Media Sales Report: Navigating Challenges, Culture, and Change

The Center for Sales Strategy’s 2025 Media Sales Report provides a comprehensive analysis of the media sales landscape, drawing on insights from sales managers and frontline sellers to highlight the industry’s challenges, evolving workplace dynamics, and shifting cultural priorities. 

The report reveals a sector in transition, balancing the demands of recruitment, hybrid work models, compensation preferences, and a growing disconnect between leadership and staff outlooks. 

Recruitment remains a significant hurdle for sales managers, though its intensity is waning. In 2023, 65% of managers identified hiring as their top challenge, a figure that has dropped to 38% by 2025. This decline suggests improvements in talent pipelines or shifting priorities, yet hiring remains critical as over 70% of managers plan to expand their teams, with only 2.5% intending to downsize. The push for growth underscores the need for skilled salespeople to drive revenue in an increasingly competitive market.

However, the report highlights that most media sales teams remain lean. Thirty percent of organizations operate with just 1-5 salespeople, and 28% have teams of 6-10. These compact teams amplify the importance of each member’s contribution, making effective recruitment and retention strategies essential. For media companies, investing in robust hiring processes—such as targeted job marketing, streamlined onboarding, and competitive benefits—will be critical to building high-performing teams capable of meeting revenue goals.

To aid recruitment, 70% of sales managers use talent assessments to evaluate candidates. These tools aim to predict a candidate’s potential success by assessing skills, personality traits, and cultural fit. 

However, confidence in their accuracy is lukewarm: only 13% of managers consider them “very accurate,” and 45% rate them as “reasonably accurate.” This leaves over 40% of managers skeptical about their predictive value, raising questions about their role in hiring decisions.

One of the report’s most striking findings is the growing disconnect between sales managers and frontline sellers regarding the industry’s future. While 73% of managers believe their organizations are well-positioned to remain competitive, only 50% of salespeople share this optimism. This “vision gap” has widened since 2021, when 82% of managers and 62% of sellers expressed confidence in the industry’s trajectory.

This divergence could stem from differing perspectives: managers, with access to strategic plans and financial data, may feel more confident in long-term prospects, while salespeople, facing daily client interactions and market pressures, may perceive greater uncertainty. Bridging this gap requires leadership to actively engage with frontline staff, sharing strategic visions and soliciting feedback to ensure alignment. Town halls, cross-functional workshops, and open-door policies can help foster a shared sense of purpose.

Key Takeaways and Strategic Implications

The 2025 Media Sales Report paints a vivid picture of an industry at a crossroads. To remain competitive, media organizations must address the following priorities:

• Strengthen Recruitment and Retention: With lean teams and a drive for growth, companies must refine hiring processes, leveraging both assessments and qualitative evaluations while offering competitive benefits to attract talent.
• Embrace Hybrid Work: Flexible work models are here to stay. Investing in technology and culture-building initiatives will ensure productivity and engagement in hybrid environments.
• Adapt Compensation Models: As salespeople prioritize stability, organizations should offer balanced pay structures that combine fixed salaries with performance incentives.
• Bridge the Vision Gap: Leadership must align with frontline staff through transparent communication and inclusive decision-making to foster shared optimism and purpose.
• Enhance Company Sentiment: Addressing the third of salespeople who wouldn’t recommend their workplace requires actionable steps, such as improved communication, support, and career development opportunities.