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What is an advertising sales and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
Quoted experts
Director Dave Payne M.S.,
John Cicala Ph.D.

This personnel is charged with persuading clients to purchase advertising products and services. He/She sells advertising space or air time and ensures that sales quotas are met. His/Her duties include identifying the needs of clients, researching the products and services of competitors, and responding to inquiries of potential clients. Furthermore, he/she sets up meetings with potential clients to present advertising proposals and address their concerns. He/She assists the marketing team in preparing media packages and promotional plans. These experts are employed by advertising companies, newspapers, magazines, trade journals, and broadcasting companies.

The minimum educational requirement for this job is a high school diploma or its equivalent. However, most employers prefer a bachelor's or associate's degree in advertising, communications, or a related field. Similarly, you must possess organization, analytical, communication, negotiation, consultative sales, and customer service skills. Employers may provide on-the-job training. This personnel makes an average gross salary of $49,471 annually. This varies between $28,000 and $89,000.

What general advice would you give to an advertising sales?

Director Dave Payne M.S.

Associate Professor of Practice / Sales, University of Akron

Planning, practice, and skills are the keys to a successful career launch. Practice and coaching feedback will build competence, which builds confidence and sales performance success.
ScoreAdvertising SalesUS Average
Salary
5.7

Avg. Salary $73,239

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
8.2

Growth rate -8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
8.3
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.39%

Asian 4.60%

Black or African American 6.06%

Hispanic or Latino 13.54%

Unknown 4.12%

White 71.29%

Gender

female 52.15%

male 47.85%

Age - 43
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43
Stress level
8.2

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level
9.6

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance
4.0

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Advertising sales career paths

Key steps to become an advertising sales

  1. Explore advertising sales education requirements

    Most common advertising sales degrees

    Bachelor's

    65.9 %

    Associate

    16.0 %

    High School Diploma

    8.4 %
  2. Start to develop specific advertising sales skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Media Sales19.85%
    Business Relationships11.60%
    Business Development9.73%
    Newspapers9.62%
    SEO9.50%
  3. Complete relevant advertising sales training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New advertising sales learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an advertising sales based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real advertising sales resumes.
  4. Research advertising sales duties and responsibilities

    • Operate Salesforce and manage opportunities accordingly.
    • Present an advertisement solution with an attainable ROI.
    • Account analysis and preparation, assessing customer needs, and preparation of professional sales recommendations tailor to each customer s business.
    • Educate business owners on search engines (yahoo, google, etc . )
  5. Prepare your advertising sales resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your advertising sales resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an advertising sales resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose from 10+ customizable advertising sales resume templates

    Build a professional advertising sales resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your advertising sales resume.
    Advertising Sales Resume
    Advertising Sales Resume
    Advertising Sales Resume
    Advertising Sales Resume
    Advertising Sales Resume
    Advertising Sales Resume
    Advertising Sales Resume
    Advertising Sales Resume
    Advertising Sales Resume
  6. Apply for advertising sales jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for an advertising sales job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first advertising sales job

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Are you an advertising sales?

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Average advertising sales salary

The average advertising sales salary in the United States is $73,239 per year or $35 per hour. Advertising sales salaries range between $58,000 and $91,000 per year.

Average advertising sales salary
$73,239 Yearly
$35.21 hourly

What am I worth?

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How do advertising sales rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

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1 star

Advertising sales reviews

profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2020
Pros

Communicating and helping my clients.

Cons

The travel was extensive. Sometimes. It took more than month to close a deaĺ.


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on May 2020
Pros

I love to engage the public and meet new faces. I enjoy explaining all of the benefits of the product I am selling, and making the customer feel important and well informed.

Cons

I don't like feeling like I haven't did a great at job at making customers feel comfortable and confident about where and who they are purchasing from.


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on May 2020
Pros

i enjoy the interaction with people, listen the customer in order to convert him/her into your friend, detect and help customer with his/her needs.

Cons

People without vision, dreams and selfishness.


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.