HVAC sales recruiting
The roles
Benchmarks
We verify each rep’s own number on these before you meet them, from their close-rate history and pay history, and confirm it with reference checks.
How we screen
A great advisor is judged on close rate by lead source, average ticket and gross profit, not just volume. We verify each advisor's close-rate history before you meet them. When you interview, ask for it by lead source: an advisor who closes most of their tech turnovers and a quarter of their marketed leads is a different hire from one who closes half of everything.
Then pay history, from commission statements or W-2s. Example: on a 10% of sale plan, an advisor who says they sold $1.2M should be able to show about $120,000 in commission. When the two line up, your interview can start from numbers you can trust.
We run reference checks to confirm the history and track record the rep gave us, so you can interview with confidence.
For your interviews: our advice
Our checks confirm the numbers. Your interviews show you how a rep sells and whether they fit your team. We don’t run role-plays, ride-alongs or trial days, but they’re well worth your time. Here’s what we’d look for.
Pay plans
ServiceTitan's target is 9% of sales. Simple to run and easy for an advisor to check. The catch: it pays the same on a discounted job as on a full-margin one.
One EGIA example starts with a training wage, then pays 15% / 12% / 15% of GP by trimester plus a bonus on GP above budget. It protects margin and teaches advisors to hold price.
Some shops post commission-only seats with big first-year numbers. One expired Middle Georgia posting advertised $120,000-$200,000 in first-year potential, with a company car. That's what an employer advertised, not what anyone earned.
Model your own plan in the commission calculator, or read HVAC commission structures, explained.
Pay reality
Sales reps at building equipment contractors (HVAC, plumbing, electrical)
NAICS 2382 · May 2025
42,090 sales reps work at these contractors on W-2 payrolls. Housecall Pro, citing ZipRecruiter, puts HVAC sales reps at $59,500-$110,000.
Read this before you quote the table
When to hire
Charlie Greer's rule of thumb in Contracting Business: a company with 6+ techs, 2 install crews, 1,000 agreements can support a full-time replacement salesperson. Below that, the seat may not get enough leads to keep a good seller fed.
The other signal is on your board. When replacement leads go unrun, or the owner is still running them at night after a full day, money is being left on the table. Homeowners who wait a day or two for a price often call the next company.
Seasonality
Our advice: hire in spring or fall. A new advisor who starts in the shoulder season has time to learn your price book and run real calls before the summer and winter rush fills the board.
ACCA's year-end guide (Dec 2025) says the same about technicians: the shoulder season is the time to plan your next hires. Its read on late 2025: a milder summer and high mortgage rates slowed demand, and for some contractors growth plans shifted: Expansion to retention.
Multi-location & private equity
PE add-ons made up 41.3% of HVAC services deal volume in July 2026, and the ten largest HVAC brands hold About 7% of tracked locations. Platforms grow one acquisition at a time, and every branch needs advisors who sell. We run the same three checks on every seat in every market, so the hiring bar holds from branch to branch. Hiring for multiple locations.
Working with Level
You pay only when you hire
A one-time placement fee per hire, and nothing upfront to start a search. We quote the fee for your seat on the first call.
PricingFree replacement within 60 days
If the rep is let go for performance within that window, counted from their first day, we find you one replacement at no extra cost.
The guaranteeField sales roles only
We focus on reps who run appointments in the home, the managers who lead them and the canvassers who book them. Every hire joins your company directly.
All rolesExample hire
Owner, family-owned HVAC company · Dallas-Fort Worth, TX
A family-owned HVAC company with 9 service techs had the owner running every replacement lead himself, most of them at night.
We headhunted a comfort advisor with 7 years at a larger regional competitor, closing around 40% on a mix of tech and marketed leads.
He ran 160 leads in his first 90 days, and the owner got his evenings back.
FAQ
EPA Section 608 covers people who maintain, service, repair or dispose of equipment that holds refrigerant. An advisor who doesn't handle refrigerant appears not to be covered (Refrigerant handlers only). That's our reading of the rule, not legal advice. Check your state's licensing rules too.
Both can work, and many great comfort advisors started as techs. The difference is temperament: a tech who sells well is curious about people, comfortable talking money and doesn't mind a no. Our view is to promote a tech who is already turning service calls into sales. Otherwise, hire a proven seller and let your techs keep feeding them good leads. Charlie Greer's answer is similar, Sales ability first: hire someone who can already sell and teach them the basics of HVAC.
It depends on the lead mix. ServiceTitan's targets run from 25-35% on marketing leads to 75-85% on tech leads, and those are targets for established advisors. Judge a new hire against your own lead mix, and expect lower numbers while they learn your price book.
Percent of sale is simpler: ServiceTitan's target is 9%. Percent of GP protects margin when advisors discount, which is why plans like the EGIA example (15% / 12% / 15% of GP) exist. If your job costing isn't reliable yet, percent of sale is easier to run and easier for an advisor to trust.
That's your call, and one to check with your accountant, because classification depends on how the job is run. Either way, the advisor is hired directly by your company, not by Level.
No. We focus on field salespeople who run appointments in the homeowner's home, and the managers who lead them. Staying focused is how we know the best sellers in your market. CSRs, dispatchers and phone setters are outside what we do.
We aim to have a first candidate in front of you within 7 days of onboarding and getting your job description. A typical hire takes 21 days. Both vary by role and market, and hiring in May is a different search from hiring in October.
Yes, both selling sales managers who still run leads and directors of sales who don't. We check their own close-rate history, pay history and references the same way we do for advisors.
Related
Tell us the territory, the lead mix and the pay plan. We'll headhunt advisors already selling HVAC at the strongest shops in your market, check their close rate, pay history and references, and introduce you to the ones who can grow your replacement sales.