Kitchen remodeling 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.
Track these yourself
How we screen
Kitchens are sold in one visit at some companies and over several at others, so close rate needs a clear basis: from first appointment, from design meeting or from proposal. We verify the history and look at which of those it was counted on.
Pay history from commission statements or W-2s. Ask how their commission was paid and when, because on long jobs that varies a lot from company to company.
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
Home improvement commissions typically run 6-12% of the sale (Pro Remodeler, 2018, so use it as a range). On a large kitchen, small changes in the rate move a lot of money, so decide whether you pay on contract value or on margin.
Worth considering on long sales cycles, where commission can arrive months after the first meeting. Remodelers Advantage warns that commission-only pay for a first sales hire can attract reps who push underpriced deals.
See home improvement commission structures for worked examples.
Pay reality
Sales reps at residential building firms, including remodelers
NAICS 2361 · May 2025
Read this before you quote the table
When to hire
Remodelers Advantage puts first sales for a new remodeling salesperson at 3-6 months and full productivity at 6-12 months. On a long sales cycle, that ramp is the real cost of hiring late. Its warning signs that the owner has become the bottleneck: leads go unworked, follow-up slips and revenue flattens.
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, design-build kitchen remodeler · Denver, CO
A kitchen remodeler's owner was designing and selling every project himself, and proposals were taking weeks to go out.
We headhunted a design consultant with 8 years at a regional kitchen and bath company, used to designing, pricing and asking for the decision.
She took over first meetings within two months, and the owner moved back to running production.
FAQ
BLS doesn't publish a kitchen-only figure. Sales reps at residential building firms, which include remodelers, earn a median $64,150 on W-2 payrolls. Commission-heavy reps on a 1099 aren't counted.
It depends on your process. If designers already hand off to a closer, hire a closer. If one person carries the job from first visit to contract, you need both: taste and closing. The best have sold for a kitchen or bath brand and are used to asking for the decision. Of the two, selling is the harder half to teach.
If the contract is signed in the homeowner's home, generally yes: the FTC Cooling-Off Rule gives the buyer 3 business days to cancel. Contracts signed at your permanent showroom generally fall outside the federal rule. State rules can add more, so check with counsel.
Remodelers Advantage puts first sales at 3-6 months and full productivity at 6-12 months for remodeling salespeople. Budget for that before the hire, not after.
Yes, when the estimator is part of selling the job, which in most remodelers it is. Our first question on an estimator search is whether the seat closes or only prices. Don't price the seat off the government's cost estimator category, which is a technical takeoff role, not a sales one.
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 on how much design work you expect from the hire.
Related
Tell us how your sales process runs, from first visit to contract. We'll headhunt people already selling remodels at the strongest companies in your market, check their close rate, pay history and references, and introduce you to the ones who'll turn more of your meetings into contracts.