Career: Advertising Sales Agents
Advertising sales agents hold a wide range of jobs. Local sales agents work for specific media companies, such as newspapers and radio stations, selling ad space or airtime to local businesses. Other agents work in the advertising industry, for companies that specialize in selling advertising and work on national ad campaigns. They act as go-betweens, bringing together businesses that need to advertise with media companies that have advertising to sell.
Instead of selling just one kind of advertising, sales agents often sell groups of ads that take advantage of a mix of media. These so-called integrated packages are a growing trend in the ad biz. A single package might include space in a magazine and on a website, along with TV airtime.
Advertising sales agents sell advertising to businesses and other organizations. They sell ad space in newspapers, magazines, direct mail circulars, and telephone directories and on TV, radio, websites, and billboards.
Did You Know?
- Many newspapers, radio stations, and other media outlets depend heavily on the money advertising brings in.
Are You Ready To...?
- Spend lots of time visiting, calling, and emailing clients
- Research the products and target customers of clients and potential clients
- Convince clients that your advertising strategy can help them
- Write proposals for clients and estimate costs
- Prepare sample ads
- Handle post-sale communications between your clients and your company
- Maintain a professional appearance
- Set your own hours and work with little supervision
- Put in long and irregular hours trying to meet sales goals
- Live on a paycheck that rises and falls, depending on how much you sell
It Helps to Be...
A self-motivated go-getter with great people skills who's unafraid of rejection: many sales agents make "cold calls," showing up at businesses uninvited.
Make High School Count
- Sell ad space for your school newspaper or yearbook.
- Intern at a newspaper or another media outlet.
- Get involved in DECA or Junior Achievement.
- Sign up for a business class.
- Build communication skills in debate, drama, and speech and English classes.
- Work hard in math classes so that you'll be able to crunch the numbers.
- Learn Spanish: many advertisers are starting to reach out to the growing numbers of Latinos and Latinas.
Did You Know?
- You'll probably have to meet a sales goal, called a quota, every month.
Outlook
Government economists expect jobs for advertising sales agents to grow faster than the average for all careers through 2016. However, the number of job openings rises and falls with the economy. Smaller companies are usually more likely to hire inexperienced agents.
Demand for agents should be driven by growth in media; the Internet, for example, is creating new opportunities. Jobs should also be created by advertisers' increased efforts to reach Latinos and Latinas.
Compensation
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, advertising sales agents had average yearly earnings of $53,170 in 2008. Your income will depend in large part on commissions and bonuses. In other words, the more you sell, and the better your employer does, the more you'll earn.
