Advertising Supervisor Job Description

Salary Range

$63,940 - $122,050

Experience

Experienced sales rep

Work Environment

Media sales office

What Does an Advertising Supervisor Do?

Advertising supervisors lead the ad sales team at a radio or TV station, newspaper, magazine or website: they coach newer reps on client calls, split up territories and approve discounts beyond a rep's authority. Sponsorships, special sections and seasonal promotions are theirs to plan, so the reps always have something new to sell. Big accounts stay with the supervisor.

Other Job Titles for This Work

Workers in this occupation report titles such as Customer Service Department Supervisor, Customer Service Supervisor, Driver Sales Supervisor, Information Center Supervisor, Inside Sales Supervisor, Reservations Supervisor, Sales Department Supervisor, Sales Leader.

Advertising Supervisor Duties and Responsibilities

The primary responsibilities of an advertising supervisor include:

• Set monthly sales targets for each rep and track progress against them every week.
• Assign territories and house accounts, and settle disputes over who owns a client.
• Coach reps on prospecting, presentations and closing, including ride-alongs on client calls.
• Approve discounts, special rates and contract terms beyond a rep's authority.
• Handle the largest accounts personally and step in when a client relationship sours.
• Coordinate ad deadlines and space with production, design and editorial or programming staff.
• Review contracts and orders for accuracy before they go to billing.
• Recruit, hire and train new sales reps, including student staff at campus media.
• Prepare revenue reports and forecasts for the advertising director or publisher.
• Plan special sections, sponsorships and seasonal promotions that give reps something new to sell.

Required Skills and Qualifications

To succeed as an advertising supervisor, you will need the following skills and qualifications:

• Sales coaching and team leadership
• Revenue forecasting in Excel or the CRM
• Pricing and contract negotiation
• Media kits, rate cards and audience data
• Conflict resolution between reps and clients
• Salesforce or a similar CRM
• A personal track record in ad sales
• Energy to keep a team motivated in slow months

Education and Training

Years of selling ads come first for most advertising supervisors, since publishers and station managers promote reps with strong numbers of their own. Sales managers from retail or marketing sometimes move across. No degree is required beyond high school, but the proof that counts in an interview is a new rep you coached to target. The next steps up are advertising director and publisher.

Salary and Job Outlook

BLS projects employment of first-line supervisors of non-retail sales workers, the wider group for this job, to stay nearly flat from 2025 to 2035, growing about 0.5 percent. While growth is flat, the group still averages roughly 21,700 openings a year, most of them outside media. Bear in mind that you are more likely to be promoted if your own sales record is strong.

Outlook source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035, First-line supervisors of non-retail sales workers.

Advertising Supervisor Pay Range

Highest-Paying States for Advertising Supervisors

The states with the highest median pay for this occupation are New York ($121,780), Massachusetts ($115,150), Colorado ($110,450), South Dakota ($105,680), New Jersey ($99,030). Pay is lowest in Arkansas ($64,980), Hawaii ($63,490), West Virginia ($62,970).

What the Work Is Like

O*NET surveys people who work as first-line supervisors of non-retail sales workers about their daily conditions. Of those surveyed:

• 100% use email every day
• 98% say teamwork is very or extremely important in their job
• 97% are on the phone every day
• 88% usually work more than 40 hours a week
• 85% work indoors in a climate-controlled space every day
• 78% say being exact and accurate is very or extremely important
• 69% work against deadlines every day

Education Workers Say the Job Needs

Tools and Software Advertising Supervisors Use

Tools and equipment

• Desktop computers
• Laptop computers
• Laser facsimile machines
• Multiline telephone systems
• Printing calculators
• Smart phones
• Tablet computers

Software

• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft Office software
• Microsoft Outlook
• Microsoft PowerPoint
• Salesforce software
• Cisco Webex
• Microsoft Access
• Microsoft Project
• Microsoft Word
• SAP software
• Budgeting software
• Customer information databases

Is This Job a Good Fit for You?

People who do well in this job tend to enjoy leading, persuading and making business decisions as well as organized work with data, records and clear procedures.

Skills O*NET rates most important: Active Listening, Speaking, Monitoring, Management of Personnel Resources, Social Perceptiveness, Coordination.

Knowledge areas used most: Customer and Personal Service, Administration and Management, English Language, Personnel and Human Resources, Economics and Accounting.

Preparation: O*NET places this occupation in Job Zone 4 of 5, which means considerable preparation.

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Applying for an Advertising Supervisor Job

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