Many salespeople still think their job is to convince people. Convince them to advertise. Convince them to increase budgets. Convince them to sponsor something. Convince them that digital works. Convince them to try a new product.
But the best salespeople I know don’t spend their time convincing. They spend their time influencing. And there’s a big difference between the two.
Convincing feels transactional. Influence feels relational. Convincing pushes, while influence attracts. Convincing tries to overcome objections, but influence builds enough trust that objections naturally shrink. This distinction matters more than ever in media sales today, because advertisers aren’t just buying ad products anymore. They’re buying confidence — in your expertise, your strategy, your understanding of their business, your ability to help them grow, and whether they trust you enough to guide them.
Buyers make emotional decisions first — them justify them logically
One of the biggest mistakes sales organizations make is assuming buyers make decisions rationally. They don’t. People make decisions emotionally first and justify them logically afterward. That doesn’t mean data and strategy don’t matter; they absolutely do. But emotion is what creates movement.
Think about the salespeople you trust most. It’s usually not because they overwhelmed you with statistics. It’s because they made you feel understood, confident, comfortable, inspired, safe and optimistic. That emotional connection changes everything.
And in today’s crowded digital landscape, trust has become one of the most valuable currencies in sales.
The best sellers are positioned as trusted advisers
Years ago, media sales was often about access. You controlled inventory, distribution and audience reach. Today, advertisers have endless options for where to place their advertising. What they can’t easily buy is trusted guidance, local expertise, strategic insight, authentic storytelling, human perspective or community connection. That’s where media companies still have an enormous advantage. You are the very best potential trusted adviser for your advertisers. But only if sales teams stop acting like product reps and start acting like advisers. The highest-performing sellers today don’t walk into meetings asking: “What would you like to advertise?”
They start influence-based conversations:
Familiarity builds trust before the meeting ever happens
One of the most important shifts happening in sales right now is this: Influence increasingly happens before the sales conversation even begins. Clients are researching you. Looking at your LinkedIn profile. Reading your posts. Watching your videos. Seeing your comments. Checking your website. Looking at how you show up professionally.
Your personal brand now walks into the room before you do. And that’s especially important in media sales, where many sellers are competing against companies with larger platforms, bigger budgets and more automation. Visibility creates familiarity. Familiarity creates trust. Trust shortens sales cycles.
This is one reason I continue encouraging media professionals to:
Not because it’s self-promotion. Because of its influence.
The strongest salespeople ask better questions
Influence is not about talking more; it’s often about listening better. The best sellers know how to uncover: emotional motivations, business fears, growth frustrations, competitive pressures, leadership goals or personal ambitions.
Because buying decisions are rarely just about marketing tactics. A business owner may say: “We need more leads.” But underneath that could be evidence of a fear about slowing revenue, pressure from ownership, anxiety about competition, uncertainty around digital transformation or frustration over inconsistent results. Salespeople who understand those deeper motivations build stronger relationships and better solutions.
Confidence is contagious
One thing I’ve noticed consistently over the years: Clients often borrow confidence from the salesperson. If you sound uncertain, overly scripted, defensive or transactional, prospects feel it. But when you communicate with calm confidence, strategic thinking and clarity, it changes the energy of the conversation. That doesn’t mean pretending to know everything.
It means being prepared, mastering your craft, bringing ideas, communicating clearly, asking thoughtful questions and genuinely believing you can help
People are drawn to confidence — especially during uncertain times.
In my last column, I talked about how effective follow-up is one of the biggest missed opportunities in media sales. Most follow-up today sounds like:
“Just checking in.”
“Wanted to follow up.”
“Any thoughts?”
That’s not influence. That’s chasing. Erase “just checking in” from your vocabulary!
Influential follow-up adds value. Every touchpoint should reinforce: “This person understands my business.” That’s how trust compounds over time.
The future of media sales is human
As AI becomes more integrated into advertising and marketing, human influence becomes even more important. AI can automate campaigns, optimize targeting, generate content and analyze data. But it cannot fully replace emotional intelligence, empathy, strategic intuition, trust, relationship-building and authentic human connection. And those are the exact skills modern media organizations should be developing inside their sales teams.
The future winners in media sales will not simply be the companies with the most products. They’ll be the organizations with sales professionals who know how to build trust, communicate expertise, influence ethically, create confidence and become indispensable advisers to their clients
Because the best salespeople don’t convince people to buy. They influence people to believe. If this is all resonating with you, I highly recommend the book “Influence is your Superpower,” by Zoe Chance. It’s a terrific book, full of practical insights.
Dream Local Digital Founder and Client Success Officer Shannon Kinney brings more than 30 years of experience in leadership roles, developing scalable digital marketing strategies and supporting and training media companies with scalable digital revenue growth. She played a vital role in the development of prominent internet giants, including Cars.com, CareerBuilder.com, Knight Ridder Digital, LinkedIn, Google, eBay and Microsoft. She worked with media companies worldwide until pivoting to found Dream Local Digital. Since Dream Local Digital's creation in 2009, Shannon has served on the Local Media Association board, been awarded the LMA Digital Innovation Award, appeared on hundreds of stages as a keynote speaker, and helped media companies transform their business model. She currently also serves as a project lead on the Local Media Association Branded Content Project Cohorts, helping media companies transform through new revenue streams. Shannon can be reached at shannon@dreamlocal.com.
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