30-60-90 Day Plan for a New Advertising Sales Representative
A new advertising sales representative needs to learn what the organization can deliver, who the product serves, and how to manage an account from first contact through production. A useful 90-day plan builds that competence while creating a real pipeline.
The sequence below is an adaptable onboarding example. It is not a promise of sales volume or a reconstruction of my own first 90 days. Set activity and revenue expectations with your manager using the territory, product, sales cycle, and available support.
Download the planning workbook and use the 90 Day Plan sheet to assign owners, dates, and evidence of completion.
Days 1 through 30 Learn the product and the territory
Start by understanding the audience and how the advertising is produced and delivered. Learn the difference between circulation, distribution, impressions, inquiries, and sales. Know which figures have current supporting evidence and which outcomes cannot be promised.
Review rates, specifications, deadlines, creative approvals, payment processes, and account-assignment rules. Practice explaining a simple recommendation and its full cost. Meet the people responsible for design, production, operations, and customer support.
Build an initial prospect list with a specific fit reason for each business. Observe or practice discovery conversations. Learn how to record a contact, next action, and follow-up date in the system the team actually uses.
Useful evidence of progress: an accurate product explanation, a completed sample proposal, a researched territory list, and correct use of the account record.
Days 31 through 60 Develop conversations and proposals
Begin or expand outreach to suitable prospects. Ask about customer goals, timing, decision-making, and the business's ability to respond. Record the answers before recommending a package.
Review calls and meetings with a manager or experienced colleague when that support is available. Identify whether the main obstacle is prospect fit, contact access, unclear value, product knowledge, or follow-through.
Prepare proposals that connect the recommendation to the buyer's objective. Confirm the next step instead of assuming every proposal is an active opportunity. Learn how to handle objections honestly and when to close an unsuitable opportunity.
Useful evidence of progress: complete discovery notes, proposals with a clear rationale, documented next actions, and accurate opportunity stages.
Days 61 through 90 Improve consistency and account service
Review the opportunities developed so far. Distinguish active decisions from delayed or closed prospects. Look for patterns in objections and lost opportunities without drawing broad conclusions from a small sample.
For any won accounts, verify the production handoff, approved creative, launch, and agreed reporting. New-business activity should not make existing customers responsible for chasing delivery information.
Build a sustainable weekly routine for prospecting, follow-up, proposals, and service. Discuss the next quarter's expectations using what has been learned about cycle length, account fit, and available capacity.
Useful evidence of progress: an organized pipeline, completed handoffs, documented account checks, and a realistic plan for the next period.
A weekly review agenda
- What did I promise to customers, and was it completed?
- Which opportunities have a real next step?
- What product or production questions remain unresolved?
- Which prospect groups are showing a useful fit?
- What help do I need before the next week begins?
Avoid treating activity as the whole result
Calls, visits, and emails can show whether work is happening. They do not establish that the work is reaching suitable buyers. Review the quality of conversations and the accuracy of proposals alongside activity counts.
Use the territory plan to organize your effort and the advertising sales metrics guide to choose measures that answer a specific question.