Whether an Advertising Sales Representative works for a newspaper or a magazine, his or her main function is to sell advertising space. If the rep (or salesperson, as they are sometimes called) works for a local newspaper or magazine, he or she often works directly with local businesses to sell advertisements. Advertising Sales Representatives working with national newspapers or magazines also work with advertising agencies whose clients have purchased ads. The sales rep calls on businesses that buy space. These clients might include restaurants, department stores, chain stores, doctors, dentists, lawyers, shops of all kinds, movie theaters, concert halls, nonprofit organizations, etc. Local or regional clients are those who sell products or services in a local or regional area. National clients include companies that produce products or services sold on a national or international level.
An Advertising Sales Representative is usually assigned a sales territory in which to work. This means that he or she has a certain locality or area to sell ads in. The rep usually sells only in his or her territory. Territories can be large or small. If a rep is working for a national publication, for example, he or she might cover either the Southwest region, the East Coast region, or the Upper Midwest. A rep working for a local daily newspaper might have the entire city in which he or she is located to sell ads. Depending on the size of a newspaper or magazine, the Advertising Sales Representative might write ads, acting as a copywriter. At other small publications the sales representative might also design and lay out advertisements.
Clients often want to advertise their products or services and call the sales representative to get information and rates on the publication. After the call the salesperson usually makes an appointment to meet with the potential client to offer this information as well as to give a sales spiel. At times the Advertising Sales Representative must go out and find customers. At this point he or she may make “cold calls.” These are phone calls or visits made to a potential client without advance warning and without the client having called the publication to buy ad space. The rep may call a client to talk about a special promotion that the publication is running. For example, a newspaper might have an issue dedicated to health services. The Advertising Sales Representative would then contact all the hospitals, doctors, dentists, and labs, to see if they would like to participate in the issue and buy advertising space.
An Advertising Sales Representative often works on his or her own. It is up to the individual to sell as many ads as possible. Often the job is not nine to five. The sales rep may find that he or she has to make a sales call to a client at eight in the morning or eight at night. No one watches what a sales rep does all day. It is up to him or her to organize his or her time and efforts effectively.
Much of the work of an Advertising Sales Representative is done in the field. That means that the rep is often on the road trying to sell space. He or she might set up appointments one day and visit the clients the next. At other times the Advertising Sales Representative might be in the office helping clients decide where, when, and how their advertising dollar would be best spent. The rep also spends a great deal of his or her time on the phone locating potential clients or telling current customers about the status of their ads.
The Advertising Sales Representative must be able to set goals for him- or herself and not get discouraged when he or she doesn’t sell every client. Salespeople often have dry times when ads don’t sell as well as expected. Individuals must be able to keep a positive attitude during these periods. The Advertising Sales Representative works under the supervision of a retail advertising manager. Under this direction the rep learns of all special sales campaigns or promotions for the publication. The individual works closely with his or her ad manager. Through this individual the sales rep obtains leads, gets pointers on effective selling techniques, and obtains territories.
Salaries may be paid to Advertising Sales Representatives in a number of ways. The person might receive a straight salary; the individual may receive a small salary and commissions; or the sales rep might be paid by commissions alone. As most sales reps receive part of their income by commission, it is difficult to estimate income. In most cases, one of the great things about being an Advertising Sales Representative is that earning potential can be limitless. An Advertising Sales Representative working for a newspaper or magazine may have annual earnings ranging from approximately 19,000 Dollars to 100,000 Dollars or more.
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