5 Key Steps To Master The Ad Sales Pitch

👋 For 6 months, we’ve been training the media sales version of the Avengers.

Jack has distilled our decade of experience into 1 guide for sales calls. Let’s dive in! 🚀

How We Train Our Team to Master Ad Sales

At Ad Sales as a Service, we’re now 12 people, either doing lead gen or directly selling on behalf of media brands. We've developed a proven framework for sales calls that consistently converts brands to investing in paid media.

This is not a script, it’s a guide. Scripts don’t allow for the natural human element of a call. Sales calls should feel like a conversation, not a presentation.

Here it is.

🧠 Setting the Stage (2 Minutes)

We train our team to frame the conversation from the start. They say:

"I want to make sure this call is as helpful and efficient as possible for you. If there's an audience fit and we can demonstrate that we can hit your marketing goals, we should walk away with the skeleton of a successful campaign plan."

This approach does two things: it sets expectations and positions our team as problem-solvers, not just salespeople pitching services.

Our reps then outline what they're going to cover: first, they need to understand exactly who the prospect's audience is, so they can provide relevant audience data and share past successful campaigns that targeted similar demographics.

🎯 The Audience Discovery Phase (5-7 Minutes)

This is where we see inexperienced sales reps go wrong. They jump straight into pitching. 

Discovery Questions

We train our team to dig deep into understanding the prospect's customer:

• What job titles are we talking about?

• Age ranges and income brackets?

• Specific interests or pain points?

• Geographic location?

• Where are they currently reaching these people?

That last question is crucial - it tells our reps whether they're dealing with an experienced media buyer with budget or someone earlier in their journey.

Active Listening is Everything

We emphasize that our team needs to be genuinely listening during this phase. If something doesn't make sense or they're missing information, they must clarify it immediately. Don’t assume.

The Presentation

Once our rep understands the prospect's audience, they present our audience data and share case studies of successful campaigns targeting similar demographics. The key is making a compelling argument that the prospect's ideal customer is our audience.

Then they ask an open-ended question: "This seems like a great fit - do you agree?"

We need the prospect's positive buy-in before moving forward. If they're not completely sold, our team goes back to audience discovery and connects the dots more clearly with data and testimonials.

Here's what sets us apart: If the audience truly isn't a fit, our reps tell them. They give prospects their 20 minutes back and say they'll keep their ears open for opportunities that better match their target market. This honesty builds trust for future conversations.

🪓 Understanding Their Marketing Goals (5 Minutes)

The Critical Questions

• What internal metrics are you tracking for success?

• What channels have worked well for you in the past?

If prospects are focused on CPM or CPC, that's straightforward - our team can calculate against our existing data. But if they want CPL or CPA, our reps need their conversion percentages to work out what CPC they'd need to hit their campaign goals.

Sometimes our team encounters prospects who have no idea about their conversion metrics. We've taught them this usually means one of two things: they're not serious buyers, or they're new to this and need to collect data first.

For brand campaigns, our reps focus on CPM. For performance campaigns with unknowns, they position it as a test to help prospects gather the data they need.

The Calculation

Assuming they’re talking about a performance goal, we train our team to get specific with numbers. Here's an example we use in training:

Newsletter Impressions: 750,000

Click-through to brand page: 1,500 (0.2%)

Conversions: 30 (2% of traffic)

Target CPL: $200

Campaign ROI: $6,000

Campaign Cost: $5,000

🏆 Presenting the Campaign (5-7 Minutes)

Our reps present a solution that makes sense with the prospect's goals and audience.

We want to make the campaign come to life through examples of previous campaigns - scrolling through newsletters, showing social media examples, website placements.

Then they share pricing with all the calculations and marketing metrics we just outlined.

The Hormozi Framework

We've adopted a technique from Alex Hormozi that our team uses at this stage. They ask: "On a scale of 1-10, how confident are you that this campaign will be successful?"

If prospects say anything below a 10, our reps ask why. Most of the time, we can solve the problem right there on the call.

Is it budget? Is it audience fit? Do they doubt we can hit their marketing goals? This is where our team either addresses concerns or adjusts the plan accordingly.

💰 Closing with Clear Next Steps (3 Minutes)

Sign-off

First question our team asks: Who's signing this off?

If it's the person on the call and they've given a 10/10 confidence rating, our reps work out a timeline and get the insertion order out immediately.

If it's not them, we train our team to ask: "Out of everything I've shared today, what specific information do you need to get this signed off?"

Timeline Management

Our reps work backwards from the prospect's desired results:

• When do you want to see results?

• For that to happen, the campaign needs to run between X and X dates

• To start on time, we need a signed IO by X date and creative assets by X date

If the prospect is the decision-maker and they're on a tight timeline, our team tries to get it signed off right there on the call.

🤝 The Follow-Up Advantage

By the end of these calls, our team has a clear plan and next steps. When they follow up, they can reference the conversation: "As we discussed, if we're going to get the campaign started on time, we need this signed by [specific date]."

This framework works because it's consultative, not pushy. Our team is trying to understand prospects' needs and provide solutions that make sense. And when they're honest about fit, even when it means walking away, they build the kind of trust that leads to referrals and future opportunities.

P.S. Need help selling more sponsorships? Our agency Ad Sales as a Service helps media companies do just that.