[Hiring] Account Executive - Ad Sales @289102ab-4aba-4110-91e5-8414beca6f9a

Role Description

We are seeking a motivated, consultative Account Executive to grow advertising and sponsorship revenue across our established media brands. This is a client-facing, revenue-generating sales position focused on building new business, expanding strategic accounts, and developing integrated campaigns that help advertisers reach decision-makers in school, public and academic libraries. The ideal candidate brings strong prospecting skills, digital advertising fluency, and the ability to translate customer objectives into compelling cross-platform proposals.

Key Responsibilities

• Own and grow an assigned portfolio and territory of advertising and sponsorship accounts; develop account plans, cultivate senior-level relationships, and consistently achieve revenue targets.
• Prospect and win new business through targeted outreach, referrals, networking, CRM-driven sequences, and timely follow-up on inbound interest.
• Sell integrated programs across Library Journal, School Library Journal, The Horn Book and Open Shelf, including digital display, email newsletters, websites, print advertising, sponsored content, webinars, virtual programs, and in-person event sponsorships.
• Lead discovery conversations to understand advertisers’ business goals, target audiences, budgets, and measures of success; develop persuasive, customized proposals and presentations.
• Manage the full sales cycle, including prospecting, qualification, presentations, negotiation, closing, renewal, and upsell/cross-sell.
• Use campaign results, audience insights, and engagement metrics to identify opportunities, communicate value, and strengthen long-term client relationships.
• Maintain an accurate sales pipeline, opportunity stages, activity history, and forecasts in the CRM; take ownership of follow-through and sales performance.
• Collaborate with marketing, editorial, events, and production colleagues to shape executable client solutions and deliver a strong advertiser experience.
• Stay current on developments in public, academic and school libraries, children’s publishing, independent authors and small publishers, educational technology, and media advertising; bring new revenue ideas to the team.

Qualifications

• 3–5+ years of successful B2B sales experience in advertising, media, sponsorships, marketing services, data, or related solutions.
• Demonstrated success developing new accounts, growing existing relationships, and meeting or exceeding sales goals.
• Experience selling digital advertising and/or integrated print, digital, content, and event sponsorship programs.
• Strong consultative selling, prospecting, negotiation, presentation, and executive communication skills.
• Comfort using CRM systems (such as HubSpot) to manage outreach, opportunities, and forecasts.
• Ability to analyze campaign performance and communicate customer value with credibility.
• Self-directed, collaborative, highly accountable, and comfortable managing multiple opportunities in a fast-moving environment.

Preferred Experience

• Experience selling to publishers, library suppliers, technology vendors, education companies, or organizations serving librarians and educators.
• Knowledge of newsletters, sponsored content, webcasts, audience targeting, event sponsorships, and integrated media proposals.
• Familiarity with sales enablement, marketing automation, and media-sales systems such as Magazine Manager.

What Success Looks Like

• A healthy and growing new-business pipeline.
• Strong renewal and account expansion performance.
• Consistently accurate forecasts.
• Integrated sponsorship wins.
• Satisfied advertising partners who view Media Source as a strategic marketing resource.

Benefits

• Medical HRA & HSA Plan Offerings / Dental / Vision / Medical & Dependent Care Flexible Spending
• Basic $10k Life insurance Policy – company paid
• Supplemental Life Insurance & Short/Long Term Disability Insurance
• Generous Paid Time Off
• Annual Paid Volunteer Day Program & Two Annual Floating Holidays
• Paid Holidays (9 per calendar year)
• 401(k) with 4% Company match