Building Materials Sales Training: 5 Steps to Coach Your Sales Team on Profit vs Volume

Author: Aymeric Halvarsson

Sales in the construction material industry isn’t like selling software or consumer goods. You’re not just moving units, you’re managing tight margins, volatile input costs, complex logistics, and real-time pricing. 

And yet, many sales teams still default to a single metric: volume.

“Sold 2,000 yards!” might sound like a win. But if that job was quoted a dollar too low, you may have just worked harder to earn less.

Unlike other industries, where discounts can be absorbed or made up with upsells, every dollar off in ready-mix or aggregate quoting cuts directly into thin margins. 

Sales reps rarely see the true impact of pricing decisions, because most quoting tools don’t show margin in real time, and most sales processes don’t reward profit-focused behavior.

But there are ways to fix this. In this blog, we’ll walk through why sales in this industry is different, what most producers get wrong when coaching their reps, and how to shift the conversation from “yards sold” to “dollars made.” 

By the end, you’ll have a clear playbook for enabling your sales team to close more profitable work.

Why sales reps default to volume-first thinking 

Many building materials suppliers unknowingly train their sales teams to think in terms of only volume. Here’s why.

Traditionally, reps are evaluated on how many yards they sell, how many quotes they send, or how often they win. Profitability rarely enters the conversation.

And because most quoting tools don’t show live margin, reps quote fast and blind. With managers too busy to check every deal, those blind spots go unchecked. Over time, being “competitive” becomes shorthand for being the lowest price, even when it hurts the business.

Let’s look at how you can turn this around.

Step 1: Shift what you measure

The first step is to shift the focus to the right metrics because what you track is what your team will prioritize.

• Start by making profitability visible. 
• Add “Profit per Job” and “Average Margin %” to your dashboards. 
• Track and celebrate your most profitable jobs, not just the biggest volume wins.

If your reps only see yardage, they’ll chase yardage. But if they see margin trends and customer value by job, they’ll start thinking like business owners.

Displaying margin trends by customer and region helps reinforce margin-focused behavior without increasing admin overhead. When reps understand how their quoting decisions impact profitability across different accounts and territories, they can start adjusting their approach to drive smarter outcomes.

Once the reps can see the numbers, the next step is helping them interpret what those numbers mean for the business.

Step 2: Train with real job examples 

Abstract metrics don’t stick. Real job walk-throughs do a better job of connecting numbers to real business outcomes.

Set aside time in your weekly or monthly sales meetings to unpack past jobs with the team. Use a pair of jobs with similar volume as your teaching tool, one where you made a strong margin and one that underperformed. 

Then break down what happened in each. 

How did delivery costs, fuel, raw material prices, or unexpected job changes affect the end result? Use visuals and numbers to help your reps see how their quoting decisions play out in the real world. Because when they understand how two seemingly similar jobs can lead to very different results, they become more thoughtful in how they quote the next one.

Next, let’s look at how to put structure around pricing decisions, without creating bottlenecks or slowing your reps down.

Step 3: Set quoting guardrails (and stick to them) 

The next step in training your sales team to drive profitability is to set margin floors based on product, geography, or customer type. 

For example, a standard mix in a core market might have a 12% minimum margin, whereas a specialty mix in a competitive metro area might be adjusted to 8%. The goal here is to prevent unprofitable quotes from slipping through unnoticed.

To do that, set clear rules: quotes below a certain threshold should be flagged and reviewed. You can also set automatic approvals for quotes above the margin floor to keep deals moving. The key is reducing risk without introducing new bottlenecks.

By enforcing quoting discipline through clear thresholds and streamlined review processes, you make sure every job contributes to your margin targets and does not undermine them.

Once those rules are in place, you can begin aligning your compensation and recognition programs to reinforce margin-minded behavior, not just volume wins.

Step 4: Align incentives with profitability 

If your compensation plan only rewards revenue, reps will chase revenue, even if it means sacrificing margin.

Instead, tie bonuses to outcomes like:

• Average margin per job
• Mix of high-margin vs. low-margin wins
• Fewer quote errors or override approvals

These metrics encourage reps to think more strategically about which jobs they pursue, and how they price them.

But none of these coaching strategies we’ve discussed above will stick if your sales team doesn’t have the systems to support them. 

For coaching to translate into consistent performance, your team needs quoting systems that reinforce what you’re teaching. Margin visibility, quoting controls, and access to accurate cost data give your reps the clarity they need. 

Step 5: Give your team the right tools

Most reps aren’t ignoring margin, they’re just quoting without the right visibility.

That’s because spreadsheets and horizontal CRMs don’t give sales teams the information they need to price jobs with confidence. 

They often lack real-time cost data, don’t enforce margin rules, and provide little visibility into how quotes are performing. As a result, reps can move fast but miss the mark when it comes to protecting profitability.

Tools designed specifically for the concrete industry, like Slabstack, solve this.

They show margin impact live, apply rules automatically, and reduce manual approval delays. More importantly, they provide sales managers with clear insight into quoting patterns and performance across teams, regions, and job types.

Read on to know more. 

Empower your reps to sell smarter with Slabstack

A quoting system is only useful if it helps your reps price confidently and your managers track performance with clarity. That means surfacing real-time costs, embedding margin rules into the workflow, and giving both reps and leaders visibility into what’s working.

Slabstack does all of this by showing live margin inside every quote, enforcing quoting thresholds automatically, and tracking quote performance by job, customer, and region. It also routes low-margin quotes for approval, ensuring speed without sacrificing control.

With these features built in, Slabstack helps your team quote more accurately, act faster, and close more profitable work.

Book a demo to see how it works and use it to help your team drive more revenue. 

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