Hire your first sales rep when qualified appointments go unrun or late because you can’t get to them, and when your sales process is written down well enough for someone else to follow. Then hire for in-home selling skill, pay on gross profit rather than revenue, test every candidate with a role-play, and give the new rep 90 days with clear targets.
Are you ready to hire a sales rep?
A rep pays off only if there are appointments to run and crews to build what they sell.
Example, with round numbers:
- You get 45 qualified leads a month. You run 25 appointments. The other 20 get a slow callback or none.
- You close 40% of the appointments you run, at an average job of $10,000 and a 40% gross margin: $4,000 gross profit per job.
- Your month: 25 × 40% = 10 jobs, $100,000 in revenue, $40,000 in gross profit.
What the rep costs: a $4,000 monthly base, about 20% on top for employer taxes and benefits (an assumption for this example), and $500 for phone and vehicle: $5,300 a month fixed. Commission is 15% of gross profit: $600 per job.
What the rep brings: they run the 20 appointments you couldn’t, at a 25% close rate (they’re new, and these are the leftover leads). That’s 5 jobs and $20,000 in gross profit. Minus $3,000 in commission and $5,300 in fixed cost, the rep adds $11,700 a month.
Break-even jobs per month = rep’s monthly fixed cost ÷ (gross profit per job − commission per job)
In the example: $5,300 ÷ ($4,000 − $600) = 1.6, so 2 jobs a month covers the rep. Fill in yours:
| Check | Ready when | Your number |
|---|---|---|
| Appointments you can’t run, or run late, per month | At least 2 weeks of a rep’s calendar | |
| Your close rate on appointments | You know it from records | |
| Gross profit per average job | You know it from job costing | |
| Break-even jobs per month | Clearly below what a rep can close | |
| Crew capacity | Crews can install the extra jobs on time | |
| Cash for the ramp | 3 months of the rep’s fixed cost (example: $15,900) | |
| Sales process, price book, script | Written, and you use them |
Running every lead with evenings to spare? You need leads, not a rep. Crews booked out for months? Hire production first.
Where good sales reps come from
Look for people who have already sold at someone’s kitchen table, and check for the habits you don’t want.
| Source | Why they work | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Solar, pest control, home security sales | Used to in-home appointments, objections and quotas | High-pressure “sign today” closes that cause cancellations |
| Roofing, windows, siding | Know measuring, financing and production handoffs | Storm-chasing habits; how many of their sales cancelled |
| A technician customers trust | Knows the work; customers already ask “what would you do?” | Whether they want to sell, and who covers their field hours |
| Supplier reps, showroom and design staff | Know products, prices and your market | Whether they’ve ever asked for the decision, not just quoted |
| Referrals from crew, suppliers, other contractors | Someone has seen them work | The same interview as everyone else |
Put base, commission and an example month in the job post. The channels in how to recruit skilled trades workers work for sales roles too, and scoring every candidate on the same sheet keeps the decision honest.
Promoting a technician? Start part-time in sales and keep their current pay as the floor while they learn.
How to pay a sales rep: comp plan options
| Plan | How it works | Your risk | Rep’s risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base + commission | Fixed base plus a percentage per sale | Base is paid in a slow month | Low: the base covers the basics |
| Draw against commission | A monthly advance, paid back from commission earned | A rep who never earns back the draw | A debt to work off, if recoverable |
| Commission on revenue | A percentage of the contract price | Reps discount to close; margin leaks | Low: easy to check |
| Commission on gross profit | A percentage of price minus job cost | You must share cost numbers and true them up | Pay moves with costs they don’t control |
| Commission only | Nothing unless they sell | Hard to hire and direct; wage rules still apply (below) | High: no income in a slow month |
Worked example: the same discount under two plans. A $10,000 job with $6,000 in cost has $4,000 in gross profit. The rep earns 6% of revenue or 15% of gross profit: $600 either way at full price.
| Full price | Rep gives 10% off | |
|---|---|---|
| Contract price | $10,000 | $9,000 |
| Your gross profit | $4,000 | $3,000 |
| Rep’s pay at 6% of revenue | $600 | $540 (rep loses $60) |
| Rep’s pay at 15% of gross profit | $600 | $450 (rep loses $150) |
You lose $1,000 of gross profit either way (after the lower commission, $940 on the revenue plan and $850 on the gross profit plan). On a gross profit plan the rep feels it too, which suits trades where price and scope are negotiated at the table.
Put these in the written comp plan before day one:
- When commission is earned: at signing, deposit, completion or collection. Deposit or later protects you from cancellations.
- Cancellations: commission paid on a cancelled job comes back from the next payment.
- Discount floor: the lowest price the rep can quote from your price book without you.
- Cost true-up: paid on estimated gross profit at signing, corrected at closeout, including who absorbs a rep’s measuring mistake.
- Self-generated leads: a higher rate, if you want them prospecting.
Pay is one part of keeping a good rep. The rest is in how to retain skilled trades workers.
W-2 or 1099 for a sales rep?
General information, not legal advice. Rules vary by state; confirm your setup with an employment attorney or your accountant.
The more you control how a rep works (training, script, schedule, leads, prices), the more it looks like employment. The IRS weighs three categories of evidence: behavioral (does the company “control or have the right to control what the worker does”), financial (does the payer control the business side of the job) and type of relationship (contracts, employee-type benefits). The Department of Labor defines the risk: “Misclassification occurs when an employer treats a worker who is an employee under the FLSA as an independent contractor.”
Three wage rules to check before you pick a plan:
- Commission pay still has to meet minimum wage for a non-exempt employee. The Department of Labor checks whether “overall earnings for the workweek equal or exceed the amount due at the applicable minimum wage,” whether the pay is hourly, commission or both (Field Operations Handbook, chapter 30, section 30b02).
- In-home reps may fall under the outside sales exemption from federal minimum wage and overtime. Per DOL Fact Sheet #17F, their primary duty must be making sales, and they must be “customarily and regularly engaged away from the employer’s place or places of business.” The salary requirements don’t apply. Sales by mail, telephone or the internet don’t count unless they only support in-person calls, so a rep who sells by phone from your office isn’t an outside salesperson.
- State law can be stricter. The DOL’s minimum wage page: “Some state laws provide greater employee protections; employers must comply with both.” Check your state’s rules on commission agreements and recovering a draw too.
The role-play interview: exact prompts and what good looks like
A 15-minute role-play shows how a candidate sells, not how they interview. You play the homeowner, with the same scenario and prompts for everyone.
Read out the scene: “I’m the homeowner. My system is 18 years old and still runs, but my bills went up and it’s loud. I’ve had one other quote. We’re at the kitchen table. Go.” Change it for your trade: a leaking 20-year-old roof, a dated bathroom, a panel that trips.
Prompts, in this order:
- Say nothing until they ask you something.
- Halfway through: “The other company was $2,000 cheaper.”
- After the price: “I need to talk it over with my husband.”
- “Can you just email me the number?”
- “My neighbor says I can repair it instead. Is he wrong?”
| Moment | Good | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| Opening | Asks what’s wrong, what matters most, budget, who decides | Starts with company history or the product |
| “$2,000 cheaper” | Compares scope, explains the difference, doesn’t trash the competitor | Drops the price on the spot |
| “My husband” | Asks what he’ll want to know, books a time with both | Pushes for a signature, or just leaves |
| “Email me” | Agrees and books a call to go through it | Emails and hopes |
| Repair or replace | An honest answer, even if repair is cheaper | Whatever sells the bigger job |
| Close | Asks for the decision clearly | Never asks |
Give two minutes of feedback and run it again. Coachability is the test: a candidate who changes on the second run will learn your process.
Then ask:
- “Walk me through last month: appointments, sales, average sale, cancellations.” Good reps know their numbers.
- “Tell me about a deal you should have won. What would you do differently?”
- “What do you do the day after an appointment that didn’t close?”
The words your rep will use on real calls are in the contractor sales script.
Reference check questions
Ask for their last sales manager, and ask each reference the same questions:
- “What was their close rate compared with the rest of the team?”
- “How often did their sales cancel or turn into complaints?”
- “What did the install crews say about the jobs they sold?”
- “How did they handle a lead they thought was a waste of time?”
- “Did they keep the CRM up to date without reminders?”
- “What did you have to manage most closely?”
- “Would you hire them again for the same role?”
What the rep needs from you before day one
Don’t hand over leads and nothing else. Have these ready:
| Item | What it is |
|---|---|
| A written sales process | Stages, owners and deadlines, written down |
| A price book with floor prices | Price and margin for every common item, and the lowest price without your approval |
| Scripts | First call, appointment opening, objections, follow-up |
| A CRM | Every lead, appointment, proposal and outcome in one place |
| Proposal templates | Good, better and best options, so nobody builds from scratch |
| The comp plan in writing | Signed before the first appointment |
| Weekly targets | Appointments, close rate, average sale, discounts |
What to teach the rep about closing is in how to close more sales as a contractor.
A 30/60/90-day ramp plan
Example targets for an owner who closes 40%. Set yours from your own numbers:
| Days | The rep | You | Target by the end |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 30 | Learns the price book; rides along on 10 of your appointments; role-plays daily; runs 5 with you in the room | Debrief every appointment the same day | Runs your full process; first sale |
| 31 to 60 | Runs 3 to 5 appointments a week alone; logs everything in the CRM | Review every proposal before it goes out | Close rate 20% or better; nothing below the floor |
| 61 to 90 | Runs every appointment you hand over (about 5 a week in the example); follows up every open proposal | Review the numbers weekly | Close rate 30% or better; average sale and cancellations near yours |
At day 90, decide. On track: set next quarter’s targets. Behind but improving: extend 30 days with one specific goal, once. Flat: part ways.
Red flags in the first 90 days
- Discounts on most deals. Check the average discount weekly.
- Sales that cancel. Pressure closes tend to come undone.
- Jobs production can’t build as sold: wrong measurements, start dates you can’t meet, extras outside the scope.
- An empty CRM. If it isn’t recorded, you can’t coach it.
- Cherry-picking the big-ticket leads and letting small ones go cold.
- Blame: lost deals are always the leads, the price or the office.
Your next action
- Fill in the readiness table with last quarter’s numbers and work out your break-even.
- Write the comp plan: base, commission on gross profit, when it’s earned, cancellations, discount floor.
- Check W-2 or 1099 and your state’s wage rules with your accountant or an attorney.
- Write the role-play scenario for your trade.
- Get the process, price book, scripts and CRM ready before you post the job.
Review weekly once the rep starts: close rate and average sale against the ramp targets, average discount, cancellations and open proposals.
Where MotionOps helps
In MotionOps, a new rep works from the same prices and records as you:
- Salesperson Tracking: track the salesperson on each job, and make sure they get the right cut for booking the job.
- PriceBook: items, prices and margins in one spot, so every proposal starts from the same list.
- On Site Assessment: schedule assessments with checklists and photos, then convert completed visits into proposals.
- Online & In-person Approvals: customer sign-off at the kitchen table or through a secure online link.
- Customizable Roles & Permissions: give the rep a role, and change it as they take on more.
- Team Reports: leaderboards for Account Managers, Project Managers and Technicians.
See plans and pricing, or try MotionOps free.
