and territory coverage decisions.
Coordinate internal training sessions to keep the sales organization current on product updates, competitive differentiators, and regulatory changes affecting digital advertising.
Support account transition and onboarding processes to ensure a seamless handoff from sales to account management and ad ops teams.
Help design and refine sales playbooks, objection-handling guides, and standard operating procedures for campaign launch and optimization.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Proven proficiency with CRM systems (Salesforce, HubSpot) for pipeline management, forecasting, and reporting.
Strong Excel / Google Sheets skills: pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, advanced formulas, and basic data modeling for revenue analysis.
Experience with programmatic advertising platforms and concepts: DV360, The Trade Desk, PMP, PMP negotiation, private deals, and inventory types.
Familiarity with ad serving and trafficking tools (Google Ad Manager, AdButler, Sizmek, SpotX) and creative specifications (VAST, VPAID, HTML5).
Competence in campaign analytics and reporting tools: Google Analytics, Google Data Studio, Tableau, Looker, or equivalent.
Understanding of digital advertising KPIs: CPM, CPC, CPA, CTR, viewability, complete rate, conversions, ROI, LTV, and attribution models.
Exposure to CTV/OTT buying mechanics, measurement nuances, and device ID or household-level targeting strategies.
Experience drafting and negotiating insertion orders (IOs), statements of work (SOWs), and commercial contracts for digital media buys.
Knowledge of privacy and compliance frameworks impacting advertising (GDPR, CCPA), and familiarity with cookie-less targeting solutions.
Basic HTML/CSS literacy to troubleshoot creative rendering issues and work with creative teams on ad builds.
Ability to interpret pixel / tag firing and troubleshoot tracking issues with developer or ad ops teams.
Comfortable using outreach and sales engagement tools (Outreach, SalesLoft) to scale outbound prospecting.

Soft Skills

Consultative selling and strategic thinking: translate business goals into media solutions and measurable outcomes.
Exceptional verbal and written communication; persuasive presenter with strong storytelling skills for C-suite and agency buyers.
Relationship building and client management: trusted advisor ability, responsiveness, and long-term account stewardship.
Negotiation and closing prowess under pressure while preserving margin and client value.
Analytical mindset with attention to detail; able to synthesize performance data into clear recommendations.
Time management, prioritization, and organizational skills to manage multiple accounts and campaign deadlines.
Adaptability and curiosity to stay current on industry changes, new ad formats, and emerging channels.
Collaborative team player who navigates cross-functional stakeholders to deliver on client commitments.
Problem-solving and escalation management with a solutions-first approach to technical and commercial challenges.
Resilience and goal orientation: persistence in outbound prospecting and follow-up to achieve consistent quota attainment.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree from accredited institution (Business, Marketing, Communications, Advertising, or related discipline) OR equivalent professional experience.

Preferred Education:

Bachelor's or Master's in Marketing, Advertising, Business Administration, Communications, Media Studies, or related field.
Certifications in programmatic/digital advertising or analytics (Google Ads, Google Analytics, IAB certifications, The Trade Desk Edge Academy) are a plus.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Marketing, Advertising, or Communications
Business Administration or Sales
Data Analytics, Media Studies, or Economics
Computer Science or Information Systems (helpful for technical trafficking roles)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 2–7 years in advertising sales, digital media sales, programmatic sales, or agency-side media buying.

Preferred:

3+ years of proven experience closing digital advertising deals and managing campaign delivery end-to-end, including direct IOs and programmatic buys.
Track record of meeting or exceeding sales quotas and growing revenue in a competitive media environment.
Experience working with agencies and brand-side advertisers across multiple verticals, and familiarity with enterprise-level procurement and procurement cycles.