Construction Salesman: Responsibilities, Salary, Experience

The construction salesman plays a crucial role in selling the organization’s products all the way to sealing the deal. This article examines in depth the construction salesman duties and responsibilities, salary range, and general education and experience.

Construction Salesman Profile

Construction industry projects are very competitive and fast-paced. Being a construction salesman can be challenging, but also provide exciting opportunities. Learn more about a construction salesman’s daily responsibilities, salary, education and experience here.

Construction Salesman: Responsibilities

When you research “salesman responsibilities”, you encounter clients, calls, meetings. The daily duties and responsibilities for construction salespeople are atypical and vary from organization to organization. No matter the industry or trade a sales individual performs in; they have to master the following:

Pay great attention to details
Be goal and results driven
Work with minimal supervision
Show excellent public speaking and presentation skills
Display excellent time management

But the construction industry is very unique as far as sales goes. It is worth mentioning some of the specific responsibilities that construction salespeople typically have:

Drive sales through the growth of existing clients
Generate new business opportunities
Implement a lead generation strategy to get construction leads
Develop new relationships within the residential and commercial construction communities
Master the construction sales process at their company
Perform all aspects of selling/closing a project
Complete documents on time, such as customer proposals and construction bids, change orders, weekly call reports
Ensure all construction bids are consistent, and eliminate embarrassing errors by creating a Construction Proposal Template Library. Check out the article on construction proposal elements to find out exactly what to include in your proposals.
Achieve/exceed new sales call targets per month within a specified territory
Familiarize themselves with architectural specifications and construction design elements
Generate new sales opportunities by cold calling, networking and client/associate referrals
Attend trade shows to represent the organization and engage in other marketing activities
Inspect, scope, photograph and estimate projects
Maintain acceptable profit margins
Solicit project documents and information
Follow up on all outstanding RFP’s and estimates with clients
Maintain sales quota for each quarter and year as provided

Construction Salesman: Salary

According to ZipRecruiter, the average salary for a construction salesman is $73,493 per year or $35.33 hourly rate ($1,413/week or $6,124/month). The salary ranges from $56,500 (25th percentile) to $91,000 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $107,500 annually across the United States. Construction salespeople can also earn bonuses, profit sharing, or commission pay. Salary and all other monetary incentives vary based on the location, project, skillset. Experience also plays a crucial role in the compensation factor. The more experienced the professional, the more income he/she can earn.

Construction Salesman: Technology

Construction sales representatives are expected to be comfortable using technology and software in their day-to-day job.

Microsoft Word is widely used for creating proposals, contracts, and other documents; see how and download iDeal templates and/or purchase additional templates here
Sales leads and client management systems such as iDeal Construction CRM are used to manage bids, opportunities, and clients; knowledge of such system is a plus
Project management platforms such as Procore are popular for storing project specs, drawings, and other documents
Accounting software is necessary to run reports and stats; examples here include Sage software and Quickbooks
Bidding platforms are frequently used for generating new business in the commercial space; examples include iSqFt, PlanHub, Bidclerk; view more construction bidding platforms

Construction Salesman Education and Experience

Education:

Most employers require only an associates degree for construction salespeople. Recently, employers started to ask for a bachelor’s degree. A degree in construction management, sales, or business can help you grow your career. As far as training goes, most employers will provide on-the-job training. Since every organization adopts different business strategies and protocols, training is essential.

Top 6 Schools to Obtain a Construction Management Degree
According to Boom and Bucket, the top 2024 Best Colleges with Construction Management Degrees in America are::

Experience:

Construction salesman must have some experience in the sales and construction industry. At this level, most employers ask for at least one year of experience. Like education, more experience acquired can help you take on more responsibilities. The next professional level, construction sales manager, requires five years of experience.