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Call-by-Call Manager

From Elite Salesperson to Elite Sales Leader

If you’re considering becoming a Call-by-Call Manager, there’s a good chance you’ve already proven everything you need to prove as a salesperson.
✓You know how to sell.
✓You know how to communicate.
✓You know how to walk into a customer’s home, diagnose the situation, build value, present solutions and close business.
And if you’re an elite HVAC salesperson, you may already be earning $300,000–$500,000 per year.
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What You Could Earn
The Question
So why would you ever consider leaving the truck?
Because at some point, the next level isn’t about becoming a better salesperson.
It’s about taking everything you’ve learned and multiplying it through other people.
That’s what becoming a Call-by-Call Manager is about.
12–15
Opportunities influenced daily
Instead of the three you could run yourself
4–5
Technicians in your corner
Typically across one or two contractor clients
7%–10%
Of the revenue they produce
Your compensation scales with their growth
The Role

What Is a Call-by-Call Manager?

A Call-by-Call Manager will typically be assigned one or two contractor clients and will generally work directly with approximately four to five technicians at a time. Those technicians may each be running approximately three opportunities per day.
Instead of personally influencing three opportunities, you could potentially be influencing 12–15 opportunities every day.
Your job is to know what’s happening on those calls and coach your technicians toward success. That can include helping them:
01Prepare mentally before a call
02Understand the opportunity they’re walking into
03Ask better questions
04Recognize opportunities they might otherwise miss
05Build appropriate options
06Communicate value
07Work through difficult sales situations
08Handle objections
09Maintain confidence
10Recover mentally after a lost opportunity
11Analyze wins and losses
12Develop better habits
13Make the most of every legitimate opportunity while doing what’s right for the customer
One Important Distinction
Your job isn’t to sell for them. Your job is to make them better.
You’re putting years of elite sales experience in that technician’s corner while the game is being played.
The Shift

From Production to Leverage

As a salesperson, your income is connected to your individual production. No matter how talented you become, there’s still only one of you. You can only be in one customer’s home at a time. A Call-by-Call Manager changes that equation.
Instead of asking
“How much can I personally sell?”
You begin asking
“How much production can I create through the people I develop?”
That’s leverage. And when you develop great people, the economics can become significant.
Compensation

What Can a Call-by-Call Manager Earn?

Compensation will vary based on experience, performance, client structure and total production. A Call-by-Call Manager can generally expect to earn approximately 7%–10% of the revenue produced by the technicians they manage.
Higher levels of production may create opportunities for increased commission percentages, bonuses and other forms of compensation. Here’s what that leverage can potentially look like.
Developing Team
$2.5M
Five technicians producing $500,000 each
7%$175,000
That’s not where we want the team to stay. It’s where the development begins.
Strong Team
$5M
Five technicians averaging $1 million each
7%$350,000
8%$400,000
10%$500,000
Approaching or exceeding elite salesperson income, without personally running the calls.
Elite Team
$7.5M
Five technicians averaging $1.5 million each
7%$525,000
8%$600,000
10%$750,000
Exceptional Team
$10M
Five technicians producing $2 million each
7%$700,000
8%$800,000
10%$1,000,000
Development Is Where the Value Is Created
A technician producing $500,000 today doesn’t necessarily have to remain a $500,000 producer. With the right technician, the right system and an exceptional Call-by-Call Manager, we’ve seen the potential for someone to develop from approximately $500,000 to $2 million or more in annual production. That’s where the manager creates tremendous value.
The Ceiling

Performance Creates Opportunity

The 7%–10% range isn’t necessarily a static compensation structure. Performance matters. Someone responsible for helping clients produce $5 million, $7 million or $10 million+ in revenue becomes extraordinarily valuable. As performance and responsibility grow, additional opportunities may include:
Graduated commission percentages
Performance bonuses
Additional clients
Larger teams
Training other Call-by-Call Managers
Leadership responsibilities
Profit sharing
Potential equity opportunities
Executive or organizational leadership
There may even be an opportunity for an exceptional manager who has spent significant time developing their teams to eventually manage multiple groups or clients simultaneously.
The ceiling will largely be determined by the value you can create.
Logistics

Travel

This position requires travel. A Call-by-Call Manager should expect approximately one to two weeks of travel per month, particularly while developing a new client and building relationships with their technicians.
However, travel requirements vary significantly. Some clients may require an in-person visit every month. Others may only require a visit every other month. As teams mature and relationships become established, the need for physical presence may decrease.
Business travel is company-paid
Within reasonable guidelines, including:
Flights
Hotels
Rental cars
Meals
There may also be circumstances where the company approves a spouse traveling with the Call-by-Call Manager.
The Long Game

Freedom, But Freedom That Is Earned

One of the most attractive long-term benefits of Call-by-Call management is geographic freedom. Much of the position can eventually be performed remotely. That means your office doesn’t necessarily have to be an HVAC truck, a corporate office, or even your home. You can potentially perform this job from almost anywhere in the world.
But there’s an important condition. Your technicians have to be able to reach you. When they’re running calls, you’re working. Location freedom does not mean disappearing.
And that freedom isn’t necessarily immediate. When you first take responsibility for a team, you may work harder.
•You’ll travel.
•You’ll ride with technicians.
•You’ll learn their personalities.
•You’ll identify strengths and weaknesses.
•You’ll develop relationships.
•You’ll build trust.
•You’ll establish expectations.
•You’ll coach. You’ll correct.
•You’ll develop people.
And eventually, something changes. The team begins performing at a high level without requiring your physical presence.
Build the people. Build the production. Earn the freedom.
The Real Scoreboard

The Intrinsic Reward

This may eventually become the biggest benefit of the position. There’s a point in the career of a great salesperson when another big sale doesn’t feel the way the first one did. You’ve proven you can sell. You’ve broken records. You’ve made money. You’ve won.
But helping another person accomplish something they didn’t believe they were capable of creates an entirely different kind of satisfaction. Imagine taking a technician producing $500,000 a year and helping him become a million-dollar producer. Then imagine helping him reach $1.5 million. Maybe eventually $2 million.
But the number isn’t the story. What did that growth do to his life?

Maybe he paid off debt.

Maybe his wife stopped worrying about money.

Maybe they bought their first house.

Maybe he took his kids on a vacation he never thought he could afford.

Maybe he finally believed he was capable of something bigger.

Maybe you helped completely change the financial trajectory of his family.

And eventually you realize: you helped create that. Your scoreboard starts becoming bigger than your own sales numbers.

Instead of asking

“How much did I sell today?”

You start asking

“How many people did I make better today?”

For the right person, that’s an incredibly rewarding transition.

Straight Talk

The Drawbacks

This opportunity isn’t for everyone. And we don’t want to pretend that it is. There are legitimate tradeoffs.
You Give Up Control
When you’re the salesperson, you’re in the house. You control your questions, presentation, communication and execution. As a manager, you can give someone incredible advice, and they can still fail to execute it. That can be frustrating.
Your Income Depends on Other People
Your financial success becomes connected to your ability to develop and influence other people. You aren’t betting on yourself anymore.
You Have to Be Available
Working remotely doesn’t mean working whenever you feel like it. When your technicians are running calls, they need access to their manager.
Travel Can Get Old
Flights and hotels sound exciting until you’ve done enough of them. One to two weeks of travel per month can be difficult, particularly for someone with a family.
Coaching Requires Patience
Something that became instinctive after years of selling may take someone else months to understand. Teaching and doing are completely different skills.
Someone Else Gets the Handshake
The technician gets the sale. The technician gets the commission. The technician gets congratulated. A great Call-by-Call Manager has to learn to enjoy watching someone else win.
Fit

Who Should Consider This?

This opportunity is probably a strong fit for someone who:
✓Has already proven they can sell at an elite level
✓Loves sales but doesn’t necessarily want to personally run calls forever
✓Naturally coaches and develops other salespeople
✓Gets excited watching someone succeed because of their guidance
✓Wants compensation tied directly to performance
✓Wants to create leverage
✓Values geographic freedom
✓Is comfortable traveling
✓Can manage several opportunities simultaneously
✓Can remain calm under pressure
✓Has the patience to develop people
✓Is willing to hold people accountable
✓Doesn’t need to personally receive all the credit
✓Wants an opportunity with a much larger long-term ceiling
Most importantly: you have to enjoy making other people better.
The Evolution

From Salesperson to Leader

There is nothing wrong with remaining an elite salesperson. If you’re making $300,000, $400,000 or $500,000 a year doing something you love, that’s an incredible career. This opportunity isn’t an escape from sales. It’s an evolution of it.
You’ve already learned how to sell. You’ve already proven that you can win. The next challenge is different: can you take everything you’ve learned and teach four or five other people to win at the same level?
A great salesperson creates revenue.
A great leader creates great salespeople.
And eventually, great leaders create other great leaders.
That’s where this opportunity can ultimately lead.
Questions

Call-by-Call Manager: Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Call-by-Call Manager?

A Call-by-Call Manager will typically be assigned one or two contractor clients and will generally work directly with approximately four to five technicians at a time. Your job is to know what’s happening on those calls and coach your technicians toward success. Instead of personally influencing three opportunities, you could potentially be influencing 12–15 opportunities every day.

Compensation will vary based on experience, performance, client structure and total production. A Call-by-Call Manager can generally expect to earn approximately 7%–10% of the revenue produced by the technicians they manage. Higher levels of production may create opportunities for increased commission percentages, bonuses and other forms of compensation.

A Call-by-Call Manager should expect approximately one to two weeks of travel per month, particularly while developing a new client and building relationships with their technicians. Travel requirements vary significantly. Some clients may require an in-person visit every month, others only every other month, and as teams mature the need for physical presence may decrease.

Required business travel is paid for by the company within reasonable guidelines, including flights, hotels, rental cars and meals. There may also be circumstances where the company approves a spouse traveling with the Call-by-Call Manager.

Much of the position can eventually be performed remotely, but your technicians have to be able to reach you. When they’re running calls, you’re working; location freedom does not mean disappearing. And that freedom isn’t necessarily immediate: when you first take responsibility for a team, you may work harder.

Someone who has already proven they can sell at an elite level, naturally coaches and develops other salespeople, wants compensation tied directly to performance, values geographic freedom, is comfortable traveling, has the patience to develop people, and most importantly, enjoys making other people better.

You give up control. You can give someone incredible advice and they can still fail to execute it. Your income depends on other people, you have to be available when your technicians are running calls, one to two weeks of travel per month can be difficult, coaching requires patience, and the technician (not the manager) gets the sale, the commission and the congratulations.

No. There is nothing wrong with remaining an elite salesperson. This opportunity isn’t an escape from sales, it’s an evolution of it. The next challenge is different: can you take everything you’ve learned and teach four or five other people to win at the same level?

The Transition
As a Salesperson
You are the weapon.
As a Call-by-Call Manager
Your job is to build weapons.
Stop measuring your potential exclusively by what you can personally produce. Start measuring it by what you can teach other people to produce.
Build the People.
Build the Production.
Earn the Freedom.
Book a Call With Lead Ninja
Book a Call with Lead Ninja