Outside Sales Account Executive

Overview

You sell advertising solutions to local and regional businesses across the Triangle (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill). You're pitching a multi-platform package: traditional radio spots on iHeart's local stations, streaming audio ads, podcast sponsorships, digital display, and event sponsorships. You're mostly self-sourcing leads—driving around to businesses, cold calling, and working referrals from existing clients.

Role Snapshot

Company Context

Stage: Public company (emerged from bankruptcy in 2019)

Size: 12,625 employees nationwide

Growth: Traditional broadcast revenue declining industry-wide; iHeart pivoting hard to digital/streaming/podcasts to offset. Raleigh market is growing due to population influx.

Market Position: Dominant player in broadcast radio with massive reach, but competing with digital-native platforms (Spotify, YouTube, Google/Meta ads) for advertiser dollars.

GTM Reality

Pipeline Sources:

• 10-15% Inbound - existing clients renewing, station promotions generating leads, referrals from other advertisers
• 70-80% Outbound - you're driving around to businesses, cold calling, LinkedIn outreach, attending Chamber events
• 10-15% Renewals/Upsells - existing book of business you inherit or build

SDR/AE Structure: No SDR support. You're hunting your own leads.

SE Support: No dedicated SE. Marketing team provides campaign examples and attribution reports.

Competitive Landscape

Main Competitors:

• Other local radio groups (Beasley Media, Cumulus)
• Digital platforms (Google Ads, Meta, Spotify, YouTube)
• Local TV stations
• Out-of-home (billboards)

How They Differentiate: Massive reach (250M monthly listeners nationally, strong local station brands in Raleigh). Multi-platform approach—you can bundle broadcast, streaming, podcasts, and events. Attribution tech to show ROI better than traditional radio.

Common Objections:

• "Radio is dying / nobody listens anymore"
• "I can target better on Facebook for cheaper"
• "I tried radio before and didn't see results"
• "Your rates are too high vs digital"

Win Themes: Local brand awareness, reach frequency (hitting same audience repeatedly), driving store traffic, bundled solutions, trusted local station personalities doing live reads.

What You'll Actually Do

Time Breakdown

Prospecting (40%) | Client Meetings (30%) | Account Management (20%) | Internal (10%)

Key Activities

• Cold Outreach: You're making 20-40 cold calls per day, driving to businesses unannounced, sending LinkedIn messages. Most ignore you. You're trying to book 8-12 discovery meetings per week.
• Pitching Campaigns: You meet with business owners, marketing managers, or franchise operators. You're diagnosing their marketing goals (grand opening, seasonal promo, brand awareness), then building a custom campaign with a mix of radio spots, streaming ads, maybe a remote broadcast from their location.
• Proposal & Negotiation: You send proposals (usually $5-20K for a 4-8 week flight). Lots of back-and-forth on price, spot placement, and added value (bonus spots, event mentions). Many deals die here because they "need to think about it" or go with a cheaper digital option.
• Campaign Management: Once sold, you coordinate with traffic (ad scheduling), production (recording spots), and promotions (event logistics). Clients call you when their spot didn't air or the remote got rained out.
• Renewals & Upsells: Your existing accounts come up for renewal every quarter. You're checking in monthly, showing them attribution reports, trying to upsell them into podcasts or streaming. Many churn if they didn't see foot traffic increase.

The Honest Reality

What's Hard

• You're fighting the "radio is dead" perception constantly. Younger business owners don't listen to broadcast and don't believe their customers do either.
• Self-sourcing is a grind. No one's handing you leads. You're door-knocking car dealerships, calling dentists, attending Chamber breakfasts hoping for a connection.
• Deals are price-sensitive. Local businesses have tight budgets and compare your $10K campaign to a $2K Facebook ad spend. You lose a lot on price.
• Attribution is fuzzy. You can show reach and frequency, but proving ROI is hard—did the radio ad drive that sale or was it their Google search? Clients blame you when results are unclear.
• Existing accounts churn. Restaurants close, retail stores cut budgets, franchise owners get fired. Your book of business erodes 20-30% annually.
• Internal admin: You're entering proposals into Salesforce, coordinating with 4-5 internal teams (traffic, production, promotions, billing), chasing paperwork.

What Success Looks Like

• You're closing 4-6 new clients per month, averaging $8-12K per deal
• Your renewal rate on existing accounts is 70%+
• You're consistently at 90-110% of monthly quota
• You build a referral engine—happy clients send you their business owner friends
• You own a territory (e.g., all car dealerships in Durham, or all restaurants in Chapel Hill) and become the go-to rep

Who You're Selling To

Primary Buyers:

• Small business owners (restaurants, retail, home services, med spas)
• Marketing managers at mid-size local companies
• Franchise operators (car dealerships, fitness centers, QSRs)
• Regional chains expanding into Raleigh

What They Care About:

• Driving foot traffic or phone calls THIS MONTH (short-term ROI focus)
• Getting their business name out there vs competitors
• Cost per lead or cost per acquisition
• Flexibility to pause or adjust mid-campaign if it's not working
• Bonus value (free spots, event tie-ins, celebrity DJ mentions)

Requirements

• 2+ years in B2B or media sales (radio, TV, digital, or advertising agency experience preferred)
• Comfortable with 100% self-sourced pipeline—you need to hunt
• Valid driver's license and reliable car (you're driving around the Triangle daily)
• Thick skin for rejection and ghosting
• CRM hygiene (they'll want daily activity in Salesforce)
• Consultative selling skills—you're diagnosing needs, not just quoting rates