A drywall and plaster sales manager runs two kinds of selling: estimators bidding builder house plans and contractors' drawings, and reps selling repairs and remodels in homes. They decide what each bid includes and leaves out, price the options builders offer their buyers, and choose which jobs the company should chase at all.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, drywall and insulation contractors · BLS, May 2025
This role is responsible for leading and directing our sales team within the drywall & plaster division. The Sales Manager will drive revenue growth by setting clear sales targets, boosting contract closures, and ensuring exceptional customer satisfaction. The position plays a critical role in expanding market share and fortifying our company’s reputation within the home services industry.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Lead and manage a high-performing sales team to achieve and exceed revenue targets.
Develop and implement effective sales strategies tailored to the drywall & plaster market.
Set clear sales objectives, track performance, and drive the team towards successful contract closures.
Collaborate with operations and project management teams to assure seamless service delivery and customer satisfaction.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Conduct daily sales meetings to review performance metrics, prospects, and strategic initiatives.
Engage with potential clients through calls, meetings, and product demonstrations to generate business opportunities.
Monitor and update the sales pipeline by leveraging CRM tools and analyzing ongoing lead activity.
Review contracts and coordinate with internal teams to finalize proposals and close deals efficiently.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Revenue Growth: Achieve a minimum quarterly increase of 15%.
Contract Closure Rate: Secure at least 60% of qualified leads.
Customer Satisfaction Rating: Maintain an average rating above 4.8 stars.
New Sales: Generate a minimum of 20 new contracts per month.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, or a related field.
Minimum of 5 years of sales experience, preferably in home services or a similar industry.
Proven leadership and team management skills with a track record of meeting sales targets.
Strong negotiation, communication, and strategic planning abilities.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience in the drywall and plaster industry or relevant home services sectors.
Demonstrated success in exceeding revenue and sales targets in competitive markets.
Familiarity with CRM systems and data-driven sales methodologies.
Prior involvement in large-scale project sales and contract negotiations.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to occasionally lift up to 25 pounds in support of field activities.
Occasional site visits to client locations and industry events.
Ability to work in varied environments including office settings and active construction sites.
Comfortable with moderate physical activity during client engagements.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Standard work hours with occasional extended hours during peak project periods.
Expected regional travel to meet clients and attend industry trade shows/events.
On-call availability as needed for critical client meetings and last-minute engagements.
A dynamic work environment that balances office work with field activities.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Annual salary range of $70,000 – $100,000 USD, depending on experience.
Performance-based bonuses and commission structure.
Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance plans.
401k plan with company matching contributions.
Additional benefits including paid time off, professional development opportunities, and fringe benefits.
10. Company Culture and Overview
Our company fosters an inclusive and collaborative environment where innovation and customer focus drive excellence. We are committed to professional growth, offering ample opportunities for mentorship and advancement. Join us to be a part of a passionate team dedicated to setting industry standards while making a significant impact in the home services arena.
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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Most of the company's revenue is sold on paper: a price for each house plan for builders, and a bid on drawings for general contractors. A few missed lines on either can cost more than losing the job. Homeowner repairs are a smaller, quicker sale beside them.
Builder options are priced at the design center
Where a builder runs a design center, buyers may pick drywall upgrades there. Think smooth walls instead of texture, rounded corners, a finer finish for dark paint, or quieter board around a media room. The manager prices each option for each house plan, keeps the builder's option sheet current, and checks that every choice reaches the crew's lot notes. An option sold at the design center but missed on the lot becomes a free redo.
Bid forms leave the edges of the scope open
A general contractor's bid form rarely says who handles the edges of drywall work. Put the same lines on every bid and mark each one in or out: framing, insulation, fire caulking at rated walls, access panels, corner guards, patching after other trades, primer and final cleanup. When a bid loses, ask the contractor which of those lines the winning number left out before you cut your price.
Wall types decide the takeoff
Apartment and commercial plans give each wall a type, and rated walls often point to a tested design that sets the board and the layers. National Gypsum describes one, UL V449, that turns a one-hour wall into a two-hour wall by adding two more layers of 5/8-inch Type X board to one side. Price it as a plain one-hour wall and half its board is missing. The manager checks every large bid against the wall type schedule. Source: National Gypsum: How to build fire-rated wall assemblies from one side (2023).
Federal jobs pay by the kind of work
On jobs under the Davis-Bacon rules, each worker gets at least the listed wage and fringe benefits for the work they actually do, whatever their skill. Registered apprentices follow their own rules. The list is the job's wage determination. If it lists hanging and taping at different rates, a worker who does both can be paid each rate for its hours only if the payroll shows how the day split. So the bid prices each crew's mix of work, and the field logs hours by task. Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 5.5, contract provisions for Davis-Bacon and related acts.
How much drywall and plaster sales managers make
Sales managers who work for drywall and insulation contractors earned a median of $118,250 a year ($56.85 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 130 of the 637,080 sales managers in that survey work for drywall and insulation contractors.
By BLS figures, which count commission, over three in four sales managers at drywall and insulation contractors earn more than the template's highest base. Build the commission and bonus plan so a good manager can close that gap in a normal year.
Drywall and insulation contractors
$118,250$118,250 median Middle half $104,000–$142,330 10th–90th $95,920–$267,230
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
Drywall and insulation contractors
$95,920
$104,000
$118,250
$142,330
$267,230
All industries
$73,170
$100,360
$148,270
$207,340
$290,540
BLS reports drywall and insulation contractors together. 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 led estimators who bid builder plans or commercial drywall from drawings
Finds the rated walls and wall types in a plan set before pricing
Prices a smooth-wall or Level 5 upgrade for each house plan
Coaches in-home reps who sell repairs and remodels
Turns down a bid when the scope, the schedule or the contract terms don't fit
Teach these on the job
The takeoff program your estimators use and how they share counts
How each builder's design center sends buyers' choices to you
The scope lines your company has lost money on before
Wage determinations and how your payroll logs hours by task
Which crews can take plaster, Level 5 and tall-ceiling work
The manager works from the takeoff and estimating software, the bid log, each builder's option price sheet and the CRM where reps track repair and remodel quotes. Ask candidates which takeoff software they've used and how they check an estimator's count before a bid goes out.
Drywall and plaster 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 · Selling the right finish
Your reps keep selling Level 4 finish on jobs with glossy paint and big windows, and callbacks follow. What do you do?
A strong answer: Trains reps to ask about paint sheen and lighting, offers Level 5 as an option, and puts the finish level in writing.
Behavioral · Developing reps
Tell me about a rep you developed into a strong seller.
A strong answer: Describes the rep's starting gap, the coaching, such as ride-alongs and practice, and the measured improvement.
Builder and contractor numbers swing with local building, so read them apart from homeowner sales. Once two years of bid log and CRM history are in, set your own figures in place of the template's.
Revenue Growth
Growth in billed work the team sold, each quarter compared with its twin from last year. Keep builders, general contractors and homeowners on separate lines, since one new community can lift a quarter without any change in selling.
Contract Closure Rate
Bids and quotes won, divided by qualified ones submitted, kept apart for builders, general contractors and homeowners. A builder's renewal off an existing price sheet isn't a new close, so leave it out.
Customer Satisfaction Rating
Homeowner survey scores on jobs the reps sold, plus a short rating from each builder's purchasing contact when its price sheet renews. A missed option or scope line that shows up in either one is this manager's to fix.
New Sales
Signed contracts each month, counting a builder community or phase, a contractor's subcontract and a homeowner job as one each. Report the dollar value beside the count, since one apartment job can outweigh twenty patches.
Career path
Project managerRuns builder jobs and learns what each house plan really costs to hang and finish.
EstimatorDoes takeoffs and bids for builders and general contractors.
Sales managerLeads estimators and reps, prices builder options and picks which bids to chase.
Should builder estimating and homeowner sales sit under one manager?
For a company this size, one manager usually works, as long as each side keeps its own scorecard. Builder and contractor work is won on takeoffs, scope lists and relationships that last years. Repairs are won in one visit to the house. The manager has to coach both. If they come from the estimating side, pair them with a strong senior rep. If they come from in-home sales, hire a senior estimator to check the bids.
How much does a drywall and plaster sales manager make?
Sales managers who work for drywall and insulation contractors earned a median of $118,250 a year ($56.85 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $104,000 and $142,330 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
What should a sales manager candidate find in a sample plan set?
Hand finalists a small plan set with a wall type schedule, plus a contractor's bid form. Allow an hour for a list of what they'd include, leave out and question before any price goes down. The better candidates find the rated walls, ask about ceiling heights and how board gets onto upper floors, and ask who patches after other trades. Then send each one out with a rep on a repair estimate.
Should commission cover every house a long-time builder orders?
First decide which builders are house accounts the company already had. Then pay the manager mainly on new builders, new communities and growth with the old ones. Builder work can run for years off one price sheet, so a plan that pays full commission on every house forever mostly rewards the past. Put it in writing and review it each year.
The template asks for comfort with moderate physical activity. How should the ad say that?
Leave the template's wording alone and add the field work it covers: touring unfinished homes and apartment floors with a superintendent, climbing stairs in buildings under construction and standing through a punch walk. The manager carries a laptop bag and option samples within the template's 25-pound lift. Add the safety gear sites require, and say how to ask for reasonable accommodation.
