If I Had to Fire 90% of Media Buyers Tomorrow...

Let’s play a brutal hypothetical.

Say tomorrow, I walk into a media team — in-house, agency, doesn’t matter — and I'm forced to fire 90% of the buyers on the spot.

Not a vibe check. Not a “how hard are you working” review.

I mean a cold, ruthless performance cut. No emotions. Just metrics and mindset.

Here’s the twist:

It wouldn’t be the spreadsheet wizards I’d keep.

It wouldn’t be the top spenders.

And it sure as hell wouldn’t be the ones with the most certifications.

I’d keep the ones who do these five things instinctively — without being told.

1. They Think Like Investors, Not Operators

Most media buyers are campaign runners. Button clickers. Dashboard refreshers.

The elite? They think like portfolio managers.

They don’t ask “what’s the best audience for this ad?”

They ask “how do I deploy my capital (budget) across bets with different risk profiles, durations, and returns?”

That’s a different brain.

One spends budget. The other allocates capital.

2. They Don’t Fall in Love With Their Work

When a test tanks, they don’t get defensive.

When a winning ad starts to fatigue, they don’t mourn it.

When a strategy needs to die, they kill it fast.

They know marketing isn’t art school. It's war.

And the best ones? They’re emotionally unattached, but maniacally curious about why something didn’t work.

3. They Read Between the Data

Good buyers can read a dashboard.

Great ones can translate data into insight — and insight into action.

They know that a good CPA with crap LTV is a red flag. They know that CTR doesn’t matter without conversion context. And they can see patterns forming before they become obvious.

In short: they don’t just report the news. They predict it.

4. They Can Go Toe-to-Toe with a Creative Director

Elite buyers know what makes an ad scale.

Not from a vibes-based “this looks good” POV — but from signal fluency:

• What kind of hooks cut through

• How message sequencing impacts cold traffic

• What ad archetypes fatigue fast

• Where most creative briefs fail before launch

They’re not order-takers. They co-create high-performing ads — and they often save campaigns by pushing back on creative fluff.

5. They Understand Power Dynamics

This one gets missed.

A top buyer knows where their leverage comes from — and how to move upstream.

They push for strategic clarity before buildout.

They challenge the offer before the ads.

They ask hard questions when the landing page sucks.

They don’t hide behind “the funnel team” or “the client brief.”

Winners don’t ask for permission to do what needs to be done — they already know their job is to win.

Would You Make the Cut?

Look — I’ve worked with dozens of teams, hired and trained hundreds of media buyers.

The patterns are clear.

Most buyers are stuck in operator mode. They optimize. They tweak. They’re good… until things break.

But the top 10%?

They’re dangerous in the best way.

They drive business outcomes, not just ads.

And they never wait to be told what to fix — they find it, frame it, and fix it themselves.

So if you’re hiring, building, or managing media talent right now, ask yourself:

If you want help finding or building that 10%, that’s what we do:

👉 Book You Free Strategy Call — and let’s turn your media team into a weapon.

Best,
Peter Delle