TL;DR: Key Takeaways
Start with one full-cycle Sales Rep - known as an Account Executive (AE) who can prospect, qualify, and close - not specialized roles
Your first sales hire should happen when you're consistently turning away qualified opportunities or spending 20+ hours per week on sales yourself
Typical small team structure: 1 Sales Manager → 2-3 AEs → optional SDRs as you scale past $5M
Expect 90-180 days to ramp a new rep in commercial services (longer sales cycles require patience)
Territory-based organization works better than vertical-based for field sales in HVAC, roofing, janitorial, and similar trades
Property intelligence platforms cut research time from hours to minutes, letting new hires focus on conversations instead of data hunting
The Breaking Point: When Referrals Stop Being Enough
Here's what we hear from commercial services owners hitting their first growth ceiling:
"We're at $3M in revenue, almost entirely from referrals, inbound, and existing customers. I'm personally handling every sales conversation—probably 25 hours a week between site visits, proposals, and follow-ups. My ops team is stretched thin picking up my slack. I know I need to hire a salesperson, but I have no idea what role to hire for, how much to pay them, or even what 'good' looks like. I'm terrified of hiring the wrong person and burning $150K only to waste time and regret my decision."
If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone.
Hiring your first salesperson is a daunting task. Most commercial services companies grow through founder-led sales until they hit $2-5M in revenue. Then the math breaks: You can't clone yourself, referrals plateau, and saying yes to growth means saying yes to building a sales function.
But this is a challenge. You’re “in it” (in other words, you’re actively engaged in every step of the process). But, you’re stretched too thin. You can’t be everywhere at once. And all of the industry and domain knowledge that keeps you in high demand also becomes your “Achilles heel.”
The good news? You don't need to build a complex sales org on day one. You need a simple, scalable structure that aligns with where your business is today - and where it's going over the next 18 months.
What You'll Learn in This Guide
This article walks you through the exact steps to build your first sales team for commercial services. You'll learn:
The three phases of sales team growth (and which phase you're in)
What roles to hire first, second, and third
How to structure territories and coverage
Realistic comp plans for each role
When to add sales management
How property intelligence tools accelerate ramp time from 6 months to 90 days
By the end, you'll have a clear roadmap - not just theory, but a practical org chart you can execute this quarter.
Understanding Sales Roles: AE, SDR, BDR, and Sales Manager
Before we build your team, let's define the roles. These terms get thrown around interchangeably, but they're distinct functions with different skills and comp structures.
Let’s start with the traditional “sales rep” or account executive, also known as an AE.
Sales Rep/ Account Executive (AE)
An AE owns the full sales cycle from first contact through contract signature. In commercial services, this typically means:
Prospecting and identifying target accounts
Conducting site visits and assessments
Building proposals and ROI models
Negotiating contracts and terms
Handing off to operations for fulfillment
Think about AE’s this way: they’re a carbon copy of your sales approach. Typically, an AE will be your first sales hire because they give you the bandwidth to work on other aspects of your business and get out of day-to-day selling.
Typical comp: $60-100K base (depending on location & experience) + commission = $120-150K OTE (on-target earnings) at quota.
When you need one: Once again, this is probably your first sales hire. AEs are generalists who can wear multiple hats - critical when you're building a sales team from scratch.
According to Glassdoor, AEs in Indianapolis, IN, average around $128K in total compensation, whereas AEs in New York City average closer to $150K. Your location will determine what a fair offer looks like, but in general, expect a good AE to cost around $100K and contribute between $500K and $1M in revenue.
A great AE hire also understands the metrics and tools required for success, so they can also become a sales manager - invaluable as you grow your team. We’ll use the terms “AE” and “sales rep” interchangeably for the rest of the article, but we’re talking about the same role.
Inside Sales Rep/ Sales Development Rep (SDR)
An inside sales rep or SDR focuses on qualifying inbound leads. They take marketing-generated leads (form fills, appointment requests, local event attendees) and qualify them before passing them to an AE.
This is usually a key hire once you have 2-5 AEs and a fully developed marketing function that's running ads or creating content that generates inbound lead flow.
Typical comp: $45-55K base + bonus = $70-85K OTE.
When you need one: Only after you have a consistent inbound lead flow (20+ qualified leads per month) and 2-3 AEs who are spending too much time qualifying instead of closing.
Outside Sales Reps/ Business Development Rep (BDR)
An outside sales rep or BDR focuses on outbound prospecting. They use prospecting and lead generation tools to research accounts, send cold emails, make cold calls, and book meetings for AEs.
Typical comp: $45-60K base + bonus = $60-80K OTE.
When you need one: After you have 2-3 AEs consistently hitting quota, and you want to scale outbound in new territories or verticals.
Most commercial services companies don't add BDRs until they're past $5-7M in revenue, although many commercial services companies hire titled “business development reps” and give them the roles and responsibilities of an AE, managing the full sales funnel.
Sales Manager
A Sales Manager is your first line of sales leadership. They coach reps, build repeatable processes, run weekly forecast calls, and remove blockers that keep deals from closing. They typically manage 5-8 reps depending on team maturity.
What they do day-to-day:
Run weekly one-on-ones with each rep to review the pipeline and coach on specific deals
Lead Monday forecast calls to review what's closing this week and month
Join ride-alongs and sales calls to give real-time feedback
Document your best practices into a sales playbook that scales
Own hiring, onboarding, and ramping new reps
Hold reps accountable for activity metrics (meetings, proposals, calls)
Identify process bottlenecks and fix them before they kill momentum
Think of a Sales Manager as the person who turns you from player-coach into a full-time operator. They free you up to work on strategy, partnerships, and growth while they handle the day-to-day rhythm of the sales floor.
Typical comp: $80-100K base + accelerators = $130-160K OTE
According to Indeed, the average base salary for sales managers in the US is $96,960.00. So you don’t want to jump the gun on this hire.
When you need one: When you have 3-4 AEs and you're spending 15+ hours per week on sales management instead of strategy. The trigger is when you find yourself canceling CEO-level meetings to sit in on deal reviews or ride-alongs. That's your signal to hire a Sales Manager and reclaim your calendar for higher-leverage work.
Warning: Don't hire a Sales Manager until you have at least 3 AEs hitting quota each month/quarter. They'll have nothing to manage and will either try to sell themselves (creating role/ territory confusion) or sit idle while you burn $150K.
The Three Phases of Sales Team Growth
Most commercial service companies evolve through three predictable phases. Knowing which phase you're in determines who to hire next.
Phase 1: Founder-Led Sales ($0-3M revenue)
Current state: You're the only salesperson. You take every sales call, run every site visit, and write every proposal. Sales is a side job on top of running the day-to-day business activities.
Goal: Make your first sales hire and get yourself out of full-time selling.
Structure: At this stage, it's simple: You (the founder) handle sales and strategy, with one full-cycle Account Executive reporting directly to you. That's it. No layers, no complexity.
First hire: One generalist Account Executive who can handle the entire sales cycle. Don't hire an SDR or BDR first - you don't have enough volume yet. You need someone who can take an opportunity from the first call to a signed contract.
What success looks like: Within 90 days, your AE is booking their own meetings. Within 180 days, they're carrying 75% of the sales pipeline while you focus on high-value deals and strategic accounts.
Phase 2: Building a Team ($3-7M revenue)
Current state: You have 1-2 AEs who are consistently hitting quota. You're still involved in deals, but mostly for closing large accounts or removing blockers. You're spending 10-15 hours per week managing the sales process, forecasting, and coaching.
Goal: Scale to 3-4 AEs and hire a Sales Manager so you can focus on growth strategy, not day-to-day management.
Structure: This is where you insert a layer between yourself and the selling team. You (the founder) step back to focus on strategy and key accounts. A Sales Manager sits between you and the AEs, handling all the coaching, forecast calls, and daily accountability. Under that Sales Manager, you'll have 3-4 Account Executives, each owning their territory.
Think of it this way: You're no longer player-coach. You're handing the whistle to someone else so you can work on the playbook instead of calling every play in real-time.
Your next physical actions (in priority order):
First, hire AE #2 and #3 to expand territory coverage. You can't scale with just one rep - you need proof that your sales process works with multiple people executing it. Once you have 2-3 AEs consistently at 75%+ of quota for three consecutive months, that's your signal to move to the next step.
Second, hire your Sales Manager to own the process, coaching, and accountability. This is the hire that buys back your time. They take over the weekly one-on-ones, the Monday forecast calls, the deal reviews. You meet with them once a week to review the business, but you're not in the weeds anymore.
Third (and this is optional), consider your first SDR if inbound volume justifies it. The math is simple: If you're getting 20+ qualified inbound leads per month and your AEs are spending 40% of their week on qualification calls, hire an SDR. If not, wait. Don't hire ahead of the work.
What success looks like: Your Sales Manager owns the weekly forecast calls, one-on-ones, and deal reviews. You're only pulled into deals that are 2x your average deal size or involve strategic accounts. Your AEs are hitting 80%+ of quota consistently. You've reclaimed 10+ hours per week to focus on partnerships, market strategy, and business development.
The numbers that matter: At this stage, you should be tracking quota attainment by rep (target: 75%+ consistently), pipeline coverage (target: 3-4x quarterly quota in pipeline), and win rate (target: 25-35% for commercial services). If these metrics are healthy, you're ready for Phase 3. If not, diagnose the problem—is it territory design, compensation structure, or coaching?—and fix it before scaling further.
Phase 3: Scaling Systems ($7M+ revenue)
Current state: You have a Sales Manager leading 4-6 AEs. The machine is working. Now you're adding specialized roles (SDRs, BDRs) and potentially a second sales team or vertical.
Goal: Scale to 10+ reps across multiple territories or verticals while maintaining quality and culture.
Structure: This is where you build a real revenue organization. You (the founder) focus entirely on vision and strategy—you're thinking 12-18 months out, not worrying about this week's deals.
Under you sits a VP of Sales who owns the entire revenue function. That VP manages multiple Sales Managers - one for each region or vertical (e.g., Region, City, or Roofing and Solar Installation). Consider adding a Lead Generation Manager who oversees a team of SDRs and BDRs feeding the pipeline to the AEs (depending on the size of the opportunity in your market).
At this stage, you've moved from player to coach to owner. You're not on sales calls. You're not in forecast meetings. You review quarterly business reviews (QBRs) with your VP of Sales and focus on market strategy, partnerships, and potential M&A opportunities.
Your next physical actions (in priority order):
First, hire a VP of Sales to own the entire revenue org. This person should have managed multiple sales teams before—ideally in commercial services or adjacent industries. They need to know how to build processes, scale systems, and hold managers accountable. Budget $150-200K + bonuses for an OTE of closer to $300K for this role. It's expensive, but this hire lets you focus on CEO-level work rather than sales leadership.
Second, add your second Sales Manager for a regional or vertical split. The most common split at this stage is geographic (East/West, North/South) because it keeps territories tight and reduces travel time. Some companies split by vertical (HVAC vs. Roofing, or Healthcare vs. Retail), but only if deal sizes and sales cycles are similar across verticals. Mixed deal sizes create comp plan nightmares.
Third, build a balanced lead generation engine with both inbound and outbound functions. At this scale, you need systematic pipeline generation - not just referrals and one-off prospecting efforts. If you're doing this right, you should be generating 50+ qualified opportunities per month across your AE team.
You have two paths here:
Path A: Build a dedicated lead generation team. Start with 2-3 SDRs handling inbound qualification and 1-2 BDRs focused on outbound prospecting, all reporting to a Lead Generation Manager. This gives you specialized roles and clear accountability, but adds $300-400K in fully-loaded costs.
Path B: Arm your AEs with property intelligence tools that automate prospecting. Platforms like Convex handle the prospect research, list building, and contact discovery that would normally require SDRs/BDRs - letting your AEs generate their own pipeline efficiently. This path works if your AEs are proven performers who can balance prospecting with closing. This will cost less than a tenth of hiring a full-time BDR, but requires AEs who are disciplined about prospecting and willing to dedicate 2-4 hours per week to build their sales pipeline.
Fourth, add Sales Ops to manage CRM hygiene, forecasting, and reporting. At 10+ reps, you can't rely on your VP of Sales to manage lead generation + clean up Salesforce data, and build pipeline reports. You need someone dedicated to systems, process, and data accuracy. Budget $70-90K for a Sales Ops Analyst or Coordinator.
What success looks like: You're out of the weeds entirely. You review quarterly business reviews with your VP of Sales - not weekly forecasts. You focus on market strategy, competitive positioning, and growth initiatives such as partnerships and acquisitions. Your revenue machine runs without you “in it.”
The numbers that matter: At this scale, track revenue per rep (target: $750K-1M annually), sales leadership span of control (target: 1 manager per 4-8 reps), and gross margin on sales (target: keep fully-loaded sales costs under 15-20% of revenue). If you're hitting these benchmarks, you've built a scalable, efficient sales organization.
Reality check from the field: If you're already reaching $5M+ in revenue and you're still in the day-to-day sales function, you're probably losing time for higher-leverage activities like partnerships and M&A.
Waiting too long to make these hires means the founder stays stuck in sales leadership mode and the business plateaus. Don't wait until you're drowning. Hire ahead of the pain.
How to Structure Territories for Commercial Services
In commercial services—HVAC, roofing, janitorial, fire & life safety, landscaping—territory design matters more than in SaaS or software. Your reps need to drive to sites, build local relationships, and understand regional regulations.
Territory-Based vs. Vertical-Based
Territory-based: Each rep owns a geographic region (e.g., “Inside the 465 Loop (Indianapolis)," "Chicago Metro," "Dallas-Fort Worth")
Vertical-based: Each rep owns an industry (e.g., "Healthcare," "Retail," "Office Buildings")
For commercial services, territory-based almost always wins. Here's why:
Drive time matters. A rep covering 3 states wastes 20 hours per week in transit. When your sales team spends more time on I-95 than in front of prospects, you're burning money on windshield time instead of closing deals.
Local relationships. Facility managers talk to each other. Winning one building in a metro often opens doors to others. Regional property management companies control multiple buildings in the same area—land one, and you've got warm referrals to five more.
Permits and regulations. Building codes vary by city and county. A rep who knows local rules closes faster. Understanding that Chicago requires specific HVAC permits while suburban Cook County has different requirements gives your team a competitive edge.
Service delivery. Your operations team needs to service what sales sells. Regional concentration reduces your cost to serve. When your service techs can hit three accounts in one day instead of burning half a tank getting to a single site, your margins improve.
Example territory split for a $5M HVAC company:
Territory 1: Atlanta Metro (Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb counties)
Territory 2: North Georgia (everything north of I-285)
Territory 3: South Georgia (Savannah, Augusta, Columbus)
Each AE carries a quota of $1.5-2M annually. As you grow, you subdivide territories and add reps.
The First 90 Days: What Your First Sales Hire Should Accomplish
You've made the hire. Now what? Here's a realistic ramp plan for your first AE in commercial services.
Days 1-30: Learn the Business
Shadow you on 5-10 sales calls and site visits
Study your top 10 customers (industries, building types, contract sizes)
Learn your service offerings, pricing, and proposal process
Set up their tech stack (CRM, property intelligence tools, email)
Build their first target account list (100-150 properties in their territory)
Goal: Understand who you sell to and how you win.
Days 31-60: Build Pipeline
Book 20-30 first meetings (mix of your warm intros and their cold outreach)
Conduct 10-15 site visits independently
Submit 5-8 proposals
Start using property intelligence to identify high-fit accounts
Develop their own talk track and qualification process
Goal: Get uncomfortable. Make mistakes. Learn the rhythm of commercial sales cycles.
Days 61-90: Close First Deals
Close 1-3 contracts (small to mid-size to build confidence)
Refine their territory plan and account prioritization
Establish a weekly cadence with you for deal reviews
Begin building their pipeline for Q2
Goal: Prove they can take a deal from prospecting to signature without you in every meeting.
Reality check: In commercial services, sales cycles range from 60 to 180 days, depending on deal size. Your first AE might not close a major contract until Month 4-6. That's normal. Judge them on activity and pipeline build in the first 90 days, not closed revenue in their first quarter.
How Property Intelligence Cuts Ramp Time in Half
Here's the biggest time-suck for new sales reps: research.
In traditional prospecting, a rep spends 2-3 hours per account manually researching:
Who owns the building
Property size and age
Equipment installed (HVAC, roofing, fire systems)
Recent permits or construction activity
Decision-maker contact info
That's 20-30 hours per week on research, leaving only 10-15 hours for actual selling.
This is where property intelligence platforms transform ramp time.
Imagine your new AE pulls up a map of their territory. They instantly see:
Every commercial property over 50,000 sq ft
Building age, roof type, and HVAC equipment details
Recent electrical or mechanical permits (signals of budget and timing)
Owner and facility manager contact details
Competitive contracts expiring in the next 6 months
What used to take 3 hours per account now takes 5 minutes.
Real example: Haynes Mechanical, a Colorado-based HVAC company, used Convex’s property intelligence to make its sales team more productive. Within 60 days, the team's first-appointment bookings nearly doubled, resulting in 30 active proposals and almost $400K in new pipeline. "When we look at the benefit of something like this," explains their VP of Sales, "it outweighs the cost."
The platform didn't close the deals for them. But it removed the friction that kills new-hire productivity.
Common Mistakes When Building Your First Sales Team
We've worked with hundreds of commercial services companies since our founding in 2017. Helping each one become more efficient at building effective sales teams. Here are the mistakes that hurt most:
Mistake #1: Hiring a "Closer" Instead of a Full-Cycle AE
What happens: You hire someone who claims to be a "rainmaker" but refuses to prospect. They sit around waiting for you to feed them leads. Your pipeline dries up.
Fix: Your first hire must be willing to prospect. If they can't generate their own meetings, they're useless to you.
Mistake #2: Underestimating Ramp Time
What happens: You expect your new AE to hit quota in Month 2. They don't. You panic and fire them by Month 4, restarting the whole process.
Fix: Budget 90-180 days for ramp in commercial services. Judge early performance on activity metrics (meetings booked, proposals sent, pipeline built), not closed revenue. Xactly & HubSpot report that it takes new reps an average of 3.2 months to fully ramp—and that's in software where deals close faster than commercial services.
How to Shorten Ramp Times: Comfort Systems USA Southwest cut ramp times from 180 days to 60 using Convex.
They removed the research blockers that normally slow new hires and armed their reps with property intelligence, generating warm conversations with qualified decision-makers from day one. Instead of spending weeks building lists manually, their new AEs walked in with target accounts, verified contacts, and buying signals already mapped - letting them focus on selling, not researching.
Mistake #3: No Sales Process to Train To
What happens: Your AE asks, "How do we qualify accounts? What's our pricing strategy? What does a good proposal look like?" You realize you've been doing it all in your head. They flounder.
Fix: Before you hire, document your sales process on 3-5 pages. Include: ideal customer profile, qualification criteria, proposal template, pricing guidelines, and common objections with responses. This doesn't need to be perfect—it just needs to exist.
Mistake #4: Paying 100% Commission
What happens: You think you're being smart by making them "eat what they kill." They have no pipeline for 3 months, make $0, and quit before they close anything.
Fix: Offer a base salary in commercial services. The sales cycles are too long for pure commission. You can offer things like splits: 50-60% base, 40-50% variable, and other incentives, but having the right tools and a base that they can count on will get them over the productivity hump if they're a motivated rep.
According to Glassdoor, the average AE base salary ranges from $60K to $ 80K, depending on location and experience. Your new hire needs to pay rent during their ramp period - if you structure them on pure commission, you're gambling they'll stick around long enough to close their first deal in Months 4-6. Most won't.
The combination of fair compensation plus the right tech stack (CRM + property intelligence) gives motivated reps the stability and tools they need to push through the learning curve and start producing results.
Mistake #5: Not Giving Them the Tools
What happens: You hand them a laptop, a territory, and a "good luck." They spend weeks manually building lists and researching accounts instead of selling.
Fix: Invest in their tech stack from Day 1. At minimum: CRM (HubSpot or Salesforce) and property intelligence (to find accounts, decision-makers, and buying signals). This isn't optional—it's the foundation of modern B2B sales.
Take Mechanical Services and Design, an Ohio-based facility solutions provider. Before implementing property intelligence, their reps would "make 100 cold calls a week" and still struggle to get past gatekeepers. After adopting Atlas, they sourced over $42 million in opportunities by focusing on qualified properties with verified decision-maker contacts—transforming their entire approach to business development.
When to Hire Your Second AE (and Third, and Fourth)
So let’s talk about planning your hiring. You've nailed your first hire. They're consistently hitting 70-80% of quota. When do you add AE #2, #3, and so on?
Hire your second AE when:
Your first AE has been at or above 75% of quota for 3 consecutive months
You have enough territory to support 2 reps without cannibalization
Your pipeline generation is predictable (you know where leads come from)
You've documented your sales process so onboarding is repeatable
Don't hire AE #2 if:
Your first AE is struggling to hit 50% of quota (fix that first)
You don't have enough pipeline to keep them busy
You're relying entirely on founder-generated leads
Rule of thumb: For every $2M in annual revenue capacity, you can support one full-cycle AE in commercial services. So if you're targeting $6M next year, you need 3 AEs.
Comp Plans That Actually Drive Performance
Sales comp in commercial services isn't complicated, but most founders overcomplicate it. Here's a simple framework based on current market data:
Account Executive (Full-Cycle)
Base: $65-85K
Variable: $65-85K at 100% quota
OTE: $130-170K
Quota: $1.5-2.5M annual contract value (depending on deal size)
Split: 50/50 or 60/40 (base/variable)
Commission structure:
5-8% of closed revenue on new business
2-4% on renewals or upsells
Accelerators at 100%+ of quota (e.g., 10% commission above quota)
According to RepVue's 2025 sales compensation data, the national median base salary for Account Executives is $100K with an OTE of $185K. However, these figures skew toward tech and SaaS roles. For commercial services—where deal cycles are longer and average contract values are lower—expect compensation to run 20-30% below tech benchmarks.
SDR (If You Add One)
Base: $50-60K
Variable: $25-35K at 100% quota
OTE: $75-95K
Quota: 20-30 qualified meetings per month passed to AEs
Bonus structure:
$200-400 per qualified meeting that converts to an opportunity
Accelerators for exceeding quota
RepVue reports the median SDR base salary at $60K with $85K OTE nationally. Betts Recruiting's 2024 compensation guide shows entry-level SDRs in tech earning $50K-$65K base, with those having 6+ months of experience commanding $55K-$75K. Commercial services typically fall on the lower end of these ranges.
Sales Manager
Base: $95-120K
Variable: $50-80K at 100% team quota
OTE: $160-300K
Quota: Team carries 100% of aggregate quota
Commission structure:
10-15% of the team's total commission pool, OR
Bonus based on % of team hitting quota (e.g., $10K per rep at quota, $20K per rep above)
According to Betts Recruiting's analysis, Sales Managers with less than 2 years of experience earn $120K-$160K base in tech, while those with 3+ years command $140K-$200K base, with OTE typically matching or exceeding base salary. Indeed reports the average base salary for sales managers across all industries is $96,960—but this includes salary metrics from industries like retail and other lower-paying sectors. For B2B commercial services, aim for the higher end.
Important context: These ranges reflect commercial services industry standards (HVAC, roofing, janitorial, solar, fire & life safety). Tech and SaaS companies typically pay 20-30% higher than these benchmarks. If trying to attract talent from other industries (corporate, software, etc.), expect to adjust upward or emphasize other benefits such as territory ownership, uncapped commissions, or faster promotion paths.
Keep it simple. Complicated comp plans kill motivation. Reps should be able to calculate their commission in their head.
Building a Repeatable Hiring Process
By the time you're hiring AE #3 and #4, you need a system. Here's a streamlined process for commercial services sales hiring:
Step 1: Write a Clear Job Description
Role: What they'll do “day-to-day.” This should include everything in your current sales workflow. Tools, Processes, Client relationship management, and more.
Requirements: 2-5 years B2B sales, field experience preferred, proven prospecting skills
Comp: Be transparent about OTE and quota expectations
Step 2: Source Candidates
LinkedIn Recruiter (search for "field sales," "commercial," "B2B")
Indeed, ZipRecruiter, CareerBuilder, Monster, and others offer a great place to post jobs, but you may get unqualified candidates.
Industry-specific staffing solutions, hiring tools, and job boards include (ACHR News for HVAC, similar for your vertical), Construction Consultants, and more.
Referrals from customers, vendors, and competitors
Step 3: Phone Screen (20 minutes)
This is your opportunity to see how they communicate.
Ask:
"Walk me through your last sales role - how did you generate pipeline?"
"What's your average deal size and sales cycle length?"
"Why are you interested in commercial services?"
Red flags: Can't articulate how they prospect, chasing base salary over OTE, looking for purely inbound role.
These are obstacles you won’t be able to overcome because they’re mindset problems for the candidate. No ability to prospect? Means they can’t source their own deal flow. Chasing a higher salary with little bonus or commission structure means they’re probably not going to be “hungry.” And purely inbound means they’re not going to do well with a full-funnel approach from prospecting to deal closure.
Step 4: Working Interview (2-3 hours)
Have them:
Shadow a site visit or sales call
Review 3 target accounts using your property intelligence tool and present who they'd call first and why
Role-play 2-3 qualification calls. If you’re hiring from another industry, don’t worry so much about the details of your product. Focus on how they handle the conversation: Are they articulate, conversational, and able to remain focused on the end result?
This reveals how they think, how they prepare, and whether they're coachable.
Step 5: Reference Checks
Call their last 2 sales managers. Ask:
"Would you hire them again?"
"What was their quota attainment?"
"How did they handle rejection and adversity?"
“Were they a great team player, or a lone wolf?”
Keep in mind that hiring is a specialized skill. It will take time to get it right. Be patient, but most of all, hire slow and fire fast. One of the best ways to manage sales rep success and build a great team is to create a 9-box. This grid breaks down the performance and potential of each member of your sales team and helps you decide whether to coach, empower, or offboard (fire) them.
The Role of Technology in Sales Team Success
Your sales team is only as good as the tools you give them. Here's the minimum tech stack for a modern commercial services sales team:
CRM (Required)
HubSpot or Salesforce
Track pipeline, forecast revenue, store customer data
Or, if you choose to use Convex’s property intelligence, we have a CRM built into our solution to help you better manage the sales pipeline and deal stage.
Property Intelligence Platform
Find target accounts, building details, decision-makers, and buying signals (these are the signals that show you someone is actively searching for your product or service at the property level).
Cut research time from hours to minutes.
Example: Convex provides territory mapping, contact data, permit history, and equipment details for commercial properties
Sales Engagement Tool (Optional, for Phase 2+)
Automate email sequences, track opens, schedule follow-ups
Examples: Outreach, SalesLoft, Apollo
Budget: $100-200 per user per month
Proposal/ Measurement and Estimation Software (Optional)
Gather data, create professional proposals, etc.
Examples: PropertyIntel, PandaDoc, Proposify
Don't skimp on property intelligence. It's the difference between your rep spending 20 hours per week on research (and 15 on selling) versus 2-4 hours on research (and 30 on selling). That 100% increase in selling time compounds fast.
Summary: Your Path from Founder-Led to Sales-Led
Building a sales team isn't about hiring fast—it's about hiring right, at the right time, with the right structure.
Here's your playbook:
Hire your first AE when you're turning away qualified opportunities or spending 20+ hours per week on sales
Start with a generalist (full-cycle AE), not a specialist (SDR/BDR)
Organize by territory for commercial services, not by vertical
Budget 90-180 days for ramp time in commercial services
Invest in property intelligence from Day 1 to cut research time and accelerate ramp
Add your Sales Manager when you have 3-4 AEs and you're drowning in management tasks
Keep comp simple: 50/50 or 60/40 base/variable for AEs, 5-8% commission on closed revenue
Most importantly: Document your sales process before you hire. Your new rep can't execute a system that only exists in your head.
Take the First Step: Map Your Sales Org for the Next 12 Months
You don't need a perfect plan. You need a clear next step.
If you're in Phase 1 ($0-3M): Write a job description for your first AE this week. Commit to hiring in the next 90 days.
If you're in Phase 2 ($3-7M): Decide whether your next hire is AE #2-3 or a Sales Manager. Then, source candidates aggressively.
If you're in Phase 3 ($7M+): Audit your current team structure against the Phase 3 org chart above. Identify the gaps (VP of Sales? Second Sales Manager? SDRs?) and prioritize.
Want to see how property intelligence accelerates your team's ramp time? See how commercial services companies use territory mapping, contact data, and buying signals to help new reps hit quota faster. Schedule a demo to see how it works.
Or start building your sales process framework with our guide on mastering sales prospecting for commercial services.
FAQ: Building a Commercial Services Sales Team
What roles make up a sales team?
A typical commercial services sales team includes Account Executives (full-cycle sellers), Sales Development Reps (inbound lead qualifiers), Business Development Reps (outbound prospectors), and Sales Managers (coaching and accountability). Most companies start with one or two “AEs” (sales reps) and add specialized roles as they scale past $5M in revenue.
How many sales reps do I need?
Plan for one full-cycle Account Executive for every $2-2.5M in annual revenue capacity. So if you're targeting $6M next year, you need 3 AEs. This assumes average deal sizes of $30-100K and 60-90 day sales cycles typical in commercial services.
What's the difference between an AE, SDR, and BDR?
An Account Executive (AE) owns the full sales cycle from prospecting through contract signature.
An SDR (Sales Development Rep) qualifies inbound leads and passes them to AEs.
A BDR (Business Development Rep) focuses on outbound prospecting and cold outreach.
For your first hire, choose a traditional sales rep/ AE - they're generalists who can do it all.
When should I hire my first sales rep?
Hire your first sales rep when you're consistently turning away qualified opportunities because you don't have time, or when you're spending 20+ hours per week on sales conversations instead of running the business. For most commercial services companies, this happens around $2-3M in revenue.
How long does it take to ramp a sales rep in commercial services?
Expect 90-180 days for a new rep to become productive in commercial services. Sales cycles are longer (60-180 days on average), so reps won't close major contracts immediately. Focus on activity metrics (meetings booked, proposals sent) in the first 90 days, not closed revenue.
Should I hire an SDR or AE first?
Always hire an AE first. SDRs specialize in lead qualification, but in your first sales hire, you need someone who can do the entire job—prospect, qualify, present, and close. Only add SDRs once you have 2-3 AEs and consistent inbound lead flow.
How much should I pay my first sales hire?
For a full-cycle AE in commercial services, plan for $65-85K base salary plus $60-80K in commission at quota, totaling $130-170K in on-target earnings (OTE). Use a 50/50 or 60/40 split between base and variable. Avoid pure commission - commercial sales cycles are too long for reps to survive without base pay.
How do I structure sales territories for field sales?
Organize by geography, not by industry vertical. In commercial services, drive time matters. Split territories by metro area or region (e.g., "Greater Chicago," "Northern California," "Dallas-Fort Worth"). Each rep should be able to reach most of their accounts within 60-90 minutes. As you grow, subdivide territories and add more reps.
What's the biggest mistake when building a sales team?
The biggest mistake is hiring before you've documented your sales process. If your entire sales system exists in your head, your new rep has no playbook to follow. Spend 2-3 days writing down your ideal customer profile, qualification questions, pricing structure, proposal template, and common objections—before you post the job description.
Do I need a CRM before I hire a salesperson?
Yes. Your salesperson needs a system to track the sales pipeline, log activities, and forecast revenue. Choose Convex’s built-in solution (easiest), HubSpot (best starting option), or Salesforce (more robust, higher learning curve). Other solutions like Zoho and Pipedrive can be great options if you’re looking for low-budget tools.
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