Role · Bath & kitchen remodeling
A design consultant is the salesperson who designs, prices and closes a bath or kitchen remodel at the homeowner's table, often in a single visit at one-call companies.
Half designer, half closer. They picture the finished room with the homeowner, then turn it into a signed contract at a price that holds up in production. Kitchen and bath deals ran a median of $15,000 in Siro's sample, so every lost appointment costs real money.
Also called
Bath remodeling
Kitchen remodeling
One-call bath brands and kitchen remodelers both use the title. It signals a sales job, even when the ad leads with design.
A day in the job
Before the visit
Reviews the lead: which room, what the homeowner said on the phone, photos if they sent any. Loads the design tool and the price book.
In the room
Measures, checks walls, floor and plumbing, and asks how the room gets used: a tub nobody fills, a parent moving in, a shower that needs a seat.
Designing at the table
Builds the design with the homeowner: layout, fixtures, finishes, colors. Good/better/best on materials, with financing.
The close
Prices it and asks for the order. One-call bath companies push for a decision that night; larger kitchen jobs may take a second visit.
After
Hands production a clean, measured order. A consultant who sells something production can't build costs you more than a lost sale.
Scorecard
KPI
What good looks like
Who checks it
Close-rate history on issued leads
Ask how they count a second-visit close at a one-call company.
Verified by Level
Pay history
Commission statements or W-2s that agree with the sales they claim.
Verified by Level
Average ticket
Compare with your own. A much higher ticket can mean upselling that the homeowner later cancels.
You check
Cancel rate
Remodels give buyers time to second-guess. Ask for cancels by month.
You check
Remeasures and change orders
How often production had to go back. Ask your production lead after a ride-along.
You check
Net sales per issued lead
Sales after cancels, per lead issued. Useful across consultants with different lead sources.
You check
Level verifies close-rate history and pay history (commission statements or W-2s), and runs reference checks, before you meet a candidate. Everything marked “You check” is yours to ask about.
Rules to know
Pay models
One posting for a bath design consultant advertised $100k/yr + commission + bonus, with company-provided leads. That's advertised pay, not earnings.
Typical home improvement commission is 6-12% of the sale of the sale, from 2018 data. Rates move with ticket size and how much the company does for the consultant.
Pays on margin, so discounts cost the consultant too. It needs clean job costing, which is harder on remodels where scope moves.
A draw against commission covers the slow first months. Agree in writing whether it's forgiven if they leave.
How it compares
| Compared on | Design consultant | Kitchen designer | In-home sales consultant |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main job | Design and sell the remodel in the home | Design the space; someone else may sell it | Present and close a defined product |
| Paid for | Signed, buildable sales | Design work | Signed sales |
| Where they work | The homeowner's home | Often a showroom or studio | The homeowner's home |
| Hire for | Closing skill plus design sense | Design skill | Closing skill |
| Median deal (Siro) | $15,000 (kitchen & bath) | n/a | $7,538 (windows & doors) |
For window and siding sellers, see in-home sales consultant.
Our view
A great consultant helps the homeowner picture the finished room, designs and prices it on the spot, and asks for the sale.
The strongest candidates usually have one-call-close experience with a bath or kitchen brand and are comfortable talking financing.
A design production can't deliver turns into change orders and unhappy homeowners. Good consultants design inside what your installers can actually build.
Our judgment from headhunting for this role.
First 90 days
Days 1-14
Learn your product lines, the design tool, the price book and the CRM. Ride along on real appointments with your best consultant, or with you.
Days 15-45
Run appointments, starting with warmer leads. Review every design and price together, sold or not, with your production lead in the loop.
Days 46-90
A full calendar. Track close rate, average ticket, cancels and remeasures against the targets you agreed.
Advice for your own onboarding. Level doesn’t run training or ride-alongs.
How Level vets
Close-rate history on the leads they were issued. Ask how their company counted a close, since a second-visit close can be counted either way.
Pay history from commission statements or W-2s, so a claimed big first year is a documented one.
Reference checks. We confirm the history and track record a candidate gives us with their references, before you meet them.
Design skill is yours to judge. Give them a room to design in the interview; the tips below show how.
Design Consultant
Bath remodeling · 4 yrs one-call · Columbus
Looking for: Pre-set appointments, 2 a day, base + commission.
Example card, not a real candidate. Verified means checked against pay records, close-rate history or references.
Yours to run
Level doesn’t run these. The tips further down are what we’d look for.
Candidate pools
Reps trained in a one-call bath system know the steps cold. Check whether they can design, or only sell a fixed catalog.
Designers who want commission upside can learn to close. Test the close in the interview, not the design.
They know one-call selling and financing. They'll need design training and a feel for what production can build.
“Our read” marks our own judgment from the market, not sourced data.
Level starts where the track records are. The best reps are usually employed and doing well, so they aren’t scrolling job boards. We headhunt top performers at the strongest companies in your trade and market, and show them why your seat is a better move. The other pools are worth knowing if you’re hiring yourself.
Interview tips
Hand them photos and measurements of a real bathroom. Ask for a layout, three price options and a close, in 30 minutes.
A consultant who signs big and cancels often is selling the dream, not the job.
Ask your production lead to sit in for ten minutes. They'll spot a designer who sells what can't be built.
Remodel appointments run long. A full ride-along shows stamina as well as skill.
This is our advice for your own hiring process. Level doesn’t run interviews, ride-alongs or role-plays.
Salespeople are good at interviews. It’s part of the job. Here’s how we’d tell the difference in your seat.
Specifics, not adjectives
A real design consultant talks about last month in numbers: appointments run, rooms sold, the average ticket and how many cancelled, plus the one that got away and why. Someone who mainly interviews well shows you a portfolio and talks in adjectives.
Listen for
Red flags
When a candidate quotes a close rate
Close rate has no agreed definition in home improvement (No standard, per Pro Remodeler), so the same number can mean very different things. Five questions make it comparable:
Job description
Design Consultant
We're hiring a design consultant to meet homeowners, design their bath or kitchen remodel, price it and close it, usually in one visit. Company leads, a structured process and real design work.
FAQ
They visit the homeowner, measure the bathroom, design the remodel with them, price it and ask for the order, often in a single visit. It's a sales role with real design work in it.
Usually base plus commission, or commission on the sale or on gross profit, sometimes with a draw during the ramp. Home improvement commission typically runs 6-12% of the sale (2018 data). See home improvement commission.
Remodelers Advantage puts first sales at 3-6 months and full productivity at 6-12 months for a new remodeling salesperson. Plan pay and expectations around that.
A salesperson who designs. Hire for the close first: a consultant who designs beautifully and doesn't ask for the order won't pay for the leads you give them.
Before you meet them, we verify close-rate history on issued leads and pay history from commission statements or W-2s, and check references. We don't test design skill or run role-plays; the interview tips here are for you.
Tell us the seat. We headhunt proven closers who already sell in your trade and check their close rate, pay history and references before you meet them. You pay only when you hire.