In this sort of position, you would be challenged to sell the services of another company on the Internet. You may be working under the supervision of an online advertising sales manager or a director of Internet sales, but like mostInternet advertising jobs, you would be selling your expertise and the ability to match up client needs with proactive, informed solutions in the bustling Internet economy. As someone who works online, your job is mostly driven by researching the needs of the people you are selling advertising to and making sure that the placement of their ads meets those needs.
This kind of advertising sales has the advantage of being very strongly word-of-mouth driven; your biggest tools are going to be Google Adwords, Page Ranks, and Analytics. This is not quite the same as a traditional outside sales job, where enthusiasm can make up for a lot. This is a game with very rigorous metrics and solid numbers-driven analysis. Search-engine optimization will be one of the keys for this kind of career.
That said, like other home jobs, it has its perks. Being able to work from home means you have a near optimum case for setting up home-life balance. Plus, you cannot really beat the relaxed dress code; if you are selling advertising online, you do not have to dress up in the power outfit to impress customers; your clients will be impressed by your results, not your wardrobe. So, if you want to see your kids when they come home from school, or you have a live-in parent who needs care, being able to handle most of your business from home—either by email or instant messaging programs—is an excellent way to make money. This is one of the major benefits and draws of home jobs in general, and no job is more fundamentally sound in the information economy than the driving force of online Internet advertising sales.
Do not forget that what you are offering is online employment; the ability for other people to employ online techniques to get their work done. Like any contract-based work, you are going to be focusing on doing the things that they do not want to, be it managing their Google page rank, or tracking or recommending an affiliate program. Remember that you are selling your expertise along with Internet advertising.
An important consideration, if you are looking at doing online Internet advertising sales as your form of online employment, is deciding how much of your job is geared towards getting new clients versus servicing existing ones in their niche. While new customers and clients mean you have to do more work and follow up more false leads, you will be increasing the breadth of your career choice; the more services you sell to more sectors of the economy, the less likely that any particular sector suffering a downturn can bring your home job to a grinding halt.
On the other hand, working online from home doing advertising sales online, particularly with an existing client list, you can develop in-depth knowledge of a particular sector; this can make it easier to sell your expertise and to service your clients better. After all, your job is to boost sales for their business and to improve the general performance of that business. There is no better way to do that than with online ad sales. You will also need to do analysis on customer preferences to track how a given product is doing in online sales for one of your clients and need to be honest enough to admit when something is not working as part of your optimization strategy for a given market segment. A good online advertising sales agent knows that their trustworthiness and ability to admit mistakes are important parts of the long-term health of their client relationship and their business in general. It is easier to admit mistakes to an existing client with whom you already have a good working relationship.
When working from home as an online sales agent, you should remember that you are, in fact, doing a job. Set aside your work time and make sure that you have cleared away distractions. While there is always the appeal of working from home while watching TV or minding the kids, the reality is that too many intrusions will keep you from getting your work done at all, and you will start losing clients.
Even better, this is a career path that is open to nearly anyone. You have to be able to use the tools, but there is no formal degree program required. It pays fairly well once you have got a client base set up. You will certainly have an advantage by having advertising experience or a degree in marketing, but since the Internet economy has rebuilt most of the rules of advertising, it is not strictly necessary. Courses in the basics of business administration (economics, accounting, tax preparation, etc.) can help you considerably if you want to use this as a springboard to running your own business from home.
