Media stars

By Graham Trickey, Editor, Prospects, 23/03/07.

The strength and variety of British media and publishing are built upon advertising sales. Celebrities, writers and everyone else featured on pages, screens and websites would disappear from sight without the efforts of the people selling ads.

This is work that graduates can get involved in whatever their grades. Alex Kenning, group sales manager at sales training and recruitment agency, the Media Exchange, says: ‘As a graduate, your degree or subject are both secondary to personality. An enthusiasm and commitment to hard work and a focus on what you want to achieve are more important than academic results.’

The media industry covers a range of different activities, including magazines, radio, newspapers, TV, cinema, internet, direct mail, billboard advertising and trade conferences. Each has some characteristics of its own, but the work is generally fast-moving, busy and pressured. Success is almost immediately measurable in thousands of pounds of advertising sold and targets hit.

Payment is in part based on results, making impressive rewards available to the best performers. Although basic pay at the start can be modest, commission can lift it to £20,000-£25,000 in the first year.

Get on the phone

A typical starting point is telephone selling, particularly in paper and online publishing. A sales person working for a magazine publishing house could be selling small, classified advertising or larger display adverts. The potential clients in most cases are businesses, or the advertising agencies acting on their behalf. The tele-sales person needs to research and cold call new business prospects as well as nurture relationships with existing clients. Every day a certain number of calls must be logged – perhaps 60 or more.

If this all sounds tough right at the start of a career, training should be provided to make success possible. New staff also often benefit from working in a small team where everyone is striving to achieve a team target.

New graduates in billboard advertising and broadcasting are thrown more slowly into the deep end than elsewhere, because there can be much riding on each sale. New staff support the sales work by liaising with clients as well as doing research and admin. Selling comes a little later.

Aim high

Advancement in media sales careers can be rapid. Alex Kenning says: ‘The graduate should never lose sight of the fact that today’s media sales trainee is tomorrow’s ad manager. Career progression and personal development are one of the primary attractions to an ambitious graduate determined to succeed in their chosen career. It is not unusual for a graduate to achieve a management role within a relatively short period of time – three to five years.’

On the management career track, the first step can be heading a team or the staff selling on a particular product. Some sales people rise to manage all aspects of a product or series. In selling itself, promotion positions are in roles handling the most highly valued and lucrative clients, including face-to-face selling as well as telephone contacts. Industry leaders offer the best opportunities for progression, so media sales staff may need to move from company to company to climb the ladder. This is not difficult in London and major cities but opportunities are limited in smaller centres.

Is it a deal?

By no means everyone is suited to a career in media sales. Resilience is essential to cope with the rejections that will result from most calls. There is also some close supervision to get used to. Staff who are not top performers may be becalmed in junior roles or if targets are consistently not achieved they will be shown the door.

Even talented sales staff may not achieve all their targets. No decent company deliberately sets sales targets that are impossible to reach, but sales people may find themselves touting over-priced advertising slots on uncompetitive publications or other products. In that case the sales professional is ready to move on.

However, if the product is right, media sales is the career more than most others where a day’s work yields tangible success. Closing a deal feels good and boosts the running sales total that is probably displayed somewhere in the sales office. When a target is finally reached it’s the cue for congratulations, celebration and a bigger pay cheque.

Graduates can get into this work by replying directly to vacancies advertised by media companies. Or they can go through one of many media sales recruitment companies. Some of these provide training to prepare graduates for the industry. Either of these entry-points can lead to a career as one of the (backroom) stars of the media.