With a mix of inflation and economic downturns already affecting the ad tech industry, leaders in their ad ecosystem are scrambling to tighten their belts. For sales teams under pressure more than ever — in a world of factors outside their control— adaptability is part of the advertiser’s make-up.

Not so long ago, sales teams had to adapt to cope with a global pandemic. The ad industry endured partly by ceasing old processes and sales tactics that didn’t support the long-term growth of their media company and adopting real-time strategies they could control somewhat. 

In the process, sales teams saw that they had more adaptability and ability to brave the storm than they probably realised. As the industry continues to deliver effective results, navigating this next recessionary phase of adapting will take a continuous pursuit of sales efficiency.

Focussing on the right ad buyers 

Now is therefore the time to stay focused on generating the highest-quality opportunities for revenue streams, as high-volume, low-quality leads will no longer drive the outcomes advertisers demand. Advertisers can’t afford not to. And if media sales teams aren’t acting on new creative, bespoke solutions for them, they’ll go to a competitor. 

As advertisers rethink their audience targeting — either by amending their customer profiles or rethinking their target account list — they’ll need to move away from sales teams who’re not delivering higher-value actions. Advertisers must also embrace crucial metrics, such as intent and engagement, carefully tracking bespoke ad campaigns plus interactions with customer prospects based on interactions (e.g. via social media), Internet searches, and competitor actions. 

Leaving behind ad strategies that don’t deliver truly focused ROI outcomes help sales teams fully embrace ones that do, prioritising client budgets toward the platforms and services that produce results. 

Focussing on data for better visualisation 

The smart advertising clients are already starting to embrace a transition toward monitoring and measuring campaigns as they move through the various buying stages. Establishing data for each advertiser account is essential from beginning to end, and that applies from the perspective of the ad buyer as well as the ad sales team in media houses. 

Visualising all advertiser accounts fully (via data collection and manipulation), moving from the “customer unaware” phase to post-sales, gives advertisers the power to make trend-based decisions and take the next best steps that directly impact revenue. If an account remains static in one stage for a long period, it could be a sign that the marketing team needs to pull out their last attempt to rejuvenate the account or indeed deprioritise it. 

As advertisers continue preparing for the next change in the market (as if they haven’t had enough change already) within the ad industry, they must remain focussed on the right buyers whilst identifying which strategies they can concentrate on adapting now. 

Using data that allows ad sales teams to have a better view of the overall steps required can and should help them have a clearer direction for the future. 

The advertising industry maybe cannot control the market, but media sales teams can optimise to survive and thrive during challenging and volatile periods. By focussing on taking the next best action, the industry will set itself up to emerge at the other end even stronger.

“Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change” — Steven Hawking. 

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