Account Executive | Outside Sales | Digital Marketing & Advertising

USA TODAY Co.•Knoxville, TN

7d•Hybrid

About The Position

LocaliQ, part of USA TODAY Co., is seeking an Integrated Media Specialist for an outside sales role. This position focuses on helping businesses grow by combining advanced marketing technology, trusted audience reach, and expertise to deliver results. The role involves working at the intersection of digital marketing and a trusted media network to connect businesses with customers across the full marketing funnel. The specialist will partner with clients to understand their goals, build strategies using performance-driven digital solutions and the USA TODAY Network's reach, and deliver measurable outcomes. This is a consultative, relationship-driven sales position responsible for the full sales cycle, from net-new prospecting to long-term account growth. The role involves both hunting for new business and managing an existing client base, creating tailored marketing strategies, guiding businesses from initial contact through performance discussions, and identifying opportunities to deepen partnerships. The Integrated Media Specialist acts as a trusted marketing partner, balancing new business development with retention, upsell, and account expansion to drive long-term client value. A post-sales team supports campaign performance, optimization, and reporting, with additional support from Data and Insights teams, Client Strategists, and product-specific resources. The first 90 days will focus on gaining confidence in LocaliQ’s solutions, tools, and sales approach, building prospecting and discovery habits, and ultimately owning the territory and sales cycle end-to-end with necessary support and coaching.

Requirements

3+ years of B2B sales experience with success in new business development, account growth, or business development roles.
Ability to run a full-cycle, consultative sales process—from discovery through proposal, negotiation, and close.
Strong prospecting skills across phone, email, social, networking, and relationship-based outreach.
Experience using CRM and sales tools with disciplined pipeline management and follow-up.
Comfort learning and discussing digital marketing solutions such as search, social, display, and video (direct experience is a plus, not required).
Excellent communication skills, business curiosity, and the ability to build credibility with diverse clients and stakeholders, influencing decisions through clear data-driven recommendations.
Proficiency with CRM, Microsoft Office Suite, and AI tools such as Microsoft Copilot and Perplexity.
Valid driver’s license and vehicle insurance.

Nice To Haves

Direct experience with digital marketing solutions such as search, social, display, and video.

Responsibilities

Build a consistent prospecting cadence using cold calls, email, social outreach, networking, and in-person or virtual meetings to develop a strong pipeline.
Manage and grow a territory by balancing new business development, client retention, and account expansion.
Lead thoughtful discovery conversations to understand business goals, marketing challenges, and growth opportunities.
Build and present data-informed digital and traditional marketing proposals that connect strategy, tactics, and budget to client goals.
Own the full sales cycle—from initial outreach through close—while maintaining accurate CRM activity, pipeline management, and forecasting.
Partner with internal account management, creative, and strategy teams to support strong client outcomes.
Stay engaged post-sale through reporting, optimization, and performance conversations that support renewals and continued growth.