COO, State Sales Directors (QLD, NSW, VIC/SA, WA), Account Managers, Direct AMs and Coordinators. Each role has defined responsibilities with clear accountability frameworks.
Salesforce CRM as the single source of truth. Supported by proposal tools, rate card systems, campaign management, and reporting dashboards feeding the weekly pipeline WIP.
Weekly WIP cadence, pipeline management with 1.5x gap coverage, approval workflows, discount authorisation tiers, and quarterly bonus frameworks aligned to FY27 targets.
State weighted pipeline must be at least 1.5x the gap between actual revenue and budget at all times.
Each AM maintains their individual pipeline at the required coverage ratio. SSD reviews weekly and provides coaching where coverage is insufficient.
Sales Directors, Account Managers, Direct AMs and Coordinators. Each role has tailored KPIs weighted to reflect scope and revenue impact.
SSDs review upstream vs downstream balance weekly. Red flag: AMs with full calendars but weak pipeline — likely spending time on renewals and avails rather than developing new opportunities.
Coordinators manage trafficking and delivery administration, freeing AMs to remain focused on upstream selling activities.
| Stage | People | Systems | IT | Process |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 Prospect | AM owns prospecting. SSD reviews target quality in WIP. DAM focuses on direct categories. | Salesforce — new lead entry. Pipeline tracker updated. Target account lists maintained. | CRM access, SharePoint target lists, Teams for SSD coaching. | Minimum activity standards per role. Upstream vs downstream balance reviewed weekly. |
| 02 Qualify | AM qualifies BANT. SSD coaches qualification criteria in WIP. | Salesforce — opportunity at 20%. Category and market classification added. | Salesforce CRM, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Teams for deal discussion. | Opportunity in Salesforce before progressing. Holdco / Indie / Direct classification required. |
| 03 Discovery | AM leads meeting. Coordinator prepares research. SSD joins key strategic meetings. | Salesforce — notes logged post-meeting. Research and audience data pulled. | Teams or in person. PowerPoint / 365. Research data systems. | Discovery documented in Salesforce within 24 hours. Next step committed with date. |
| 04 Proposal | AM builds proposal. Coordinator supports with rates and scheduling. SSD reviews significant proposals. | Rate card system. Salesforce at 50%. Proposal stored in SharePoint. | SharePoint version control. Outlook for submission. Teams for approval routing. | Discount tiers: AM up to 5%, SSD 6–15%, COO 16%+. All proposals logged in Salesforce. |
| 05 Negotiate | AM leads. SSD involved at discount threshold. COO for strategic deals. | Salesforce at 75%. Revised proposals versioned and stored. | Teams / Outlook. SharePoint document management. Digital approval workflow. | All concessions documented. Escalation by discount tier. Decision logged in Salesforce. |
| 06 Close | AM closes and confirms. Coordinator receives campaign brief. SSD notified of significant wins. | Salesforce — Closed Won. Win/loss count updated. Revenue attributed to period. | Booking system integration. Salesforce triggers campaign setup. Email confirmation sent. | Closed Won entered same day. Coordinator briefed within 24 hours. Invoice process initiated. |
| 07 Deliver | Coordinator manages trafficking. AM maintains client relationship. SSD monitors quality. | Traffic management system. Campaign monitoring. Post-campaign report. Renewal pipeline created. | Broadcast delivery systems. Traffic management platform. Post-campaign reporting tools. | Mid-campaign check-in for 4+ week flights. Post-campaign report within 5 days. Renewal initiated. |
Pipeline visibility, WIP accuracy, win/loss tracking and bonus calculations all depend on Salesforce data quality. SSD-led adoption accountability is essential to the entire framework.
The framework only functions when SSDs hold AMs accountable to the weekly cadence. SSD coaching quality at WIP directly determines pipeline health and revenue performance.
Systems and IT provide the infrastructure but cannot substitute for the human cadence. Weekly WIPs, discovery meetings and negotiation skills remain the highest-value activities.
Indicative benchmarks for a new AM during ramp. Your SSD will calibrate based on your market and portfolio.
These standards apply from your very first day. They are not ramp-period exceptions.
Every prospect, opportunity and client interaction goes into Salesforce within 24 hours. If it is not in Salesforce, it does not exist for forecasting, WIP reporting or bonus calculation.
A verbal yes is not revenue until it is in Salesforce as Closed Won. This directly affects forecast accuracy and state pipeline reporting.
You can offer up to 5% at your own discretion. Above 5%, go to your SSD before the client — not after. Offering unauthorised discounts erodes margin and credibility.
No opportunity in Salesforce should exist without a confirmed next action and a date. An opportunity with no next step is not a pipeline — it is a wish list. Your SSD will challenge every one in WIP.
The weekly WIP is your primary accountability and coaching forum. You present your pipeline, your activity and your challenges. Come prepared — your SSD will have reviewed your Salesforce data before the meeting.
A complete, accurate campaign brief within 24 hours of close is expected. Incomplete briefs cause delivery errors and client relationship damage.
"Discovery call with Sarah Chen (Marketing Manager). Client confirmed used car volumes down 20% YoY — awareness problem, not pricing. Target audience 35–55, western suburbs. Success metric: yard visits and test drive bookings. Margin per vehicle approx $2–4k. Client open to 13-week campaign. Agreed to review proposal week of 23 June. Updated SF stage to Discovery 35%."
atn delivers radio advertising across metro and regional markets. Formats include live reads (highest impact, personality-driven), produced spots (30 and 60 second), sponsorships and integrated content packages. Radio delivers high-frequency, high-reach campaigns reaching audiences in-car and at work — often reaching decision-makers during commute windows.
atn's television offering covers spot advertising and sponsorship packages across broadcast markets. Television delivers mass reach with high visual impact — best suited to brand awareness, product launches and campaigns requiring emotional storytelling. atn's TV offering works strongly in combination with radio for frequency layering.
The strongest commercial case is often a radio and TV combination — radio builds frequency and recall, television builds brand stature. Multi-platform packages carry higher average deal values and are harder for competitors to match. Always consider whether a combined package serves the client's objective better than a single medium.
9 AMs · Holdco-heavy · Highest average deal value
8 AMs · Strong agency and direct mix
3 AMs · Strong direct and property categories
1 AM · Reported through VIC SSD
Rep house · Resources and mining categories
Managed through QLD SSD · Lifestyle and tourism
Australian media buying operates through three distinct client types. Understanding which type you are dealing with changes your approach, your contacts and your commercial terms.
The major holding companies control the largest advertising budgets in Australia. Buying is centralised through trading teams. Relationships are managed at multiple levels — trading directors, investment leads, planners and buyers. Rates are often negotiated at the group level. Your contact may not be the decision maker on rate — understand the approval chain before presenting pricing.
Independent agencies are not part of a holding company. Buying decisions are often made by the same person you are talking to — faster cycle, more relationship-driven. Independents value genuine partnership and are more open to non-standard packages and creative solutions. A significant growth opportunity for atn.
Direct clients deal with atn without an agency intermediary. Direct deals require more education — you are building the business case from scratch. However, direct relationships are often stickier and less price-competitive than agency buys. The DAM role specialises in this channel.
ARN, SCA (Southern Cross Austereo) and Nova Entertainment are the primary radio competitors. Know their station line-ups and audience profiles in your market. Where atn's audience is stronger, lead with the data. Where it is comparable, lead with the relationship and the service.
Meta, TikTok, Google and programmatic digital are the biggest budget competitors. The objection "we are moving budget to digital" is common. Your answer: radio reaches audiences in-car and at work that digital misses — and frequency layering with digital produces stronger results than either medium alone.
Free-to-air networks (Nine, Seven, Ten) and streaming (Foxtel, Binge, Stan) compete for TV budgets. atn's strength is specific market coverage and the combination of radio frequency with television reach — a proposition the pure-play TV networks cannot match.
Context: An AM is meeting the marketing manager of a multi-franchise car dealership group. This is the first structured discovery meeting. Note how the AM leads with the client's business, not atn's product.
Business objective: Increase used car yard visits and test drive bookings. Target audience: 35–55, families, western suburbs, 15–20km radius. Measurable outcome: yard visits and test drive bookings. Budget signal: $2–4k gross margin per vehicle. Next step: Proposal presentation — [agreed date]. Opportunity stage: Discovery (35%). Category: Automotive Direct.
Context: An AM has a first meeting with a buyer at an independent agency whose client is a mid-size retail chain. Note how the approach differs from a direct client meeting — the agency buyer is not the advertiser, they are an intermediary whose credibility with their client depends on the quality of your advice to them.
Agency: [Agency Name] — Client: National Homeware Co — Buyer: Priya [Surname], Buyer. Brief: brand awareness and foot traffic, mid-premium homewares, 4-week burst. Audience: Women 30–54, HHI $100k+. Budget: $40–50k radio. Digital confirmed (Meta + programmatic). Markets: Melbourne and Sydney. Next step: Proposal with reach/frequency model at $45k + retail case study — due Thursday [date]. Stage: Discovery (35%).
This is what a well-completed Salesforce opportunity looks like at the Proposal stage (50%). Fields in teal are mandatory — missing these will be raised in your weekly WIP.
A strong atn proposal has six sections in this order. The order matters — starting with the client's business goal, not with atn's product, positions you as a strategic partner rather than a media vendor.
These are the five most common objections you will face in your first 90 days. The goal is never to win the argument — it is to understand the real concern and respond to that, not the surface objection.
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