Hire painting estimators who walk the house, price the job and sell it.

• Percent of sale

  6-8% of sales is the range painting owners hear most, per Michael Murray of Textbook Painting. Simple to run, but it pays the same on a discounted job as a full-price one.

• Percent of gross profit

  Murray's worked example pays 12% of gross profit, the same check as a percent-of-sale plan on a job at his target margin. The difference: a discount costs the estimator too, so they learn to hold price.

• Salary plus commission

  About 50% of an estimator's total pay comes from salary at Murray's company, by design. The rest is commission and bonuses, including a bonus on win rate.

• Busy seasonSpringKeep up. Homeowners book exterior jobs now, and a price that takes a week loses to the next painter.
• Busy seasonSummerKeep up. Crews are booked out, so keep estimates moving to fill the fall schedule.
• Steady seasonFallLast exterior jobs before the weather turns, and interior work picks up.
• Slow seasonWinterPrepare. Time to learn your pricing and run interior estimates before spring.

Working with Level

Simple terms. One flat fee per placement.

We've made 1,000+ sales placements. Our team supports you through the whole process, so hiring a great rep takes less of your time.

How it works

• One flat fee per placement

  We go through the fee for your seat on the first call, once we know the role and the territory.

  Pricing

• Free replacement within 60 days

  If you don't like them within 60 days of hiring, we'll replace them totally free.

  The guarantee

• Field 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.

• What does a painting estimator do?

  A painting estimator is a painting company's in-home salesperson. They walk the house inside and out, measure, write the scope, price the job and sell it to the homeowner, usually at the kitchen table.

• How do you check a painting estimator before I meet them?

  We question every candidate on the appointments they run each week, their close rate, their average ticket and what they actually earned, and we call their references. If the numbers don't add up, they don't reach you. You still run your own interview, and we suggest a ride-along before any offer.

• What's the difference between a painting estimator and a painting salesperson?

  In most residential painting companies, nothing. The estimator walks the house, measures, prices the job and sells it. BLS counts 3,680 cost estimators and 2,010 sales reps on W-2 payrolls at painting contractors, so the title tells you little. When you hire, ask whether the person closed jobs or only priced them.

• Should I keep running estimates myself?

  Only if you can get to every one fast. If you're pricing jobs at night after a full day with the crews, the estimates you don't get to are jobs you don't win. A good handoff: give a new estimator your paid leads first, and keep the referrals and repeat customers until they've learned your pricing.

• How should I pay a painting estimator?

  Percent of sale is the simplest plan: 6-8% of sales is the range painting owners hear most, per Michael Murray of Textbook Painting. Percent of gross profit makes a discount cost the estimator too; his worked example pays 12% of gross profit. Most plans add a salary. About 50% of total pay is his company's target.

• What win rate should a painting estimator hit?

  There's no industry standard. Textbook Painting's bonus target is a win rate of 40-45%, depending on the rep's experience. Your own lead mix matters more than any benchmark, so judge a new hire against it, and ask every estimator what their number was counted from.

• Residential repaint, new construction or commercial: who should I hire?

  Someone who already sells the work you sell. A residential repaint is sold in the home, to the homeowner, often in one visit. New construction and commercial painting are bid to builders, general contractors and property managers, which is a different job. We recruit for the in-home seat, so we headhunt estimators who already sell repaints to homeowners.

• Should painting estimators be W-2 or 1099?

  That's your call, and one to check with your accountant, because classification depends on how the job is run. Either way, the estimator is hired directly by your company, not by Level.

• How fast can you fill a painting estimator seat?

  We aim to have a first candidate in front of you within 7 days of getting your job description. A typical hire takes 21 days. Both vary by market, and hiring in February is a different search from hiring in June.

• Do you place painting sales managers?

  Yes, both sales managers who still run estimates and those who only lead the team. We vet them the same way: appointments run, close rate, average ticket, actual earnings and references.

• Have you hired for painting companies before?

  Yes. We've placed reps with CertaPro Painters, and we've made 1,000+ placements across home service companies.

• What if the estimator doesn't work out?

  If you don't like them within 60 days of hiring, we'll replace them totally free.

• Roofing sales reps, estimators and canvassersRoofing and siding sales repsRoofing and siding reps, estimators, canvassers and sales managers.Read more
• Kitchen design consultantsKitchen remodeling sales repsDesign consultants, sales estimators and sales managers for kitchen remodelers.Read more
• Bath design consultantsBath remodeling sales repsIn-home design consultants for bath remodelers and one-call bath brands.Read more

Don't see your trade? Book a call and we'll tell you straight if we can fill the seat.