A tree care sales manager leads the arborists who walk properties and write estimates. They coach those estimators, check the pricing on large removals, grow plant health care programs into revenue that returns every year, and report sales and close rates to the general manager.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, landscaping and tree care companies · BLS, May 2025
As a Sales Manager for our Arborist / Tree Care division, you will be responsible for leading and motivating our sales team, tracking performance, establishing and achieving revenue goals, and contributing to the overall growth and success of our company.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Lead the sales team by inspiring and motivating them to achieve their sales targets.
Ensure the sales team is fully trained and knowledgeable about our range of tree care services.
Track individual and team performance, providing feedback and coaching where necessary.
Develop and implement strategies to achieve revenue goals.
Collaborate with the marketing team to generate leads and increase customer engagement.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Monitor daily sales activities and provide guidance to the sales team.
Conduct regular team meetings to discuss strategies and progress.
Communicate with customers to understand their tree care needs and recommend suitable services.
Regularly report to the Director of Sales on sales performance.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Revenue per hour: $200
Customer Satisfaction Rating: >4.8 stars
New Sales: Increase by 10% quarterly
Lead Conversion Rate: >50%
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, or related field.
Certified Arborist.
At least 5 years of experience in sales management.
Proficient in using CRM software.
Excellent communication and leadership skills.
6. Preferred Experience
Prior experience in the Arborist / Tree Care industry.
Experience in leading sales team in a similar industry.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to work in various weather conditions.
Ability to travel to different work sites when necessary.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours are 9 AM to 5 PM from Monday to Friday.
Some travel may be required for client meetings and site visits.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Salary range: $60,000 - $80,000 per year.
Performance-based bonuses.
Health, Dental, and Vision insurance.
401k plan.
10. Company Culture and Overview
At [INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE], we believe in fostering a culture of growth, team collaboration, and customer satisfaction. We provide our employees with opportunities for continuous learning and career advancement, and we emphasize a work-life balance. We are committed to providing top-quality tree care services to our customers and enhancing the beauty and safety of their outdoor spaces.
11. How to Apply
If you meet the above criteria and want to be part of a growth-oriented company focused on customer satisfaction, please send your resume to [INSERT EMAIL HERE] or apply online at [INSERT WEBSITE LINK HERE].
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Everyone on this team is an arborist first. The manager coaches people who can read a tree but may never have asked for a signature, and checks that each price covers the climbers, machines and risk the job really takes.
Large removals get a second look
A removal over a house may need a crane, a traffic plan or a second day. An estimator who prices a few of these a year can miss a piece. The manager sets a price or tree size above which a second arborist checks the crew hours, machines and access notes before the proposal goes out, and rides along on a new estimator's first big jobs.
Lost removals tell you the most
Small prunes close easily. Large removals carry the most money and the most reasons to say no. The manager reads the notes on every lost removal: price, a second bid, timing, or an owner who wasn't ready. Repeated losses to one competitor or one objection points to a pricing or coaching fix that one blended close rate would hide.
Plant health care is the repeat revenue
A removal happens once, but a plant health care program can come back every year. The manager sets goals for programs sold and renewed, by estimator. Where a program renews by itself, state law may apply. New York, for example, requires clear terms before the customer agrees, consent before charging, and a notice they can keep that explains how to cancel. A yearly program also needs a reminder fifteen to forty-five days before the cancellation deadline. Source: New York General Business Law section 527-a: Automatic renewal.
Teaching arborists to ask for the job
The template requires Certified Arborist status. That lets the manager talk trees with any estimator. The coaching is about the visit itself. Many arborists explain a tree's problem well and then stop talking. The manager rides along, listens, and teaches them to offer clear choices, such as pruning now and removal later, and to ask the owner which one they want.
How much tree care sales managers make
Sales managers who work for landscaping companies earned a median of $116,350 a year ($55.94 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s below the $148,270 median for sales managers in all industries. About 610 of the 637,080 sales managers in that survey work for landscaping and tree care companies.
A salary plus the template's performance bonuses. Tie the bonus to the team's numbers rather than deals the manager closes personally, since the manager also signs off on the estimators' prices. Decide before spring whether storm work counts.
Landscaping and tree care companies
$116,350$116,350 median Middle half $87,050–$158,920 10th–90th $69,790–$207,320
All industries
$148,270$148,270 median Middle half $100,360–$207,340 10th–90th $73,170–$290,540
$0k$50k$100k$150k$200k$250k$300k$350k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Landscaping and tree care companies
$69,790
$87,050
$116,350
$158,920
$207,320
All industries
$73,170
$100,360
$148,270
$207,340
$290,540
BLS doesn’t publish pay for tree care companies on their own. These figures cover landscaping services, which include them. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
The pay line in the template above is an example from our Role Blueprint. Set yours from these figures and what local companies pay.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Is a Certified Arborist who can defend a diagnosis to an estimator
Spots a missing crane day, permit or access problem on a removal estimate
Coaches estimators on ride-alongs and in proposal reviews
Builds plant health care into each estimator's yearly goals
Keeps the pipeline honest: dates, values and reasons lost
Teach these on the job
Crew-hour rates for each kind of tree work
Your CRM's pipeline and close-rate reports
Who approves prices on crane and storm jobs
Which yards and crews have room in which weeks
Your plant health care program tiers
Estimates, proposals and the pipeline usually live in the company's tree care software. Tell candidates whether the manager still writes estimates of their own and how many accounts they keep.
Tree care sales manager interview questions
Two of the 6 questions we'd ask, and what a strong answer sounds like. Ask every candidate the same questions, and rate each answer on your own before you compare notes.
Situational · Chronic underestimates
One salesperson keeps underestimating removals. What do you do?
A strong answer: Reviews their jobs' estimated versus actual hours, rides along and coaches on what they miss.
Behavioral · Technical sales training
Tell me about a time you trained salespeople on tree care, such as pruning standards or spotting hazards.
A strong answer: Explains the content, field practice and how estimates or close rates changed.
Keep storm weeks separate, since a storm can lift a team's numbers without anyone selling better. Base targets on your last full season without a major storm.
Revenue per hour
The template doesn't define it. One workable reading is sold price divided by the crew hours the estimate plans. Write your definition into the estimating rules so every estimator is measured on the same math.
Customer Satisfaction Rating
Review and survey ratings from the team's customers, read by estimator. A low score on one estimator's jobs is the topic for that person's next ride-along.
New Sales
Signed work for the quarter next to the same three months a year earlier, with removals, pruning, plant health care and storm work on separate lines.
Lead Conversion Rate
Signed proposals divided by estimate visits, by estimator and job type. When one lead source closes poorly for every estimator, take it to the marketing manager instead of the coaching plan.
The template says the sales manager reports to a Director of Sales. Who is that?
If you have no Director of Sales, the closest role in this bundle is the general manager, who owns prices and the sales plan for a market. That is the line this page uses. With two yards, the manager may report to one GM and work with the other on that market's numbers. Write the actual line into the posting.
How much does a tree care sales manager make?
Sales managers who work for landscaping companies earned a median of $116,350 a year ($55.94 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $87,050 and $158,920 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
How do you coach an arborist who explains well but rarely closes?
Ride along and count the questions they ask before they start explaining. Strong estimators find out what the owner wants first: shade, a view, safety over the roof, or a lower bill. Then the proposal answers that. Have them end every visit by naming the choices and asking which one the owner wants, and practice it with them before the next visit.
Should the sales manager handle HOA and property manager accounts?
Often, at least at first. These accounts want one contact who knows their trees, their board and their history with you. A multi-year pruning plan for a community is a big proposal, and the manager is usually the one to write and present it. Once the account is steady, hand day-to-day visits to an estimator and keep the yearly review.
What happens to the sales pipeline after a big storm?
It stalls. Estimators switch to storm visits, and pruning and plant health care proposals sit for weeks. Once storm calls slow down, the manager has the team call every open proposal, find out whether the tree was damaged, and update the price or book a new visit. Then reset the quarter's goals with the general manager so storm work doesn't hide a drop in regular sales.
What does the template's weather line mean for a sales manager?
It means site work: walking properties with estimators and owners in rain, heat or cold, and riding along on big removals. Write those tasks into the posting. The ADA rules list the employer's own job description, if it was written before the job was posted, among the evidence a court or agency weighs when deciding what the job's core duties are. A plain task list helps when someone later asks for an accommodation.
