For owner-operators
Signs you’re the bottleneck
Adapted from the warning signs Remodelers Advantage lists for owners who need a salesperson.
Before you hire
There’s no magic size. If good leads are going cold because you’re booked, the seat is already costing you. In roofing, most sales teams are 4 or fewer reps, so your first or second hire is a big share of the whole team’s sales.
6+ techs, 2 install crews, 1,000 agreements
one columnist's rule of thumb for when an HVAC company can carry a full-time replacement seller (Contracting Business)
Plan the cash for a ramp. Judge the rep on the trend over months, not on week three. A rep who already knows your trade skips the part where you teach them the product, but they still have to learn your leads, your pricing and your town.
First sales in 3-6 months
full productivity at 6-12 months (Remodelers Advantage, remodeling)
You kept the referrals and the tech turnovers. The new rep gets marketed leads and rehash. Those close at very different rates, so a fair comparison is rep against rep on the same lead type. Agree before day one how you’ll count a close: per issued lead, per demo or per appointment run.
75-85% vs 25-35%
ServiceTitan's comfort advisor targets: tech leads vs marketing leads. Targets, not averages.
A top closer is worth far more than an average one, and they know it, so the reps worth hiring have options. Expect questions about where your leads come from, how many they’ll run, when commission pays, whether you still sell, and why the last rep left. Have straight answers ready.
+7.4% to +11.3%
how far top reps run above their own company's median close rate (Siro)
What waiting costs
Gross profit walking out the door
$8,285/ week
Over 8 weeks
$66,282
gross profit
Revenue not sold
$165,704
2.7 jobs a week
leads × close rate × ticket × margin = weekly GP
Open the full calculator →The hand-off
Where Level comes in
Roofing Sales Rep
Roofing · retail · 5 yrs · Tampa Bay
Looking for: Retail replacement, financing offered, no storm chasing.
What a shortlist card looks like. Example only, not a real rep. Verified marks numbers we checked against records.
Straight answers
“Nobody sells like me.”
True on day one, and that’s fine. You don’t need a copy of you. You need someone with a checked record of closing in a home, who’ll learn your way of running a visit. Ride together until you trust it.
“Recruiters cost too much.”
You pay a one-time placement fee only when you hire, and we share it on the first call, before any work starts. Hold it against the calculator above: what a month of unrun leads costs you.
“Every rep I've hired interviewed better than they sold.”
Salespeople interview well. It’s the job. That’s why we check the record, not the pitch: close-rate history, pay history and references, before you meet anyone.
“I can't carry someone for months.”
Start them on the leads you’re losing anyway. A sale from a lead that would have gone cold is new money, even in the ramp. A rep who already sells in your trade also skips product training.
“What if they quit after a month?”
If a rep you hire through Level doesn’t perform and is let go within 60 days, we find you a replacement at no extra cost. How the guarantee works
“A pushy rep will wreck my reviews.”
Agreed, and a close rate alone won’t tell you who’s pushy. In the interview, ask what they do when a homeowner wants to think about it. After the hire, track cancels from the first month.
FAQ
When leads sit unworked or follow-up slips because you can’t get to it. In HVAC, a Contracting Business column puts the point at about 6+ techs, 2 install crews, 1,000 agreements. In roofing and remodeling, watch lead flow more than headcount.
It changes how much say you have over their day, so ask your accountant before you write the offer. For a data point from roofing, 93% of sales leaders in Leap’s 2024 survey had moved reps from 1099 to W-2.
Not on day one. We headhunt reps who already sell in your trade, with a close rate, pay history and references we've checked. Your process is yours to teach: write it down, ride together, then hand off leads in stages.
Yes. Starting a new rep on marketed leads, rehash or a far territory, while you keep the referrals, is a sensible way to hand off. Tell us which seat you're filling and what leads come with it.
We check close-rate history, pay history and references before you meet anyone. Seeing them sell is your step: run your own ride-along or role-play before you make an offer. Nothing else tells you as much.
No. You pay a one-time placement fee only when you hire, and we share it on the first call, before any work starts.
We aim to get your first candidate to you within 7 days of getting your job description, and a typical hire takes 21 days. It varies with your trade, your market and the pay plan you can offer. After the hire, plan for a ramp of months, not weeks.
Tell us your trade, your territory and the leads you'd give a new rep. We'll find closers who've sold that way and check their numbers before you meet them.