Follow Sarah, a fictional seasoned local media sales rep, as she explores how AI can help her work smarter and sell more effectively. Through tools like Mailchimp, HubSpot, and Drift, she automates routine tasks, prioritizes high-value leads, and personalizes her outreach. AI also helps her optimize ad performance, manage social media, and generate compelling proposals—freeing up time for strategic selling. Sarah’s journey illustrates how any sales rep can start small with AI, build confidence, and gain a competitive edge in today’s fast-paced media landscape.

Local advertising agencies can use AI to improve efficiency and client outcomes. This article covers how agencies can automate routine tasks like email marketing, enhance content creation with AI writing tools, and optimize ad performance using platforms like Google Performance Max. It also explores predictive analytics and personalization strategies that help agencies deliver more targeted, data-driven campaigns. Real-world examples and case studies demonstrate how even small agencies can start using AI today to gain a competitive edge and deliver smarter, more effective marketing solutions.

Will 2023 be a boom year or a bust for your cluster or company? Based on its work with 500 local media company clients, technology and digital advertising services company AdCellerant suggests these four things to keep your local media business ahead of a recession. Chief Revenue Officer Melissa Sheehan and VP of New Business Development Ben Bouslog presented these suggestions during the recent Borrell Miami conference.

What the launch of ChatGPT can teach executives about leading in disruptive times. Measured in numbers, ChatGPT has no rival (yet): The chatbot became the fastest growing consumer app in history only two months after its launch, chalking up 100 million monthly active users in January 2023.

Performance is the conversation of the moment. Some leaders are concerned if remote and hybrid workers are getting their work done. The changes to how work gets done in the last several years have also made us question the performance metrics we’re using to gauge success. These are conversations we should have but aren’t the only levers of performance.

In many ways, decision-making is the quintessential job of a leader. It is also the biggest driver of performance in business and in life. Researchers estimate we make nearly 35,000 decisions each day. Therefore, it’s critical that leaders embrace a decision-making process that reliably results in wise decisions.

“I like to point out strengths that my coworker brings to the table as part of the introduction to build confidence and credibility right away.” Have you taken your boss on a sales call recently? You could build two relationships simultaneously—one with your manager and a better one with the client. The more trust between you and the manager, the more opportunities may come your way. And your client may be impressed with the expert “team” you put in front of them to solve their problems.

As a former sales manager and c-suite executive leader, and now working alongside sales managers to help them grow their teams, I know that a sales management career can really make an impact. Sales managers are your frontline leaders. They work with their teams to focus on goals and objectives for the organization. Sales managers direct expectations, show people and instruct people in ways to achieve the company goals. Being a sales manager is extremely trackable and measurable.

As a sales manager, I appreciated the value of curiosity in building relationships with prospects and coaching my team. Curiosity is an essential aspect of human nature that drives us to explore, learn, and grow. Whether seeking knowledge about the world around us or trying to understand other people’s thoughts and emotions, curiosity plays a vital role in our personal and professional development.

As a leader, it’s important to constantly work on your development and growth in order to effectively guide and inspire your team. However, there may be certain behaviors or habits that are holding you back from reaching your full potential and you might not even be aware of it. Here are few common things that can hinder your leadership development:

Recognize the Humanity in Others as You Navigate Workplace Conflict To effectively navigate workplace conflict, prioritize connecting with the human at the center of it all. Begin by acknowledging the situation and expressing your optimism about finding a resolution collaboratively.

When you are building a sales force or a sales team, you will hire people that have been trained by other sales organizations. The range of different sales training will go from no training to a one-day sales training to a professional level of training that included a development plan and coaching. One of the challenges of achieving your sales goals is the variation of competencies and skills across your sales force.

Creativity and innovation are crucial for driving growth and staying competitive in today’s rapidly evolving world. Most people would say that’s true especially for companies that manufacture products. But it’s true for all organizations; for profit companies, nonprofit organizations and government entities.

Whether you are a seasoned executive or simply starting your professional journey, investing in communication training is an investment in yourself that will pay dividends throughout your career. Embrace the power of effective communication and watch as your professional opportunities flourish.

I hear this a lot from business leaders — and it’s always kind of sheepish: “Chris, how do we actually make a sales process?” And I get it. Sales processes don’t just happen. They don’t just appear out of thin air. Instead, growing companies realize that they don’t actually have a sales process in place, so they either let their sales reps do their own thing — or they cobble something together that pleases no one.