At a general contractor, the sales manager trains and steers the reps who sell remodels, additions and custom homes. They approve any price that changes after the estimate and log every architect bid won or lost. They also track each rep's salesperson registration and put in writing when commission is earned on long jobs.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, residential builders and remodelers · BLS, May 2025
Lead and manage a high-performing sales team focused on maximizing revenue in the home services and general contracting industry. Develop strategic sales initiatives that drive business growth and strengthen client relationships. Oversee daily sales operations and performance monitoring to achieve set revenue targets. Act as a key liaison between clients and operational teams to ensure excellent service delivery.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Develop and implement strategic sales plans for the home services and general contracting market.
Lead, motivate, and manage the sales team to meet and exceed revenue goals.
Monitor sales performance and provide actionable insights to improve team effectiveness.
Identify new market opportunities and maintain strong relationships with key clients.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Conduct daily sales meetings to review progress and set performance targets.
Manage and nurture client relationships through regular communications and follow-ups.
Analyze sales data and market trends to adjust strategies in real time.
Coordinate with project managers and contractors to ensure seamless transition from sales to service delivery.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Revenue growth percentage: Achieve a minimum of 15% year-over-year growth.
New client acquisition: Secure at least 10 new contracts per quarter.
Sales conversion rate: Maintain a conversion rate above 30% on qualified leads.
Customer satisfaction rating: Sustain an average rating of greater than 4.8 stars.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Construction Management, or a related field.
Minimum of 5 years’ experience in sales management, preferably in home services.
Excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills.
Proficiency with CRM systems and data analytics for performance tracking.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience in the home services or general contracting industry.
A proven track record of spearheading successful sales initiatives.
Familiarity with local market dynamics and competitive analysis.
Demonstrated ability to manage and motivate high-performance teams.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to occasionally lift up to 20 pounds.
Frequently required to move and stand during client site visits.
Adaptability to work in varied environmental conditions including outdoor sites.
Mobility to travel across multiple locations as needed.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours: Monday to Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM.
Regular travel within the local area for client meetings and site inspections.
A dynamic work setting that includes both an office environment and field-based activities.
Occasional attendance at industry events and networking functions.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Salary range: $75,000 - $95,000 USD per year.
Performance-based bonuses and commission structure.
Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance.
401(k) retirement plan with company match along with additional fringe benefits.
10. Company Culture and Overview
At [INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE], our culture is built on innovation, collaboration, and a relentless commitment to excellence. We foster an environment where every team member is empowered to grow both professionally and personally. Our supportive and inclusive workplace encourages continuous learning and celebrates each success. We are dedicated to delivering superior customer satisfaction and aim to set industry benchmarks in home services.
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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Jobs here take months to build, and many are priced against other builders on the same drawings. The manager ties each price to current quotes, keeps every rep's registration in order, and sets in writing when commission is earned.
A bid log for every architect
Keep a log for each architect who sends plans: the date, the project type, your number, the winning number when you can learn it, and the margin on jobs you won. Twice a year, walk the CEO and general manager through it, so they can decide which lists to stay on. Some architects invite many builders and choose on price; the log shows which ones.
A price is only as fresh as its sub quotes
A remodel price is built on quotes from the framer, plumber, electrician, HVAC sub and lumber yard, and each quote holds for its own number of days. Put a good-until date on every proposal, set by the first quote to expire. When a client comes back after that date, the rep doesn't sign the old number. The estimator rechecks the quotes, and the sales manager approves any new price.
Connecticut wants every rep registered first
In Connecticut, for example, a rep who negotiates or asks for a home improvement contract on your company's behalf counts as a salesperson, and the company may not employ one who isn't registered. Breaking that rule is a misdemeanor. Certificates run out each March 31, so put every rep's renewal on the calendar, and keep a new rep off appointments until the certificate arrives. The law covers remodels and additions; building a new home falls outside it. Source: Connecticut General Statutes 20-419 and 20-420 (example): home improvement salesperson registration.
When a rep leaves before the job is built
Colorado, for example, counts commissions earned under the terms of the pay agreement as wages. If the company ends a rep's job, pay earned by then is due right away; if the rep quits, it's due by the next regular payday. The law doesn't force payment of commission the agreement says isn't earned yet. So put in writing the point at which commission is earned on a job that takes months: at signing, at a set draw, or at final payment. Source: Colorado Revised Statutes (2026), Title 8, sections 8-4-101 and 8-4-109 (example): wages and final pay.
How much general contractor sales managers make
Sales managers who work for residential builders and remodelers earned a median of $129,940 a year ($62.47 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 3,340 of the 637,080 sales managers in that survey work for residential builders and remodelers.
Salary, bonuses and commission make up the template's plan, and its base sits below most of what BLS shows for sales managers at residential builders, though BLS counts commission in those figures. Candidates from other builders will ask whether their share of team sales is figured on contract value or on gross profit, so decide that first.
Residential builders and remodelers
$129,940$129,940 median Middle half $98,310–$166,630 10th–90th $72,140–$215,010
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
Residential builders and remodelers
$72,140
$98,310
$129,940
$166,630
$215,010
All industries
$73,170
$100,360
$148,270
$207,340
$290,540
BLS doesn’t publish pay for general contractors on their own. These figures cover residential 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 sold or managed sales of work priced against other builders on the same drawings
Catches an expired sub quote or a thin markup before a proposal goes out
Tracks win rate and margin by architect and by lead source
Writes commission plans that say when each payment is earned
Coaches reps to tell homeowners plainly how each contract type handles overruns
Teach these on the job
How your estimators build a price from takeoffs and sub quotes
Connecticut's March 31 renewal for salesperson certificates, or your state's rule
Past bids and results for each architect you work with
Where each lead and bid sits in your CRM
Who may sign a change order, and how reps price one
A CRM with bid jobs and direct leads on separate boards, read beside the estimating software and the bid log by architect. Add a tracker for each rep's state registration and its expiration date, where your state requires one.
General contractor 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 · Stopping overpromises
A rep promised a client a start date and price before a PM reviewed the scope. What do you do?
A strong answer: Works with the PM to confirm what's realistic, goes back to the client honestly, and sets a rule that dates and prices need review first.
Behavioral · Coaching reps on sold margin
Tell me about a rep you coached whose sold remodels kept losing margin once they reached production.
A strong answer: Compared sold and actual margins by rep, found the pattern, such as missed scope, low allowances or skipped structure checks, reviewed their proposals before they went out, and shows margins holding.
Read these four beside the bid log. A quarter with fewer signed jobs but a higher sold margin may be the better quarter, so base targets on past contracts and how their margins held at closeout.
Revenue growth percentage
Use contract value net of cancellations and change-order credits, sorted into remodels, additions and new homes. Put the number of jobs beside each, since one custom home can carry a year's growth by itself.
New client acquisition
Contracts signed by first-time clients, counted when the deposit clears and the job is on the schedule. Past clients back for another project count as repeat business, reported beside it.
Sales conversion rate
Signed contracts over qualified leads, with architect bids in their own column. A low bid rate may mean the company is on the wrong bid lists rather than selling badly.
Customer satisfaction rating
Ask each client to rate the sale at signing, then the whole job at the final walk-through, and report both by rep. A gap between them points to promises the field couldn't keep.
Career path
EstimatorPrices remodels and additions from takeoffs and sub quotes, and sees which jobs ran over and why.
Sales representativeSells the jobs: first visits, proposals and signed contracts.
Sales managerLeads the reps, keeps proposals current and owns the bid log and commission plan.
General managerAnswers to the COO for every job's margin, from the sale to closeout.
Who sets the price at a general contractor, the estimator or the sales manager?
The estimator builds the cost from takeoffs and sub quotes, and the company's markup rules turn it into a price. The sales manager coaches how that price is presented and can ask for a recheck. Cutting margin to close a deal takes the general manager's sign-off. Keep estimators off sales commission, so the person checking the number has no reason to shade it.
How much does a general contractor sales manager make?
Sales managers who work for residential builders and remodelers earned a median of $129,940 a year ($62.47 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $98,310 and $166,630 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
Should one rep sell both remodels and new homes?
Start with one rep who sells both. Split the work when custom homes keep one rep's calendar full, or when remodel leads wait too long for a first visit because the rep is tied up in a new home's selections. If you split, give each architect one contact, so they don't hear from two reps about two jobs.
What should a builder's sales manager do after losing a bid?
Call the architect or homeowner within a week and ask who won, roughly how far apart the numbers were, and what else decided it. Log the answers by architect and project type. Losing to the same builder again and again may come from your markup, your subs' quotes, or a rival that leaves scope out. Each has a different fix, so take the pattern to the estimator before anyone cuts price.
How much of a builder's sales manager's week happens on site?
Part of most weeks. The manager walks an active job before a rep brings a prospect through, meets an architect at a house to talk through a bid, or checks a finished addition before a past client hosts a tour. A plan tube and finish samples, up to 20 pounds, ride along. Some of it happens outside in winter cold or summer heat. Name the tasks in the posting, say about how many a month to expect, and say that applicants may ask for a change in how a task is done.
