Onboarding plan

Advertising Sales Agent Onboarding Plan (30-60-90 Days)

A practical, printable plan to take a new advertising sales agent from first day to full productivity.

Updated By the Career Education Institute Curriculum Team
Advertising Sales Agent onboarding at a glance

Week one covers orientation, safety and shadowing. Days 1–30 build vocabulary and supervised practice on core procedures; days 31–60 move to independent work with competency sign-offs; days 61–90 focus on full productivity, cross-training and a credential plan.

Before day one

  • Confirm start date, schedule, pay and supervisor in writing
  • Verify required credentials: IAB Digital Media Sales certification, Google Ads certifications (as applicable)
  • Prepare equipment and access: CRM systems; media planning tools; audience research platforms; ad management systems
  • Assign a buddy or preceptor
  • Enroll the new hire in Advertising Sales Agent training so foundations are covered before or during week one

Week one: orient and protect

  • Workplace tour, emergency procedures and incident reporting
  • Follow advertising laws and truth-in-advertising rules
  • Protect client data
  • Avoid overpromising results
  • Travel safely to client meetings
  • Shadow an experienced advertising sales agent through a full shift
  • Training modules 1–3: role foundations, a day on the job and essential vocabulary (15 terms)

Days 1–30: learn

Goal: perform core tasks safely under supervision.

  • Supervised practice: build an advertising proposal
  • Supervised practice: calculate CPM
  • Supervised practice: report campaign results
  • Training modules 4–7: duties, step-by-step tasks, tools and safety
  • 30-day check-in: confidence, questions and early wins

Days 31–60: contribute

Goal: handle a regular workload independently.

  • Prospect for advertising clients: independently
  • Learn client marketing goals: independently
  • Recommend media packages: independently
  • Prepare proposals and pricing: independently
  • Competency sign-offs completed (see checklist below)
  • Training final knowledge check and certificate of completion
  • 60-day check-in

Days 61–90: own

Goal: full productivity and a growth plan.

  • Meet productivity and quality targets for the role
  • Begin cross-training on a secondary task
  • Agree on a credential goal (for example, IAB Digital Media Sales certification)
  • Discuss the career path: Ad Sales Assistant → Advertising Sales Agent → Senior Account Executive
  • 90-day review

Competency checklist

Skill or taskTrainedObservedSigned off
Build an Advertising Proposal
Calculate CPM
Report Campaign Results
Media planning
Audience data
Proposal writing
Negotiation

How to measure onboarding success

  • Time to independent shifts or first sale
  • Sales per hour, conversion or quota attainment
  • Customer satisfaction scores
  • 30- and 90-day retention

How Advertising Sales Agent training maps to this plan

  1. Introduction to the Advertising Sales Agent Role
  2. A Day on the Job
  3. Essential Advertising Sales Agent Vocabulary
  4. Core Duties and Responsibilities
  5. Common Tasks, Step by Step
  6. Tools, Equipment and Technology
  7. Safety, Compliance and Professional Standards
  8. Skills Employers Look For
  9. Launching Your Advertising Sales Agent Career
  10. Final Knowledge Check
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