I ask every candidate the same question: where would you work, and where wouldn't you?
The companies people wouldn't work for are always the same. And the companies people want to work for share the same characteristics. After hundreds of these conversations in building products, the patterns are clear.
If you want to attract and retain the best salespeople in the sector, this is what they're looking for. None of it is revolutionary. Most of it is straightforward. But the gap between knowing what candidates want and actually offering it is where most companies lose talent.
Flexibility and trust
This is the single biggest shift in what candidates want compared to five years ago.
It's not about working from home every day. Most field-based salespeople in building products understand that the job requires time on the road, time on sites, and time in front of customers. That hasn't changed.
What's changed is the expectation of autonomy. They want to own their schedule. They want to manage their territory without being tracked, monitored, or required to be in the office on days when they have no reason to be there.
The best candidates I speak to aren't asking "can I work from home?" They're asking "will I be trusted to manage my time?" Those are different questions. The first is about location. The second is about management philosophy.
Companies that attract top talent trust their salespeople. They judge on results, not visibility. They don't require people to sit in an office for the sake of it. They give their reps the flexibility to structure their week in the way that delivers the best outcomes.
Companies that struggle to attract talent micromanage. They track movements. They require daily check-ins that serve no purpose. They treat experienced salespeople like they need supervision. The best reps won't tolerate it. They'll go somewhere they're trusted.
A manager who coaches, not chases
When I ask candidates what they want in their next role, the answer is rarely just about money. More often than not, it comes back to their manager.
A good manager makes a significant difference. Straight, visible leadership. Someone who's available when you need them and leaves you alone when you don't. Someone who helps you solve problems rather than just asking for updates. Someone who develops you rather than just measuring you.
A bad manager is the most common reason people leave roles in building products. Not salary. Not the product. Not the territory. The manager.
The companies that consistently attract top salespeople invest in their sales leaders. They don't just promote the best rep into a management role and hope for the best. They develop managers who can actually lead, coach, and retain a team.
If your sales team is turning over faster than you'd like, look at the management before you look at the packages.
What the best companies do differently
The companies that consistently attract and retain top talent in building products share a few characteristics.
They're flexible in how they structure packages. They don't have a rigid template that every hire must fit into. They build roles around the best people. If a candidate needs more base and less car allowance, they flex. If someone values flexibility over a higher bonus, they accommodate. The more flexible an employer can be, the wider the net they cast.
They build roles around people, not the other way around. Instead of advertising a fixed role and hoping the right person applies, they identify strong talent and think about how that person could add value. Sometimes the role shifts slightly to suit the candidate's strengths. That's not weakness. That's strategic hiring.
They have genuine career paths. Not vague promises of progression. Actual steps from BDM to senior BDM to sales manager to national role. Training budgets. Development plans. Opportunities to stretch on real projects. Candidates who've been somewhere for three to five years without movement want to see that the next step exists.
They have long-term plans. Strategic direction. Succession planning. Investment in products and markets. A business that knows where it's going attracts people who want to be part of building something. A business that reacts quarter to quarter attracts people who won't stay long.
They have good internal support. Technical teams that respond. Marketing that generates useful materials and leads. Estimating that turns quotes around quickly. A CRM that works and that people use. Logistics that deliver on time. When the back end works, the sales team performs. When it doesn't, frustration builds.
What top performers have in common
There are clear patterns in the salespeople who consistently perform in building products.
They build genuine relationships. Not surface-level account management. Deep, trusted relationships with customers who call them first. This takes time, which is why tenure matters. The reps who stay three to five years and build a territory properly are the ones who deliver the most value.
They know their product inside out. Not just the features and specs. The applications, the limitations, the competitive positioning, the compliance requirements. They can have a technical conversation with an architect and a practical conversation with a builder. Product knowledge becomes instinct over time.
They're self-driven. They don't need chasing. They plan their week. They manage their pipeline. They follow up without being reminded. Give them clear expectations and they get on with it.
They're adaptable. Markets change. Products change. Customers change. The best reps adjust. They don't cling to how things were done three years ago. They learn new systems, adopt new tools, and evolve their approach.
They stay. The compounding effect is real. The best performers tend to be the ones who've been in a role or a territory long enough for the relationships and knowledge to compound. Short stints might feel like progress, but the reps who stay and build are the ones who deliver the biggest returns.
Employer reputation matters more than you think
I ask every candidate where they'd work and where they wouldn't. The same companies come up on both lists consistently.
In building products in Australia, reputation travels fast. Candidates talk to each other. Recruiters talk to each other. Former employees share their experiences. Customers who interact with sales teams form opinions about the company behind them.
If your company has a reputation for high turnover, poor management, or unrealistic targets, the best candidates already know. They'll either avoid you entirely or approach the process with scepticism that's hard to overcome in an interview.
How to improve a poor reputation. It starts internally. A happy team is a performing team, and a performing team is your best recruitment tool. Your current employees are the most credible advocates for your business. When they're engaged and well-treated, they refer good people. They speak positively in the market. They stay, and their tenure signals stability to prospective candidates.
Use your employees to build your reputation. Encourage them to share their experiences. Invest in their development and recognition. Fix the internal problems that created the reputation in the first place. Then the external perception will follow.
This takes time. Reputation isn't rebuilt with a new careers page or a LinkedIn post about culture. It's rebuilt through consistent, genuine improvement that your people and the market can see.
The gap between knowing and doing
Most hiring managers in building products know what candidates want. Competitive pay. Good commission. Flexibility. Supportive management. Career progression. Strong products.
The gap isn't knowledge. It's execution.
Knowing that candidates want flexibility but still requiring five days in the office because "that's how we've always done it." Knowing that commission should be uncapped but leaving the cap in place because finance is uncomfortable. Knowing that career paths matter but not investing in the structure to create them.
The companies that win the talent war aren't doing anything secret. They're just doing the obvious things that everyone else talks about but doesn't act on.
Quick checklist for hiring managers
- Flexibility and trust are the biggest differentiators in 2026. Judge on results, not visibility.
- Invest in your sales managers. The manager relationship is the most common reason people stay or leave.
- Be flexible in how you structure packages. Build around the person, not the template.
- Create genuine career paths. Not promises. Actual steps with training and development attached.
- Fix internal support. Technical, marketing, estimating, logistics. When the back end works, sales performs.
- Your reputation in the market matters. Ask your recruiter what candidates say about your company. Then address it.
- Use your current team as your best recruitment tool. Happy employees attract good candidates.
- Close the gap between what you know candidates want and what you actually offer.