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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Advertising Sales Consultant

💰 $ - $

SalesAdvertisingMediaDigital MarketingAccount Management

🎯 Role Definition

An Advertising Sales Consultant is an experienced, target-driven sales professional who consults with brands, agencies, and advertisers to design, sell, and optimize advertising campaigns across digital, programmatic, and traditional media channels. This role combines strategic consultative selling, deep product knowledge, campaign coordination, and performance analysis to grow revenue, retain key accounts, and position the publisher/platform as a trusted marketing partner.

Key SEO phrases: Advertising Sales Consultant, ad sales, media sales, digital advertising, programmatic advertising, consultative selling, revenue growth, campaign optimization.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Sales Development Representative (SDR) or Business Development Representative (BDR)
  • Media Sales Assistant / Account Coordinator
  • Digital Marketing or Media Planner

Advancement To:

  • Senior Advertising Sales Consultant / Senior Account Executive
  • Account Director / Regional Sales Manager
  • Head of Sales / VP of Advertising / Commercial Director

Lateral Moves:

  • Account Manager / Client Success Manager
  • Business Development Manager
  • Strategic Partnerships Manager

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Prospect, identify, and qualify new advertising clients (brands, agencies, and direct advertisers) through targeted outreach, networking, inbound lead follow-up, and industry event attendance to build a repeatable pipeline that supports monthly and quarterly revenue goals.
  • Develop and execute strategic account plans for new and existing clients, mapping client objectives to advertising solutions (display, video, native, sponsored content, programmatic, and cross-channel packages) to maximize lifetime value.
  • Lead consultative sales conversations from discovery to close—diagnosing business goals, architecting integrated media plans, creating persuasive proposals, and negotiating commercial terms to win business while protecting margin.
  • Meet and exceed individual quota by consistently closing deals, driving renewals, and expanding account penetration via upsells and cross-sells of premium placements, data-driven targeting, and add-on services.
  • Build and maintain strong relationships with agency partners and brand stakeholders at director and C-suite levels to act as a trusted strategic advisor on media strategy, campaign measurement, and brand safety.
  • Prepare customized media proposals, creative briefs, rate cards, insertion orders, and formal contracts; ensure all commercial documentation is accurate, timely, and compliant with company policy and legal requirements.
  • Collaborate cross-functionally with Ad Operations, AdTech, Product, Creative Services, and Analytics teams to ensure flawless campaign execution, timely trafficking, accurate targeting, and post-campaign reporting.
  • Oversee campaign trafficking and QA processes—coordinate creatives, verify tags, ensure ad rendering across devices/environments, and troubleshoot delivery issues to meet client KPIs and SLAs.
  • Monitor campaign performance daily and provide proactive optimization recommendations (creative rotation, pacing, targeting adjustments, bidding strategy) to improve reach, CTR, viewability, conversions, and ROAS.
  • Produce clear, actionable campaign reporting and insights for clients—translate analytics into strategic recommendations using metrics (impressions, clicks, CTR, conversions, viewability, engagement rate, cost-per-action).
  • Maintain up-to-date CRM records (Salesforce or equivalent) including pipeline activity, client interactions, forecasts, opportunities, and deal stages to ensure accurate sales forecasting and management reporting.
  • Drive new product adoption (audience segments, programmatic offerings, targeted sponsorships, data partnerships) by developing case studies, sales enablement materials, and product demonstrations tailored to vertical-specific needs.
  • Participate in RFP/RFI processes—develop compelling responses, customize creative solutions, and coordinate internal subject-matter experts to increase win rates on competitive pitches.
  • Negotiate pricing, placement, and contract terms with volume and package discounts that align business objectives with revenue targets, while escalating appropriately for complex commercial agreements and bespoke deals.
  • Conduct territory and competitive analysis—track advertiser spend trends, monitor competitor offerings, and use market intelligence to identify growth opportunities and inform pricing strategy.
  • Manage campaign budgets and billing reconciliation—coordinate with finance to confirm invoicing accuracy, address discrepancies promptly, and ensure timely collections for contracted campaigns.
  • Train and mentor junior sales team members and new hires on product offerings, sales processes, CRM best practices, and consultative selling techniques to improve overall team performance.
  • Represent the company at industry conferences, trade shows, and local events to generate new leads, nurture existing relationships, and increase brand visibility within key verticals.
  • Maintain deep knowledge of digital advertising ecosystem (programmatic, SSP/DSP, header bidding, PMP, third-party data, brand safety tools, ad verification) to effectively explain technical capabilities and limitations to non-technical stakeholders.
  • Collaborate with marketing on demand-generation campaigns, client testimonials, and case studies that demonstrate ROI and drive inbound interest from new advertisers.
  • Proactively identify churn risk and develop retention strategies for at-risk clients through performance reviews, strategic upsell offers, and contract renewal negotiations.
  • Ensure compliance with privacy regulations and industry standards (GDPR, CCPA, IAB guidelines) for data usage, targeting, and measurement while advising clients on best practices.

Secondary Functions

  • Support sales leadership with weekly pipeline reviews, accurate forecasting, and contribution to go-to-market plans for new product launches.
  • Assist in creating and maintaining sales enablement assets: pitch decks, one-pagers, sample creative templates, and competitive battlecards.
  • Collaborate with analytics teams on ad-hoc deep dives and A/B test designs to validate targeting strategies and creative treatments.
  • Contribute to pricing experiments and packaging strategy based on win/loss analysis and advertiser feedback.
  • Liaise with product teams to relay customer feature requests, competitive gaps, and product improvement ideas informed by frontline sales conversations.
  • Support contract renewals and upsell negotiations, preparing renewal briefs and historical performance summaries to justify expanded investments.
  • Participate in internal training sessions and knowledge-sharing forums to keep commercial teams aligned on product updates and market shifts.
  • Manage small special projects (pilot programs, beta partnerships, cross-promotional initiatives) that support strategic business objectives.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Consultative selling and enterprise B2B sales experience with demonstrated ability to close complex deals and manage multi-touch sales cycles.
  • Proficiency with CRM tools (Salesforce preferred) for pipeline management, activity logging, and accurate forecasting.
  • Strong knowledge of digital advertising products: display, video, native, programmatic (DSP/SSP), header bidding, PMP/private marketplace, and sponsorships.
  • Familiarity with ad operations and trafficking processes, ad tag types, creative specs, and ad verification/brand safety tools (Moat, DoubleVerify, IAS).
  • Competence in campaign analytics and measurement: Google Analytics, third-party measurement platforms, and ability to interpret KPIs like CTR, CPC, CPM, viewability, and conversion metrics.
  • Experience building media plans and pricing models that balance reach, frequency, targeting precision, and ROI.
  • Advanced presentation and proposal development skills using PowerPoint, Google Slides, and Excel for financial modeling and performance summaries.
  • Basic understanding of programmatic buying mechanics and terminology (RTB, PMP, private deals, floor price, cookie-based vs. cohort targeting).
  • Familiarity with privacy frameworks and compliance requirements (GDPR, CCPA) as they impact targeting and measurement.
  • Ability to use sales enablement stacks and marketing automation tools to coordinate outreach and nurture campaigns.

Soft Skills

  • Strong consultative and strategic thinking—able to align advertising solutions to client business objectives and KPIs.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication with executive-level presence for client-facing presentations and negotiations.
  • Relationship-building and stakeholder management—trusted advisor capable of influencing decision makers across agencies and brands.
  • Resilience and self-motivation—driven to exceed quota in a fast-paced, target-oriented environment.
  • Problem-solving and critical thinking—quickly diagnose campaign issues and propose practical optimization steps.
  • Time management and prioritization—manage a high-volume pipeline while delivering excellent client service.
  • Collaborative mindset—work cross-functionally with product, operations, creative, and analytics teams to deliver on promises.
  • Adaptability to changing market conditions, product updates, and client needs.
  • Ethical judgment and attention to detail—ensure accurate contracts, billing, and campaign delivery.
  • Coaching and team leadership capability for mentoring junior staff and fostering a high-performance culture.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business Administration, Communications, Advertising, Media Studies, or related field (or equivalent professional experience).

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree with concentration in Advertising or Digital Media; MBA or advanced coursework in Marketing/Sales is a plus.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Marketing
  • Business Administration
  • Communications
  • Advertising
  • Media Studies
  • Digital Media / Data Analytics

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 2–6 years of progressive experience in advertising/media sales, digital account management, or business development (mid-level role).

Preferred:

  • 3–7+ years with a proven record of achieving quota in digital or programmatic ad sales, experience working with agencies and advertiser direct accounts, and familiarity with media-tech stacks (DSPs, ad servers, analytics platforms).
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