One of the things I enjoy most about writing this column is hearing from readers.
Every month, publishers, sales leaders and account executives send me questions about the challenges they’re facing in today’s media environment. Some questions are about leadership. Others are about digital products, sales processes or building stronger client relationships. But one question keeps showing up, over and over again: How do I become more of a marketing consultant and less of an advertising salesperson?
It’s a great question.
For years, media salespeople were trained to sell products. We learned rate cards, audience demographics, ad sizes, sponsorship opportunities, how to sell frequency and package pricing. Today, that’s not enough.
Business owners don’t need another salesperson pitching space or inventory. They need someone who understands their business challenges and can recommend solutions that help them grow.
The challenge is that many salespeople were never formally trained in marketing strategy. They know how to sell advertising, but they don’t always feel confident diagnosing marketing problems. Fortunately, we’re living in a moment where technology has eliminated that excuse. Artificial intelligence (AI) has become one of the most powerful consultative selling tools ever created. And most salespeople aren’t using it nearly enough.
Your new secret weapon
Every week, I use AI to help analyze prospects before meetings. Not because I don’t understand marketing, but because AI helps me think faster, uncover blind spots and identify opportunities I may not have considered.
Imagine you’re preparing for a meeting with a local roofing company. In the past, you might visit their website, glance at their social media pages and walk into the meeting hoping to discover a need. Today, you can ask AI to perform a preliminary marketing audit. Within minutes, you can identify:
Instead of showing up with a generic sales pitch, you arrive with insights. And insights create credibility.
The best salespeople diagnose before they prescribe
Think about the last time you visited a doctor. A good physician doesn’t walk into the room and immediately prescribe medication. They ask questions. They review symptoms. They analyze information. Then, they diagnose.
Only after diagnosing do they prescribe a solution. The same principle applies to media sales.
Too often, salespeople lead with products:
“We have display advertising.”
“We have streaming TV.”
“We have email marketing.”
“We have social media packages.”
None of those matters until you understand the underlying problem. AI helps you accelerate the diagnostic process. It helps you ask better questions. It helps you identify likely pain points. Most importantly, it helps you have a business conversation rather than an advertising one.
The competitive advantage isn’t AI — it’s how you use it
Here’s what many people get wrong. AI will not replace great salespeople. But salespeople who effectively use AI will outperform those who don’t. The real advantage isn’t the technology. It’s the ability to combine AI-generated insights with local market expertise, industry knowledge and human relationship-building. AI can identify that a local restaurant has inconsistent online reviews. You can connect that insight to a reputation management solution. AI can identify weak local search rankings. You can connect that insight to SEO services. AI can identify a lack of video content. You can connect that insight to your content studio or branded content offering.
The technology helps uncover opportunities. The salesperson creates value.
Four AI prompts every media salesperson should use
If you’re looking for a practical starting point, try these prompts before your next prospect meeting.
Conduct a marketing audit: “Act as a digital marketing consultant. Analyze the online presence of [business name]. Identify strengths, weaknesses, missed opportunities and recommendations related to website performance, local SEO, social media, reputation management, content marketing and lead generation.”
Analyze competitors: “Compare the digital marketing presence of [business name] against its top local competitors. Identify competitive advantages, weaknesses and opportunities for improvement.”
Identify marketing gaps: “If this company wanted to grow revenue by 20% over the next year, what marketing gaps would most likely be preventing growth? Prioritize the top five.”
Match problems to solutions: “Based on these identified marketing challenges, recommend marketing strategies and tactics that would help solve each problem and explain why.”
The opportunity for media companies
For publishers and sales leaders reading this, there is an important takeaway. The future of media sales isn’t creating better advertising proposals. It’s creating better business conversations. The organizations that win will be those that equip their teams to act as trusted advisers, not order-takers.
AI gives every salesperson access to research, analysis and strategic thinking capabilities that previously required a marketing agency or consultant. That’s a remarkable opportunity. Your clients aren’t looking for someone to sell them ads. They’re looking for someone who can help them grow. AI won’t do that for them. But it can help you become the adviser who can. And that may be the most valuable skill a media salesperson can develop in the years ahead.
Dream Local Digital Founder and Client Success Officer Shannon Kinney brings more than 30 years of experience in leadership roles, developing scalable digital marketing strategies and supporting and training media companies with scalable digital revenue growth. She played a vital role in the development of prominent internet giants, including Cars.com, CareerBuilder.com, Knight Ridder Digital, LinkedIn, Google, eBay and Microsoft. She worked with media companies worldwide until pivoting to found Dream Local Digital. Since Dream Local Digital's creation in 2009, Shannon has served on the Local Media Association board, been awarded the LMA Digital Innovation Award, appeared on hundreds of stages as a keynote speaker, and helped media companies transform their business model. She currently also serves as a project lead on the Local Media Association Branded Content Project Cohorts, helping media companies transform through new revenue streams. Shannon can be reached at shannon@dreamlocal.com
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