A lighting sales manager leads the reps selling holiday displays, landscape lighting and LED retrofits, and approves every estimate and contract before it goes out. They coach reps on site walks, check that crews can build what was sold, and report results to the general manager each week.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, electrical contractors · BLS, May 2025
The Sales Manager is responsible for driving customer acquisition, managing estimates, and securing contracts in the lighting installation industry. This role directly impacts the company's growth by optimizing sales processes and ensuring high customer satisfaction through effective team leadership and strategic planning.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Develop and implement sales strategies to achieve revenue targets and expand market presence.
Lead a team of sales representatives, providing coaching and performance feedback.
Utilize CRM systems to track sales activities and customer interactions.
Collaborate with the installation team to ensure accurate project estimates and timelines.
Conduct market analysis to identify new business opportunities and trends.
Maintain relationships with key clients to foster long-term partnerships.
Oversee the preparation and negotiation of contracts to ensure favorable terms.
Implement training programs to enhance the sales team's skills and product knowledge.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Conduct daily sales team meetings to review goals and strategies.
Perform site visits to assess project requirements and client needs.
Prepare and present estimates and proposals to prospective clients.
Follow up on leads and inquiries promptly to maximize conversion rates.
Monitor sales metrics and adjust strategies to improve performance.
Provide ongoing coaching and support to sales representatives.
Review and approve sales contracts and agreements.
Report on sales activities and results to senior management weekly.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Sales Revenue: Achieve a monthly revenue target of $150,000 to $200,000.
Lead Conversion Rate: Maintain a conversion rate of 25% to 30%.
Customer Satisfaction (CSAT): Achieve a score of ≥ 4.7/5.0.
Callback Rate: Keep callback rate ≤ 5%.
Efficiency Metric: Average response time to leads within 24 hours.
30/60/90-day ramp expectations: Achieve 50% of sales target by day 30, 75% by day 60, and 100% by day 90.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, or related field.
Proven experience in sales management within the home service industry.
Proficiency in CRM software (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot).
Strong leadership and team management skills.
Excellent negotiation and communication abilities.
Valid driver's license.
6. Preferred Experience
5+ years of experience in the lighting installation or related industry.
Experience with project estimation and contract negotiation.
Familiarity with lighting products and installation processes.
Certification in sales management or related field.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to lift up to 25 pounds.
Comfortable with frequent travel to client sites.
Ability to work in various environments, including construction sites.
Use of personal protective equipment (PPE) as required.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours are Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
Occasional evening or weekend work may be required for client meetings.
Seasonal fluctuations in workload common, with peak periods in spring and fall.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Base salary with a competitive commission structure based on sales performance.
Payouts contingent on maintaining quality metrics such as CSAT and low callbacks.
Benefits include health insurance, retirement plans, and paid time off.
Opportunities for professional development and growth within the company.
10. Company Culture and Overview
At [INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE], we are committed to excellence in every project we undertake. Our team values craftsmanship, safety, and customer delight, fostering a culture of accountability and growth. Join us in lighting up spaces and creating lasting impressions for our clients.
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
One team sells to homeowners in the fall, to yard and patio buyers in spring and to building owners all year. Here is where running that team gets specific.
Home and business call lists follow different rules
The FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule exempts most sales calls to a business, though its bans on misrepresentation still apply. Homeowners who joined the federal Do Not Call registry are different. Reps may call them only with written permission or an established business relationship: a purchase in the past 540 days or a question about a service in the past 90. The FCC's own rule uses 18 months and 3 months. A holiday client who skipped last season can fall outside both, so scrub the residential renewal list before reps dial. Source: eCFR: 16 CFR Part 310, Telemarketing Sales Rule (310.2, 310.4 and 310.6).
Fixture warranties go to the buyer before they sign
Federal warranty law treats items installed in a home, such as landscape fixtures and transformers, as consumer products. The FTC's guide says written warranties on products costing more than 15 dollars must be available before the buyer purchases, and a seller in the customer's home must offer copies before the sale is completed. Have reps carry the makers' warranty sheets, or links to them, alongside your own labor warranty in each proposal. Source: FTC: Businessperson's guide to federal warranty law.
Anchorage owners can finance upgrades through the property
Anchorage's C-PACER program lets commercial and industrial owners pay for clean energy measures through a voluntary assessment that attaches to the property, not the borrower. A 2022 state law added new construction and refinancing. The program page doesn't list lighting by name, so have reps ask the program whether a retrofit qualifies alone or should ride with a larger upgrade before they pitch it. Source: Municipality of Anchorage: What is C-PACER?.
Coach two kinds of site walk
A homeowner walk is a design talk at the curb near dusk: rooflines, trees, outlets and what the family wants to see. A retrofit walk is a count, room by room, with ceiling heights, hours of use and who signs. Reps who are good at one are often weak at the other. Ride along on both kinds each month and score the notes they bring back.
Many callbacks start in the proposal
A warm white the customer expected but didn't get, a timer set to the wrong hours or a strand that falls short of the corner all trace back to the sale. Before approving a proposal, check that it names the color temperature, the controls and their settings, and the exact runs, and that the customer signed off on the design.
How much lighting sales managers make
Sales managers who work for electrical contractors earned a median of $127,250 a year ($61.18 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 1,460 of the 637,080 sales managers in that survey work for electrical contractors.
Sales managers here usually earn a base salary plus commission on the team's sales. The template holds payouts back if CSAT falls or callbacks rise, so say whether a retrofit counts when it is signed or when it is installed.
Electrical contractors
$127,250$127,250 median Middle half $82,630–$193,690 10th–90th $63,450–$234,100
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
Electrical contractors
$63,450
$82,630
$127,250
$193,690
$234,100
All industries
$73,170
$100,360
$148,270
$207,340
$290,540
BLS doesn’t publish pay for lighting installers on their own. These figures cover electrical contractors, 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
Coaching reps through a homeowner's design talk and a facility manager's cost review
Reading a retrofit estimate line by line: fixture counts, labor hours, lift days and materials
Running a weekly pipeline review in the CRM that reps take seriously
Negotiating deposits, payment terms and scope on commercial contracts
Hiring and onboarding reps ahead of the spring and fall peaks
Teach these on the job
Your fixture lines, color temperatures and control options
Utility rebate steps in your service area
Your price book and margin floors
Do Not Call scrubbing and your consent forms
How your crews build each kind of job
The role runs on the CRM (the template names Salesforce and HubSpot), the estimating tool and the price book. Aerial imagery helps check roofline measures before a holiday quote, and a light meter backs up the counts on retrofit walks.
Lighting 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 · Improving estimates
Installs keep running over the hours your reps estimate. What do you do?
A strong answer: Compares estimates with actual hours by rep and job type, updates estimating standards with operations, trains reps and reviews risky bids.
Behavioral · Coaching close rates
Tell me about a rep whose close rate on holiday or landscape lighting improved after your coaching.
A strong answer: Rode along or listened to calls, found the weak step, such as skipping the design mockup or not explaining what install, takedown and storage include, practiced it with the rep and tracked the close rate afterward.
Start from the template's figures, then reset them from the team's past closed deals season by season. Holiday, landscape and retrofit sales land in different months.
Sales Revenue
Sum the team's signed contract value each month from the CRM, one row per line, and take out any deal the buyer cancelled within the cancel period.
Lead Conversion Rate
Divide signed contracts by qualified leads assigned that month, for each rep and each line. Settle the definition of a qualified lead with marketing first, so the rate holds steady month to month.
Customer Satisfaction (CSAT)
Send a short survey after install, and for holiday jobs again after takedown, then average the scores by rep so coaching goes to the right person.
Callback Rate
Count return trips caused by what was sold, such as the wrong color or a missed fixture, against jobs installed. Keep crew workmanship callbacks on a separate line.
Efficiency Metric
Use CRM timestamps to measure the gap between a lead's arrival and the first real conversation with a rep, and go over the slowest ones in the weekly meeting.
30/60/90-day ramp expectations
For a new manager, compare team revenue with the plan at each checkpoint, and note whether the start date fell in a peak month or a quiet one.
Career path
Sales representativeSells one or two lines and learns to price them from a site walk.
Should lighting reps sell every line, or specialize?
Most teams this size do both. New reps start on residential holiday and landscape work, where the sale is quick and the design talk is easy to coach. Retrofit sales take longer and need comfort with utility bills, fixture counts and building managers, so they suit a rep who has proven themselves. Give each rep one main line and let them pass leads across.
How much does a lighting sales manager make?
Sales managers who work for electrical contractors earned a median of $127,250 a year ($61.18 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $82,630 and $193,690 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
Why does a sales manager's job list carrying up to 25 pounds?
It covers carrying sample fixtures, display boards and a light meter into a client's building, and loading them back into the car. Commercial walks can cross active job sites, so the manager wears the hard hat, vest and glasses the site requires. Climbing ladders and roof work belong to the crews, not the sales team.
How can I see a sales manager candidate coach before hiring?
Give them a real proposal with a few planted problems, such as no color temperature, a missing takedown date and no warranty sheet. Ask them to mark it up, then coach you as the rep who wrote it. Listen for whether they fix the paper themselves or teach the rep to catch the problem next time.
What should a lighting sales manager do in the quiet weeks after the holidays?
Review every lost deal from the fall and sort them by reason. Hire and train reps before spring landscape leads arrive. Update the price book with new fixture costs. Then call back the retrofit prospects who said "not this year" last fall.
