An Advertising Sales Assistant working at a television station is responsible for coordinating the various day-to-day activities that occur in the station's advertising sales office. There is a considerable amount of organizational skills required to be successful in this job. The individual functions as a cross between the assistant to the advertising sales manager and the office manager.
The Advertising Sales Assistant, sales assistant, or advertising sales coordinator, as he or she might be called, has varied responsibilities depending on the organization of the station where the individual is employed. Sales assistants work with many different people and departments in the television station. They may work with salespeople, account executives, programming executives, and people in the traffic and continuity, marketing, promotion, public service, community relations, and public relations departments.
The sales assistant works directly with and is responsible to the advertising sales manager. Together they create promotional packages for potential advertisers to buy as well as develop attractive packaging options for those advertisers. Clerically, the individual is responsible for all interoffice correspondence. This includes memos, letters, and information to all the salespeople about rates, packages, and station promotions. The sales assistant must stay up to date on all commercial time slots sold and those that are available. He or she is also responsible for checking and keeping on file all contracts, sales orders, and other pertinent information. In many stations the sales assistant is also responsible for billing advertisers for commercial time that has been purchased. In other stations the individual will just be responsible for putting the numbers together and giving them to the billing or accounting department.
An important duty of the sales assistant is to direct potential advertisers who call the station to the correct salespeople. He or she also puts together and sends out rate cards and advertising information packages to those who call or write as well as to those who have talked to station salespeople. When salespeople are not available the sales assistant may sell advertising space. It is therefore vital for the individual to understand how to read the station's rate card and keep on top of all promotions and advertising specials the station is running.
The sales assistant must also have a complete knowledge of the programming of the station so as to schedule commercials for the most productive time slots for advertisers. The sales assistant writes advertising contracts and orders. The individual, however, does not receive a commission. He or she is paid strictly on a salary basis. One of the main functions of the sales assistant is to keep in touch with the current advertisers and keep them abreast of new programming and packaging available. If an advertiser is interested in buying more time, the Sales Assistant will be responsible for getting them in touch with the correct salesperson.
Depending on the station, the individual may be responsible for locating per inquiry (PI) and direct response advertisers. Per inquiry and direct response ads are the advertisements often seen on cable and independent stations where potential buyers use a toll-free phone number to order records, cassettes, or novelty items. Instead of the TV station selling ad time for a specific amount per second, the station offers commercial time to advertisers for a flat fee based on a per response or inquiry call. The sales assistant must keep track of the number of responses or inquiries derived from each commercial and bill the advertiser accordingly. Additionally, the individual may view commercials to make sure that they are acceptable and meet station and FCC standards.
The sales assistant is responsible for scheduling the daily logs that show when commercials will be aired. The sales assistant must keep up with the times and dates advertisers' commercials are aired and what time slots are available for other commercials. The individual may also send information such as when ads were aired to the advertisers or agencies that purchased the time slots. Hours for sales assistants are fairly regular. There may be some overtime during certain times of the year or when special advertising promotions are being run.
Earnings for Advertising Sales Assistants vary greatly depending on a number of factors. These include the experience and responsibilities of the individual and the size and location of the station. Those working in smaller independent or cable stations could earn from US Dollars 18,000 to US Dollars 22,000 annually. Advertising Sales Assistants working in larger stations in major markets may earn salaries of US Dollars 19,000 to US Dollars 28,000 or more per year.
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