A commercial developer sales representative fills the company's office, retail and light industrial buildings with tenants and buyers. They find prospects, pitch build-to-suit projects to businesses that need a new building, lead tours of finished and half-built space, and negotiate proposals and letters of intent inside the sales manager's limits.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, commercial building contractors · BLS, May 2025
Annual pay: 10th percentile $46,840, middle half $65,510 to $130,290, 90th percentile $192,390. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
Reports to
Sales Manager
Department
Sales
Schedule
Weekdays 8 to 5, with site tours · Tours and prospect meetings across the territory, plus some evening or weekend events with brokers and business groups
Also called
Leasing representative · Leasing associate · Commercial leasing agent · Business development representative
Serve as the primary point of contact to identify and cultivate new opportunities with commercial builders and developers. Leverage extensive industry knowledge to pitch development projects and drive commercial deal closures. Play a vital role in expanding the company’s market presence and contributing to ongoing revenue growth.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Identify and research potential commercial development opportunities within the assigned territory.
Develop and deliver tailored sales presentations highlighting project value and feasibility.
Negotiate contract terms and close commercial deals that align with company goals.
Maintain robust client relationships and follow up on project progress to ensure satisfaction.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Conduct market research and prospect outreach via calls, emails, and in-person meetings.
Schedule and attend client meetings, site visits, and project reviews.
Prepare and deliver compelling commercial proposals and project pitches.
Update and maintain client and project data in the CRM system consistently.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
New Sales Revenue: Achieve a target of $250,000 per quarter.
Lead Conversion Rate: Maintain a minimum conversion rate of 25%.
Sales Cycle Time: Reduce the average sales cycle time to 45 days.
Client Retention Rate: Achieve a client satisfaction score of >4.5 stars on post-project surveys.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Construction Management, or a related field.
Minimum of 2-3 years’ sales experience within the commercial or construction industry.
Strong communication, negotiation, and relationship-building skills.
Proficient in CRM software and Microsoft Office Suite.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience working directly with commercial builders and developers.
Proven track record of closing high-value commercial deals.
Familiarity with commercial construction processes and project management principles.
History of exceeding sales targets in a competitive market environment.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to travel frequently to visit project sites and meet with clients.
Capacity to endure long periods of drug driving and office work.
Occasional lifting of marketing materials (up to 20 lbs) during trade shows or events.
Flexibility to work in varying weather conditions during on-site visits.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Standard working hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
Occasional evening or weekend events may be required for client meetings or industry networking.
Regular travel within the designated territory is expected.
Flexible schedule to accommodate client availability and project deadlines.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Base Salary: $50,000 - $65,000 per year, commensurate with experience.
Commission Structure: Attractive performance-based commissions on closed deals.
Health Benefits including Medical, Dental, and Vision coverage.
401(k) plan with company match and additional fringe benefits.
10. Company Culture and Overview
We foster an inclusive culture that values innovation, collaboration, and continuous learning.
Our team is empowered to take risks and drive initiatives that directly impact business growth.
We are committed to professional development and offer numerous opportunities for career advancement.
Join us to be part of a dynamic, forward-thinking company that is as invested in your success as you are.
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].
Need help filling this role? HireBus posts the ad, Iris interviews every applicant by phone before you do, and you decide who to hire. Start hiring now
What a builder-developer's sales rep does differently
This rep sells space the company owns, often before the walls are up. The job is finding and sorting prospects and bringing each one to a deal the sales manager will sign, not setting the terms alone.
Ask what the business does before the tour
Before booking a tour, the rep asks what will happen in the space: the kind of business, headcount, hours, deliveries, power and water needs, and any chemicals kept on site. A restaurant, medical office or gym can need parking, plumbing or a zoning approval that a shell building wasn't planned for. The rep checks those answers with the project manager first, so nobody tours a suite that can't take the use.
Tours on a site that's still being built
Pre-leasing means walking prospects through a building with crews at work. The rep books each tour with the superintendent, follows the site's rules for hard hats, vests and footwear, keeps guests on the route the super sets, and stays clear of areas closed for lifts or pours. Bring printed floor plans, since a bare slab and a steel frame are hard to picture as a finished suite.
Prospecting emails follow federal rules
Cold emails to business owners and tenant brokers are commercial email. According to the FTC's CAN-SPAM guide, the law reaches every commercial message, emails between businesses included. Put the company's real mailing address in each one, give people an easy way to unsubscribe, and stop emailing anyone who asks within 10 business days. Keep one opt-out list for the whole leasing team. Source: FTC: CAN-SPAM Act compliance guide for business.
Log the first contact with every prospect
Tenants often arrive through a tenant's broker, and two brokers can claim the same company. The rep logs each prospect the day it first comes in, with the broker's name, the date and the suite shown, and sends the broker a short written note confirming it. When a commission question comes up months later, that record is the first thing the sales manager checks.
The rep negotiates inside set limits
The template has the rep negotiate terms and close deals. Here that means working from the rent, free rent and allowance ranges the sales manager sets, and bringing anything outside them back before it goes in writing. The rep also gathers what the company needs to judge a tenant: financial statements, any guarantor, and how long the business has run. Some loan documents give the lender a say on larger leases, so leave time for that review before signing.
How much commercial developer sales representatives make
The closest BLS group for commercial developer sales representatives is sales representatives of services. Sales representatives of services who work for commercial and industrial builders earned a median of $44.63 an hour ($92,830 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s above the $69,990 median for sales representatives of services in all industries. About 5,210 of the 1,256,010 sales representatives of services in that survey work for commercial building contractors.
Base salary plus commission on closed deals is the template's plan. BLS counts this group broadly at commercial builders, including reps who sell large building contracts, which puts the chart well above the template's base. Write down whether commission pays when a lease is signed, when rent starts or when a sale closes.
Commercial building contractors
$92,830$92,830 median Middle half $65,510–$130,290 10th–90th $46,840–$192,390
All industries
$69,990$69,990 median Middle half $47,670–$100,480 10th–90th $37,980–$148,840
$25k$50k$75k$100k$125k$150k$175k$200k$225k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Commercial building contractors
$46,840
$65,510
$92,830
$130,290
$192,390
All industries
$37,980
$47,670
$69,990
$100,480
$148,840
BLS doesn’t publish pay for commercial developers on their own. These figures cover nonresidential building construction, 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
Has leased commercial space or sold to business owners, with a pipeline to show for it
Asks the questions that rule a prospect in or out before the tour
Reads a floor plan and makes a shell space easy to picture
Writes a clean proposal from a rate sheet without going past its limits
Stays in touch with brokers and prospects for months without dropping one
Teach these on the job
Your buildings, suite sizes and what each shell can support
Your proposal and letter of intent forms
Site safety rules for tours
Your CRM stages and how you confirm a broker's prospect
The zoning and parking rules in each city where you build
Expect a CRM for prospects and broker contacts, CoStar or LoopNet for leads and comparable rents, and an email tool that keeps an opt-out list. Mention whether the rep has current drawings and a tablet to show them on tours, since many suites are still bare slab.
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 · First-time clients
A business owner needs a new facility but has never built before and seems overwhelmed. How do you run the first meeting?
A strong answer: Asks about their operations and goals, explains the process simply, sets realistic expectations and agrees on next steps.
Behavioral · Moving long deals forward
Tell me about a commercial deal that took many months to close. How did you keep it moving?
A strong answer: Kept in touch with useful updates, mapped the decision makers, cleared obstacles like site or financing questions, and set a clear next step after every meeting.
Set these targets from your own lease history. Deals here are few, large and slow, so judge a new rep on tours and proposals for the first few months, then on signed deals.
New Sales Revenue
Count it the way the sales manager's target counts it, such as base rent over the lease term or the sale price, credited when the deal is fully signed. Review it by quarter, since one lease can swing a month.
Lead Conversion Rate
Signed leases or sale contracts divided by qualified prospects who toured. Write down what makes a prospect qualified, such as a use the building can take and a move date within a year.
Sales Cycle Time
Days from first contact to a fully signed lease or contract, from CRM dates. Track build-to-suit deals on their own, since design and pricing add months.
Client Retention Rate
The template scores this with post-project surveys. Ask tenants after move-in whether the space matched what the rep showed and promised, and track which ones renew or take more space.
Career path
Leasing assistant or brokerage associateBuilds prospect lists, sets up tours and learns the listing services.
Sales representativeFinds and qualifies tenants and buyers and drafts their proposals.
Senior leasing representativeTakes the larger tenants and build-to-suit users in one market.
Sales managerLeads leasing and sales and signs off on every deal.
Other roles in a commercial builders & developers business
Does a developer's leasing rep need a real estate license?
It depends on the state and on which company employs the rep. Some states, Texas among them, exempt an owner's employees who lease or sell the owner's own buildings; the sales manager job description explains how that works when every building is held by a separate LLC. If the rep will ever show other owners' space or share in a broker's fee, ask your state's real estate commission before they start.
How much does a commercial developer sales representative make?
Sales representatives of services who work for commercial and industrial builders earned a median of $44.63 an hour ($92,830 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $65,510 and $130,290 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
Who answers a prospect's questions about ADA access?
Not the rep alone. Under the Justice Department's ADA rules, both the landlord and a tenant that runs a business open to the public are responsible, and the lease or another contract may split those duties between them. The rep notes what the prospect plans to do in the space and sends the question to the sales manager, who settles it in the lease with counsel. The rep shouldn't promise the company will cover it.
What does the template's line about driving and office work mean?
It means long stretches behind the wheel between sites and meetings, plus desk time writing proposals. The word "drug" in that line is a typo in the source file, so edit it before you post. In the ad, describe the tasks, such as driving to tours across the territory and carrying flyers and sample boards to events, and say you will consider reasonable accommodation.
Should a leasing rep come from a brokerage or from construction sales?
A brokerage hire knows the tenants and brokers in your market and how a lease deal moves. A construction sales hire can talk shell specs but may never have worked a lease. For a builder-developer that pre-leases, market contacts usually matter more at first, and the project manager can teach the building. Test either kind with a mock tour of a suite from your current drawings.
How does a sales rep work with the marketing manager?
Marketing makes the flyers, listings and site signs, and the rep uses them in the field. Send marketing the questions that keep coming up on tours, such as parking counts or dock doors, so the next flyer answers them. Tell marketing the day a suite leases, too, so no listing shows space that's already gone.
