What Good Sales Operations Looks Like in Digital Media

Introduction: The Role of Sales Operations in Digital Media Success

In the fast-evolving world of digital media, where ad inventory sales drive revenue, sales operations (sales ops) are the unsung hero behind the scenes. Good sales ops ensure campaigns are sold efficiently, delivered as promised, and optimized for growth - unlocking revenue potential and operational efficiencies. At ProOps Consulting, we’ve worked with digital media publishers to streamline their sales ops, aligning sales with adops to drive measurable results. In this post, we’ll explore what good sales operations looks like in digital media, focusing on how it enables revenue delivery, growth, and efficiencies. We’ll also share how ProOps’ services and tools, like the ProOps Ads Tracker, can support your digital media sales ops. Let’s get started.

What Are Sales Operations in Digital Media?

Sales operations in digital media involve the processes, tools, and workflows that empower sales teams to sell ad inventory effectively while ensuring seamless delivery and monetization. This includes forecasting inventory, managing sales pipelines, aligning with adops for campaign execution, and integrating with finance for accurate invoicing. Good sales ops in digital media deliver:

• Revenue Delivery: Ensuring sold campaigns are delivered on time and in full, meeting advertiser expectations.

• Growth: Optimizing sales strategies to scale revenue, balancing direct-sold and programmatic monetization.

• Efficiencies: Streamlining processes to reduce manual tasks, improve cross-team collaboration, and save time.

At ProOps, we see sales ops as a critical bridge between sales promises and adops delivery - a focus reflected in our Services like “Media delivery enablement” and “Sales operations acceleration.”

The Challenges Sales Operations Address in Digital Media

Digital media sales teams face unique challenges that good sales ops can solve:

• Revenue Delivery Risks: Misaligned sales and adops teams can lead to under-delivery, risking revenue and advertiser trust. For example, overpromising inventory without checking avails (a challenge we explored in Q7 of #AskingAdOps: “How come my campaign is under-delivering, but the avails showed me there was more than enough avails to deliver it in full?”) can cost thousands.

• Growth Barriers: Without optimized processes, sales teams struggle to scale - missing opportunities to upsell or balance direct-sold vs. programmatic revenue. ProOps’ “Optimize direct-sold vs programmatic monetization” service addresses this directly.

• Inefficiencies: Manual tasks like forecasting, reporting, and invoicing eat up hours. ProOps’ “Efficiency enhancements” and “Process audit and documentation” services identify and eliminate these bottlenecks.

• Cross-Team Silos: Sales, adops, and finance often operate in silos, leading to miscommunication and errors. ProOps’ “Working closely with finance for accurate invoicing” ensures alignment.

These challenges highlight why robust sales ops are essential for digital media success.

What Good Sales Operations Looks Like in Digital Media

Here’s how effective sales ops enable revenue delivery, growth, and efficiencies in digital media:

• 1. Streamlined Processes for Revenue Delivery: Good sales ops ensure campaigns are delivered as sold. ProOps’ “Media delivery enablement” service includes “Streamlining campaign setup” and “Cadence of delivery monitoring and optimization,” ensuring sales commitments are met. This prevents under-delivery issues, securing revenue and advertiser trust.

• 2. Data-Driven Growth Strategies: Sales ops enable growth by optimizing sales strategies. ProOps’ “Optimize direct-sold vs programmatic monetization” helps sales teams balance revenue streams, while “Sales process & client services training and education” equips them to upsell effectively. For example, better forecasting can identify opportunities to sell premium inventory, driving revenue growth.

• 3. Efficiency Through Automation and Alignment: Good sales ops reduce manual tasks and align teams. ProOps’ “Efficiency enhancements” and “Process audit and documentation” streamline workflows, saving hours on forecasting and reporting. Our “Efficient communication across stakeholders” service ensures sales, ad ops, and finance work together seamlessly, reducing errors and delays.

• 4. CRM and AdOps Integration for Scalability: Integrating tools like CRMs with ad ops systems (e.g., GAM) enables data-driven sales. ProOps’ “Advising on the cross-team workflows of CRM implementations” (Retail Media section) helps sales teams use GAM data for accurate forecasting, a topic we explored in Q17 of #AskingAdOps: “How can media operations teams integrate a CRM with their adtech stack?” This scalability drives growth and efficiency.

• 5. Stakeholder Management for Collaboration: Good sales ops foster collaboration. ProOps’ “Stakeholder management” service includes “Identify key stakeholders” and “Set feedback cadence,” ensuring clear communication lines between sales, ad ops, and finance - critical for revenue delivery and efficiency.

How ProOps Enables Sales Operations in Digital Media

At ProOps, our adops experience enhances our sales ops support for digital media clients:

• Revenue Delivery: Our “Media delivery enablement” services align sales and adops, ensuring campaigns deliver on time with “Cadence of delivery monitoring and optimization.”

• Growth Support: We help sales teams scale with “Optimize direct-sold vs programmatic monetization” and “Sales process & client services training,” driving revenue growth.

• Efficiency Gains: Our “Sales operations acceleration” services, like “Build business processes” and “Cost reduction recommendations,” streamline workflows, saving time and resources.

• Tool Support with ProOps Ads Tracker: The ProOps Ads Tracker supports sales ops by automating GAM reporting for ad ops teams, saving an estimated 4-6 hours weekly and catching more issues (e.g., under-delivery). This ensures sales promises are met, enhancing revenue delivery.

Call to Action: Elevate Your Digital Media Sales Operations with ProOps

Good sales operations in digital media unlock revenue delivery, growth, and efficiencies - key to staying competitive in 2025. At ProOps, we combine adops and sales ops experience to deliver results for digital media publishers. Ready to optimize your sales operations? Contact us for a personalized demo. Join the conversation on LinkedIn with #AskingAdOps!