In order to be able to sell advertising space you need to know how the industry works and what adverts are proving most effective. An advertising Sales executive needs to provide clients with reasons as to why they should buy some advertising space and the rewards it will bring them or their company.
Having a good knowledge of the advertising industry is crucial to this role, but having a knowledge of the following areas is certainly advantageous. It is important to have good written English skills so that any copy written on behalf of clients is error free. The text needs to be spelt correctly and written in a logical and constructive way.
Administration skills are also very useful for Advertising Jobs. The process of researching, obtaining and delivering adverts to clients needs to be documented along the way. All client accounts need to be kept up to date and contracts, client details and finished adverts need to be kept in a safe and easily accessible place.
Advertising falls within the communications and media industry. Advertising sales executives should be aware of other forms of advertising within the media industry in order to stay ahead of the competition and provide a complete service to clients.
Due to the fact that Advertising sales jobs involve a large amount of close contact with clients it is important for applicants to have experience in customer relations. An advertising sales executive needs to be friendly and provide excellent attention to detail in order to meet clients needs.
It is clear that this job requires a good knowledge across several different industries. In conjunction with this, there is a range of skills that any advertising sales candidate should posses. Good negotiation skills will help to give a good price for clients but also generate as much revenue for the company as possible. This role also requires the employee to be able to agree the amount of work that they will do for a client. Taking on too much work for too little money will not reflect well on the employee's ability to carry out their job successfully.
Good time management skills are also very important for this role. The advertising industry is governed by strict deadlines. Advertising sales executives must hit their sales targets, produce campaigns on time and submit information to their manager on demand.