A design-build sales manager heads the team selling additions, large remodels and custom homes, first as a paid design phase and then as a build contract. They coach reps and designers through both steps, set how commission splits between them, and answer for the share of design clients who go on to build.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Annual pay: 10th percentile $72,800, middle half $100,000 to $179,060, 90th percentile $227,610. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
Reports to
General Manager
Department
Sales
Schedule
Office hours, some evening meetings · Office hours, flexible for client meetings and networking events, with some evening or weekend work near deadlines
Also called
Director of sales · Director of client development · Business development director
Lead our design-build sales initiatives by setting ambitious sales goals, coaching a high-performing team, and acquiring new contracts that drive company growth and strengthen market position.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Develop and implement strategic sales plans to achieve and exceed revenue targets.
Set clear sales goals and track team performance to ensure consistent contract acquisitions.
Coach and mentor sales representatives, providing regular feedback and training to improve performance.
Identify and pursue new design-build contract opportunities, fostering strong customer relationships.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Conduct daily team briefings and one-on-one coaching sessions with sales representatives.
Monitor and analyze sales performance metrics to adjust strategies in real time.
Engage with prospective clients through phone calls, meetings, and networking events.
Collaborate with marketing and operations teams to align sales strategies with overall business objectives.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
New Design-Build Contracts Acquired: Minimum of 5 contracts per quarter.
Sales Conversion Rate: Achieve a conversion rate of over 30%.
Revenue Growth: Generate a minimum annual revenue increase of 15%.
Customer Satisfaction Rating: Maintain an average rating above 4.8 stars.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Marketing, or a related field.
Minimum of 5 years’ experience in sales, preferably within the design-build or home services industry.
Demonstrated leadership skills with experience coaching and developing sales teams.
Excellent communication, negotiation, and relationship-building skills.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience working within design-build firms or construction-related industries.
Proven track record in landing large-scale home service projects or design-build contracts.
Familiarity with CRM software and sales performance tracking tools.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to work in a standard office environment and conduct occasional site visits.
Ability to stand, walk, and travel between various client locations as needed.
Minimal lifting requirements related to carrying personal work materials during travel.
Occasional extended periods of work during peak project phases.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Standard office hours with flexibility to adjust for client meetings and networking events.
Occasional travel required to local construction sites, client locations, and industry events.
Primarily office-based with periodic off-site client engagements.
May require occasional evening or weekend work during project deadlines.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Base salary range of $80,000 to $110,000 USD per year, commensurate with experience.
Performance-based bonus and commission structure to reward overachievement.
Comprehensive health, dental, and vision benefits.
401(k) plan with company match and additional fringe benefits.
10. Company Culture and Overview
We foster an innovative, growth-oriented environment where each team member’s contribution is valued.
Our collaborative culture encourages continuous learning and professional development.
We are dedicated to excellence in customer satisfaction and support a strong work-life balance.
Our team is passionate about transforming the home services industry while building lasting client relationships.
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
Most clients sign twice: first a design agreement, then, months later, a build contract once the drawings and price are set. The sales manager coaches both closes and keeps the price a client hears in line with what the estimate supports.
Where the commission lands
A design agreement brings in a modest fee; the build contract is what pays the firm. If most of a rep's commission lands on the design agreement, reps fill the designers' calendar with families who were never going to build. Put most of it on the signed build contract, pay a small share at the design agreement if you like, and decide up front how a rep and a designer split credit when both carried the client.
The designer is in the room for the build close
After months of design meetings, clients often trust the designer more than anyone else at the firm. The build price lands best when the rep and the designer present it together: the drawings first, then what each choice costs. The sales manager rehearses that meeting with both and coaches designers to answer price questions without apologizing. They also agree in advance who leads when the client pushes back.
Allowances aren't a discount
When a competitor's number looks lower, a rep is tempted to shrink the allowances for tile, lighting or appliances to match it. The client then overspends them during the build, and your firm looks like the one that went over budget. Base each allowance on selections made in design, or on what similar clients really spent, and send back any contract whose allowances were trimmed to meet a competitor's number.
Not every contract falls under the same rules
Wisconsin's home improvement rule, for example, covers additions and remodels, but not a new house or a renovation priced above the existing building's assessed value. Where it applies and the client pays anything before the work is done, the contract must be written. It names the rep who negotiated it and lists the total price, the main products and materials, and when work will start and finish. Before signing, the client must also be told every permit the job needs. Keep a lawyer-checked form for each kind of job. Source: Wisconsin Administrative Code ATCP 110 (example): home improvement practices.
Design clients who go quiet
When a design client stops replying, the cause is often price, timing or a decision maker who isn't sold. Each week, pull every design file with no meeting on the calendar. The manager and the designer pick the next move: a phased plan, a smaller scope, a call to the person who has missed the meetings, or a closed file with the reason logged in the CRM.
How much design-build sales managers make
Sales managers who work for building contractors earned a median of $133,720 a year ($64.29 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 4,500 of the 637,080 sales managers in that survey work for building contractors.
The template's plan is a base salary, commission and a performance bonus. Decide whether the manager earns on design agreements, build contracts or both, and when each part is paid. BLS pay for sales managers at building contractors includes commission and bonus, so weigh it against base plus a typical year's commission.
Building contractors
$133,720$133,720 median Middle half $100,000–$179,060 10th–90th $72,800–$227,610
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
Building contractors
$72,800
$100,000
$133,720
$179,060
$227,610
All industries
$73,170
$100,360
$148,270
$207,340
$290,540
BLS doesn’t publish pay for design-build firms on their own. These figures cover construction of buildings, 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 run a sales team for a remodeler, custom builder or design-build firm, where sales ran through a design phase
Reads drawings and an estimate closely enough to catch a price that won't hold
Coaches designers as well as reps on presenting a price
Builds a commission plan that pays more for built work than for signed design
Runs a weekly review of every open design client and its next step
Teach these on the job
Your design agreement, contract forms and the steps from one to the next
Your estimating system and pricing rules
Home improvement contract law where your jobs are
Your referral partners and past-client programs
Your CRM's pipeline stages and reports
The CRM pipeline is home base: each client moves from first meeting to design agreement to build contract. The manager also reads the estimating program and the project management system, Buildertrend or JobTread for example, to compare what was sold with what is being built.
Design-build 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 · Coaching budget conversations
Your reps keep signing design agreements with clients whose budgets don't match their wish lists. How do you coach the team?
A strong answer: Coaches early budget conversations using cost ranges from past projects, sets qualifying rules, and tracks conversion to construction by rep.
Behavioral · Raising close rates
Tell me about a time you coached a rep whose clients kept stalling before signing a design agreement.
A strong answer: Found where deals stalled (budget talk, design fee objection, no next step), coached with role-play and joint client meetings, and names the change in the rep's conversion.
The template's contract count assumes large jobs. Read each target beside the average contract size and the project mix, and set it from the firm's results over the past two years.
New Design-Build Contracts Acquired
Count a build contract once any cancellation window has closed and the first payment is in, and list it under the rep and the project type. Design agreements go on their own line.
Sales Conversion Rate
Two rates for each rep: first meetings that become design agreements, and design agreements that become build contracts. A single blended rate hides which close the rep needs help with.
Revenue Growth
Signed build contract value compared with last year's, for every rep and source of leads. Growth that leans on one rep or one referral partner is a risk to plan for.
Customer Satisfaction Rating
Average the move-in survey scores each quarter, and send a short survey to design clients who chose not to build. Their answers show whether the sale, not the build, lost them.
It depends on where each family is in design. A family early in design may meet every week or two, while one waiting on a permit needs only a call now and then. When a rep starts missing the budget reviews their families have booked with the designers, the load is too high. Hire before the forecast needs another rep, since a new one needs time to learn your design process.
How much does a design-build sales manager make?
Sales managers who work for building contractors earned a median of $133,720 a year ($64.29 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $100,000 and $179,060 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
Should the sales manager check every build contract before the client sees it?
At a firm this size, yes. Check the scope against the final drawings, every allowance, the payment schedule and any start date the rep plans to mention. The CEO may sign the largest contracts, but the sales manager is the one who catches a mistake before the client sees a price. A short checklist keeps each review to one sitting.
Why does the sales manager template mention standing, walking and lifting?
The lines ship as written. In practice they mean walking a client's house and yard at a first meeting, touring a job under construction with prospects, carrying a laptop and sample boards between meetings, and some long weeks when several build contracts close at once. Those tasks belong in the posting, next to a note that the firm considers requests for reasonable accommodation.
Is there a good work sample for a design-build sales manager?
Yes. Hand finalists a real file from a past job, client names blacked out: the family's wish list, the signed design agreement, the latest estimate over budget and notes from the last meeting. Ask how they'd run the next meeting and who they'd bring. Listen for whether they go back to the budget the family named at the start before suggesting cuts.
