SVP Sales, Albuquerque

Overview

You run the Albuquerque radio market for iHeartMedia, managing a sales team (probably 8-15 AEs) selling local radio advertising. Albuquerque is a smaller market, so you're player-coach: managing, coaching, riding along on deals, and likely carrying a book of key accounts yourself. You report to a regional/division president and are accountable for the market's revenue number.

Role Snapshot

Company Context

Stage: Public company (post-bankruptcy restructuring)

Size: 12,625 employees nationally

Growth: Company is investing in sales transformation and modernization, but traditional radio faces structural headwinds

Market Position: Dominant local radio presence in Albuquerque (likely owns 3-5 stations), competing with digital platforms for ad dollars

GTM Reality

Pipeline Sources:

• 65% Existing clients - renewals and upsells (this is a relationship business)
• 30% Outbound - AEs cold calling and networking with local businesses
• 5% Inbound - occasional leads from corporate or web inquiries

Sales Structure: You manage a team of AEs who each own a territory or vertical (auto, home services, retail, etc.). Most are hunter-farmers managing their own book.

Support: You have some corporate support for analytics/attribution and creative production, but no dedicated SDRs or SEs. Reps do their own prospecting.

Competitive Landscape

Main Competitors: Other local radio stations, local TV, Pandora/Spotify local ad sales, Google/Meta local business offerings, out-of-home (billboards)

How They Differentiate: Local reach and trust, personality endorsements, live/local content, bundled digital offerings, event marketing tie-ins

Common Objections:

• "Our customers are online now, not listening to radio"
• "We tried radio before and it didn't work"
• "Digital is more trackable and cheaper"
• "We only have $X budget and that's not enough for meaningful radio"

Win Themes: Local dominance (everyone listens in their car, at work, etc.), trusted personalities making endorsements, proof of attribution, bundled packages that include streaming and digital display

What You'll Actually Do

Time Breakdown

Team Management (40%) | Selling/Key Accounts (30%) | Admin/Ops (20%) | Hiring (10%)

Key Activities

• Weekly 1-on-1s and pipeline reviews: You're coaching each rep on their deals, pushing them to ask for the close, identifying stalled opportunities. You're probably using Salesforce or a similar CRM that corporate mandates.
• Ride-alongs and joint sales calls: You're in the field with reps, modeling behaviors, helping close bigger deals, taking over when a deal needs executive presence
• Managing your own book of key accounts: You likely carry 5-10 major accounts yourself (biggest car dealer, hospital system, big retail chain) because they expect to deal with the market SVP
• Monthly sales meetings: Rah-rah team meetings, training on new products/packages, reviewing numbers, celebrating wins, addressing underperformance
• Hiring and firing: Radio sales has high turnover. You're constantly interviewing, onboarding new reps, and managing out people who aren't hitting their numbers
• Rate negotiations and proposals: Reviewing rate cards, approving discounts, building custom packages for agency buys, explaining why rates are what they are
• Community presence: Going to chamber events, networking lunches, local business mixers—you're the face of iHeartMedia in Albuquerque

The Honest Reality

What's Hard

• Radio ad budgets are shrinking as businesses shift to digital—you're fighting industry trends
• Your team's morale suffers when they hear "radio is dead" constantly from prospects
• You're managing a mix of veteran reps stuck in their ways and new reps who don't know how to sell without a warm lead
• Comp plans can be confusing and demotivating when structured badly
• Corporate pushes new products (streaming, podcasts, digital) that are harder to sell than traditional radio
• Albuquerque is a smaller market—fewer big spenders, more mom-and-pop advertisers with tight budgets
• You're stuck between your team (who want higher commissions and better leads) and corporate (who want better margins and more revenue)

What Success Looks Like

• Hit your annual market revenue target (which may be flat or slightly down vs prior year given industry trends)
• Keep your team's turnover below 30% annually
• Successfully upsell existing clients into bundled digital/streaming packages
• Develop 2-3 reps who are ready to promote or take on bigger accounts
• Maintain market share against other local radio competitors

Who You're Selling To (Your Team Sells To)

Primary Buyers:

• Local business owners (auto dealerships, HVAC companies, restaurants, jewelry stores)
• Marketing managers at regional chains with Albuquerque locations
• Occasionally ad agency buyers placing local buys for national brands

What They Care About:

• Reach in the Albuquerque metro
• Cost per thousand (CPM) and getting a deal
• Proof that radio still works (attribution, case studies)
• Personality endorsements from trusted local DJs
• Ease of production (they don't want to produce creative)
• Flexibility in scheduling and frequency

Requirements

• 7-10 years in media sales, with at least 3-5 years managing a sales team
• Proven ability to hit revenue targets and manage to a P&L
• Player-coach mentality—comfortable selling while managing
• Experience coaching and developing reps, including managing out underperformers
• Deep local market knowledge (Albuquerque preferred) or ability to quickly build relationships in a new market
• Comfort with data/analytics to prove radio ROI in a skeptical environment
• Willingness to grind—this is a hands-on, high-accountability role in a challenging industry