Advertising sales representatives
often work on commission.
An advertising sales representative generates income for a company by getting companies or clients to market their products and services. Advertising sales representatives typically work for publications such as magazines, newspapers or websites and television and radio stations. Some work for ad agencies, which attempt to solicit advertising for a number of mediums, including outdoor advertisers.
Basics
Advertising sales representatives are considered a crucial part of their industry, as all forms of media rely on ads to survive. Those in the magazine and newspaper industries offer certain prices for "space" in their publication. Some ad spaces are full-page, others are half, some are a quarter-page. Most publications also have "classified" ads, which are merely lines of text with no design. Meanwhile, sales reps in the broadcast industry sell "time," in which potential clients broadcast their products. Most commercials on TV and radio run anywhere from 30 seconds to a minute. Then there are online ad sales reps, who sell "banner ads" that are placed on a website. Ad sales reps typically receive a base salary, along with a commission, or a percentage of what they sell.
Skills
An advertising sales representative must be a master communicator, both verbally and with the written word. She needs to be professional, courteous and understand her company's demographic, as well as explain how advertising with her company will benefit a potential client. She also needs to be organized in order to manage her accounts. Many ad sales reps handle either national or local accounts, so they also must know their territory well.
Background
Many companies favor candidates with a bachelor's degree when hiring an advertising sales representative. Others merely expect their employees to have a high school diploma or the equivalent. Education isn't always as important as a strong work ethic, a willingness to learn and a proven ability to sell. Occasionally, an advertising sales rep will have spent time working in another department, such as marketing or public relations.
Prospects
Jobs for advertising sales representatives were expected to increase about 7 percent from 2008 to 2018, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). That is about as fast as average for all occupations. Nearly 167,000 workers were employed as ad sales reps in May 2008, the BLS reported.
Earnings
Advertising sales representatives earned anywhere from $22,000 to nearly $62,000 per year in March 2010, according to PayScale.com. Much of those figures were based on the sales rep's experience, sales success and industry in which he was employed. Meanwhile, the BLS reported that the median salary for advertising sales representatives was $43,480 in May 2008.
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