Plumbing sales recruiting
The roles
Benchmarks
Track these yourself
How we screen
Close rate on tech-set leads and marketed leads, kept apart. A seller fed by strong techs and a seller running cold marketed leads aren't comparable. We verify the close-rate history; ask each candidate for the split so you know which one you're looking at.
Pay history from commission statements or W-2s, checked against the sales they describe before you meet them.
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
The plans that keep good sellers are simple enough for a rep to check, paid on time, and backed by enough leads to earn. If you also run HVAC, HVAC commission structures covers percent of sale and percent of GP plans you can adapt. Model the numbers in the commission calculator.
Pay reality
Sales reps at building equipment contractors (HVAC, plumbing, electrical)
NAICS 2382 · May 2025
Read this before you quote the table
When to hire
There are 111,207 plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors with employees (Census, 2023). Most of them don't need a dedicated seller until they're selling enough big-ticket work, like water heaters and repipes, to keep one busy.
The signs it's time: your techs set more replacement leads than they can run between service calls, or they spend paid service hours on long sales conversations. A seller frees your techs to fix things and turns those leads into revenue.
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, plumbing and HVAC company · Phoenix, AZ
A plumbing company's techs were setting more water heater and repipe leads than they could run, and quotes were going out days late.
We headhunted a comfort advisor from a combined HVAC and plumbing shop who had sold water heaters and tankless conversions for 4 years.
She took over the tech-set replacement leads in her first month, and the techs went back to full service schedules.
FAQ
Not always. Most plumbing companies have techs sell on the job until big-ticket work like water heaters and repipes grows enough to keep a seller busy. If your techs sell replacements well and still keep up with service calls, maybe not yet. A seller makes sense when tech-set replacement leads pile up or sales conversations start eating service time.
At combined shops, yes, and plenty of HVAC, plumbing and electrical companies have one advisor covering all three. An HVAC seller who has never sold a water heater or a whole-house job will need product training before they close at their usual rate.
Mostly from in-home replacement sales. When plumbing companies hire their first seller, they often look for an HVAC comfort advisor or a generator sales specialist: people used to consultative, kitchen-table selling. The best ones are usually employed and doing well, which is why we headhunt them rather than wait for them to answer an ad.
BLS doesn't publish a plumbing-only figure. Sales reps at HVAC, plumbing and electrical contractors earn a median $78,170 on W-2 payrolls. Reps paid on a 1099 aren't counted.
We don't have sourced plumbing pay plans to point to. Most of the published thinking is about HVAC: percent of sale versus percent of gross profit. See HVAC commission structures and adapt from there. Whatever you choose, keep it simple and pay on time.
No. We focus on field sales roles: the people who run appointments in the home, and the managers who lead them. That focus is how we know where the best sellers are.
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 whether you need someone who has already sold plumbing replacements.
Related
Tell us what your techs turn over and how you pay. We'll headhunt reps already selling plumbing and HVAC replacements at the strongest companies in your market, check their close rate, pay history and references, and introduce you to the ones who'll grow your replacement sales.