B2B lead generation | Akron

Commercial lead generation and B2B appointment setting in Akron

Akron has 1,989 business sites with 20 or more people on site in the categories commercial trades sell to, #65 of the 100 markets we cover, and 1.86 times the national concentration of senior living and nursing. Private business establishments fell 1.1% from 2025 Q1 to 2026 Q1. Abstrakt's U.S.-based reps prospect those buyers by phone, email and LinkedIn and book meetings with the people who sign.

Ask Ava anything about the information on this page.

Local B2B snapshot

How many businesses are in Akron, and which ones buy

Akron has 8,360 establishments in the categories commercial trades sell to, 1,989 of them with 20 or more people on site. Compared with the national mix it over-indexes on senior living and nursing (1.86x), warehousing and distribution (1.83x) and manufacturing plants (1.82x). Added over the past year: medical, dental and outpatient offices (+39), grocery stores (+5) and apartment and residential property managers (+4). Down: wholesale distributors (-52) and retail stores (-30).

  • 8,360 establishments in the 21 categories commercial trades sell to

    Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023

  • 1,989 of them with 20 or more people on site, where a prospecting list starts

    Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023

  • -1.1% private business establishments, 2025 Q1 to 2026 Q1 (18,656 now; U.S. +3.6%)

    Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private ownership, 2026 Q1

  • 1.86x the national concentration of senior living and nursing

    Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private ownership, 2026 Q1

  • 10,665 decision-maker records Abstrakt can prospect for a construction and roofing program (territory: Cleveland-Akron-Canton, wider than this metro)

    Source: Abstrakt territory record counts, October 2026

An establishment is one physical location, so a company with three sites counts three times; decision-maker records are contacts, not companies; open programs are not reservations.

Largest buyer groups in Akron

  1. Restaurants 1.31x the U.S. mix534
  2. Manufacturing plants 1.82x the U.S. mix386
  3. Retail stores 1.25x the U.S. mix381
  4. Wholesale distributors 1.33x the U.S. mix200
  5. Medical, dental and outpatient offices172
  6. Senior living and nursing 1.86x the U.S. mix112
  7. Grocery stores 1.25x the U.S. mix63
  8. Trucking companies 1.26x the U.S. mix61

Sites with 20 or more people on site, U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023; concentration, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private ownership, 2026 Q1.

All 21 categories, with establishments, concentration and one-year change
Business categories in Akron: larger sites, all establishments, concentration and one-year change
CategorySites with 20+All establishmentsvs. U.S. mix1-yr change
Restaurants 5341,507 1.31x -17
Manufacturing plants 386957 1.82x -18
Retail stores 3811,994 1.25x -30
Wholesale distributors 200974 1.33x -52
Medical, dental and outpatient offices 1721,192 1.11x +39
Senior living and nursing 112230 1.86x -1
Grocery stores (also counted in retail) 63258 1.25x +5
Trucking companies 61339 1.26x -26
Auto dealerships (also counted in retail) 51111 1.56x -7
Churches and religious organizations 38443 0.49x -2
Private K-12 schools 3150 1.23x -3
Hotels 2380 0.81x -4
Warehousing and distribution 1854 1.83x +1
Bank and credit union offices 15286 1.07x -5
Hospitals 812 0.61x 0
Golf courses and country clubs 724 1.67x 0
Hosting and data processing companies 352 0.94x -5
Colleges and universities 03 0.61x +1
Commercial property managers 026 1.41x -1
Nonresidential building owners 042 0.76x 0
Apartment and residential property managers 095 0.89x +4
Total, each site once1,9898,360

Sites and establishments: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023; concentration (location quotient) and one-year change in establishments: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private ownership, 2026 Q1, summed across the metro's counties.

Your industry in Akron

What Industry Are You Growing In?

Pick your trade to see the Akron buyers, competition, decision-makers and projects for it. The estimator and the assessment form below follow your choice.

Choose an industry

Every trade in Akron at a glance

Largest buyer groups (sites with 20+ people)

  1. Restaurants534
  2. Manufacturing plants386
  3. Retail stores381
  4. Wholesale distributors200
  5. Medical, dental and outpatient offices172

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023.

Most room per contractor

  1. Commercial HVAC & Mechanical#8 of 100
  2. Commercial Electrical#12 of 100
  3. Commercial Construction#13 of 100

Larger buyer sites per contractor, ranked across up to 100 markets. Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private ownership, 2026 Q1.

Trade panels: buyer sites, U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023; contractors, their one-year change and employment, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private ownership, 2026 Q1; decision-maker records, Abstrakt territory record counts, October 2026; open programs, Abstrakt territory availability.

Compare all 11 trades in Akron

Ranked by larger buyer sites per contractor against up to 100 markets (only markets with 10 or more contractors in a trade are ranked; n/r means not ranked). A higher rank means more buildings worth calling for every competitor working them.

Commercial trades in Akron: contractors, buyer sites and rank
TradeContractors1-yr changeLarger buyer sitesPer contractorRankDecision-maker records
Commercial HVAC & Mechanical
Largest buyer group: manufacturing plants
53 -2 779 14.7 #8 5,175
Commercial Electrical
Largest buyer group: manufacturing plants
71 +1 976 13.7 #12 not counted
Commercial Construction
Largest buyer group: manufacturing companies
93 -4 717 7.7 #13 10,665
Fire Protection
Largest buyer group: restaurants
19 +1 1,233 64.9 #14 not counted
Commercial Cleaning & Janitorial
Largest buyer group: manufacturing plants
176 -9 843 4.8 #20 4,105
Managed Service Providers
Largest buyer group: manufacturers
253 -9 1,098 4.3 #20 not counted
Commercial Painting & Coatings
Largest buyer group: manufacturing plants
15 0 1,114 74.3 #35 not counted
Commercial Roofing
Largest buyer group: manufacturing plants
15 -1 1,040 69.3 #40 10,665
Commercial Landscaping
Largest buyer group: retail stores
306 -6 896 2.9 #77 not counted
Paving & Asphalt
Largest buyer group: retail stores
29 -2 856 29.5 #81 not counted
Commercial Flooring
Largest buyer group: ambulatory health care: physician, dental, outpatient and urgent care
6 0 555 92.5 n/r not counted

Sources: contractors and change, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private ownership, 2026 Q1; buyer sites, U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023 (each trade's own buyer categories, each site counted once); decision-maker records, Abstrakt territory record counts, October 2026.

Growth and trends

Is Akron adding businesses? Five years of counts

Private business establishments in the metro's counties went from 17,944 in 2021 to 18,898 in 2025 (+5.3%), while private employment moved +3.2% to 279,153. In the Census Bureau's latest count, 1,281 establishments opened and 1,317 closed in a year. New sites start without an incumbent vendor.

Private establishments and employment, 2021 to 2025

Private establishments, employment and average weekly wage by year, Akron
YearEstablishmentsEmploymentAvg weekly wage
202117,944270,552$1,067
202218,439276,075$1,104
202318,738280,604$1,143
202418,950279,753$1,183
202518,898279,153$1,233

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (opens in a new tab), private ownership, 2021 to 2025 annual averages, 2 counties summed. n/a: BLS withholds the figure for at least one county.

Establishments opened and closed each year

Establishment openings and closings by year, Akron, OH
Year to MarchOpenedRateClosedRate
20191,0366.9%1,0857.3%
20201,0637.2%1,2248.2%
20211,4459.7%1,2798.6%
20221,4819.9%1,3328.9%
20231,2818.5%1,3178.8%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics (opens in a new tab), 2023 release, Akron, OH. Each year runs March to March; rates are per 100 establishments.

New business applications

9,774 applications for an employer ID number were filed in the metro's counties in 2025, +68.4% on 2019 (5,805): Summit County 7,964, Portage County 1,810. Applications include sole proprietors and filings that never hire, so they measure new business activity, not new buyers.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Formation Statistics (county annual) (opens in a new tab), calendar 2025, retrieved 2026-10-15.

Contractors by trade, 2021 to 2025
Contractor establishments by trade, 2021 and 2025, Akron
Trade20212025Change
Managed Service Providers207264+57 (+27.5%)
Commercial Roofing1416+2 (+14.3%)
Commercial Construction9496+2 (+2.1%)
Commercial Cleaning & Janitorial180182+2 (+1.1%)
Commercial HVAC & Mechanical54540 (0.0%)
Commercial Landscaping333315-18 (-5.4%)
Commercial Painting & Coatings1615-1 (-6.2%)
Paving & Asphalt3330-3 (-9.1%)
Commercial Electrical7971-8 (-10.1%)
Commercial Flooring76-1 (-14.3%)
Fire Protection2419-5 (-20.8%)

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, annual averages, the same NAICS codes as the trade comparison above. More contractors means more competition for the same buyers; fewer means more room for outbound.

When to prospect: the Akron calendar

Cooling demand peaks in July (233 cooling degree days in a normal year), and 63% of the 237 severe hail and wind reports from 2015 to 2024 fell in August, July and June. Start roofing and HVAC prospecting ahead of those months.

Average high temperature, cooling degree days and severe storm reports by month, Akron
MonthAvg high (F)Cooling degree daysHail and wind reports
January3400
February3800
March47110
April60033
May714927
June7913641
July8323343
August8118966
September75635
October6332
November50010
December3900

Sources: NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county monthly series, 1991-2020 averages (opens in a new tab); NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (opens in a new tab), 2015 to 2024. Reports of hail 1 inch or larger and thunderstorm wind of 58 mph or more, by month, across the market counties.

Buying signals

Where the money is moving in Akron

Federal contracts and building permits are early signs that a building is changing: new construction, a renovation, a re-roof.

Federal contracts performed in the metro

Federal agencies obligated $85.3 million in contracts with a place of performance in Akron's counties in federal fiscal year 2026 (October 2025 to September 2026), against $284.4 million in fiscal 2025 (-70.0%). Construction (NAICS 23) took $3.6 million, 64% of it on one award: the Public Buildings Service's 47PE5626F0413 (opens in a new tab) in Summit County, $2.3 million obligated this fiscal year (the award record describes it as CONSTRUCTION SERVICES FOR THE, ROOF REPLACEMENT AND WATERPROOFING PROJECT, JOHN F. SEIBERLING FEDERAL BUILDING AND UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE, 2 S. MAIN ST, AKRON, OH 44308.).

Contract obligations by county
CountyFY2026FY2025
Portage County$23.4 million$20.4 million
Summit County$61.9 million$264.0 million
Metro counties$85.3 million$284.4 million
FY2026 obligations in each trade's own NAICS code
TradeNAICSFY2026
Commercial Construction236220$2.5 million
Commercial Landscaping561730$2.3 million
Paving & Asphalt237310$270,818
Managed Service Providers541512$250,263
Commercial HVAC & Mechanical238220$108,217
Commercial Cleaning & Janitorial561720$96,915
Commercial Roofing238160$34,791

Source: USAspending.gov (U.S. Department of the Treasury) (opens in a new tab), contract award types A to D, obligations dated October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026, by place of performance; data as of 2026-10-15. Defense contract actions are published 90 days late, so fiscal 2026 will still rise. Place of performance is coded by the contracting officer.

Territory intelligence

Where the Akron buyers are

Summit County holds 79% of the metro's 1,989 larger business sites, so most programs start there and add the rest of the metro for larger accounts, depending on how far your crews travel.

Larger business sites (20+ people) by county, Akron, OH
CountySitesShare
Summit County 1,56779%
Portage County 40420%
Not assigned to a county by Census180.9%
Metro total1,989100%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023, metro and county files, summed across the buyer categories on this page (each site counted once). County files withhold some size-class counts that the metro file reports, so 18 sites cannot be placed in a county.

Abstrakt territories in this market

Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH. The territory reaches beyond the Akron metro. A strategist confirms which one your program would hold.

The owners that anchor Akron

Each fact links to its source, checked 2026-10.

4 more anchor owners in Akron
Industrial park

Ascot Industrial Park

Akron, Summit County

The City of Akron describes Ascot Industrial Park as a 200 acre industrial park with approximately 48 acres remaining available for development.

A city industrial park on State Road for light industrial users, with lots still open for new buildings.

constructionpavinglandscapingelectrical

City of Akron (opens in a new tab)
Projects and economic activity

What is being built in Akron, and who it puts to work

Named projects from primary and local news sources, researched September 2026. Market intelligence, not open bids: confirm timing with the owner.

Martin Wheel Brimfield Township Manufacturing Facility

193,000 sq ft

Opening or openOpened July 2026

A 193,000 sq ft plant (180,000 sq ft of manufacturing and warehouse space plus 13,000 sq ft of offices) in Brimfield Township near Kent, Portage County, where Kenda's Martin Wheel makes steel wheels and tire-and-wheel assemblies after moving from Tallmadge.

A newly occupied plant needs HVAC and electrical service contracts, sprinkler inspections, and recurring cleaning, and the 28-acre site has room for another 400,000 sq ft of building space that would bring new construction and paving work.

HVACelectricalfire protectioncleaningpaving

Modern Tire Dealer, 2026-07-23 (opens in a new tab)

Pfeiffer-Miller South Campus

$76 million

Under wayUnder construction, completion expected August 2028

A dual-school campus on the former Kenmore High School site in Akron's Kenmore neighborhood that combines Pfeiffer Elementary and Miller South School for the Visual and Performing Arts.

A new school building runs through mechanical, electrical, fire protection and roofing packages into 2028, then finish work in flooring and painting before students arrive.

constructionHVACelectricalflooringpainting

Signal Akron, 2026-03-20 (opens in a new tab)

University of Akron Polsky Building Downtown Project

$32 million

See sourcePhase 1 completion March 2027, full completion end of 2028

A phased buildout of the University of Akron's Polsky Building in downtown Akron for purchasing, HR and administrative offices, followed by the School of Counseling, bringing about 100 employees downtown.

Office and classroom buildouts inside an existing building are steady work for electrical, HVAC, flooring and painting crews across 2027 and 2028.

electricalHVACflooringpainting

Signal Akron, 2026-06-15 (opens in a new tab)

Lehner Family Foundation Giraffe Journey at the Akron Zoo

$21 million

Under wayBroke ground June 2026, opening 2028

A 9.25-acre expansion of the Akron Zoo with indoor and outdoor giraffe viewing areas, a concessions stand, gift shop and tower ride, the zoo's largest expansion to date.

Indoor animal buildings and visitor amenities need heating, ventilation and electrical work, and a 9.25-acre outdoor exhibit brings landscaping and paving scope through 2028.

constructionHVACelectricallandscapingpaving

Signal Akron, 2026-06-05 (opens in a new tab)

Akron Children's Inpatient Behavioral Health Unit Expansion

Opening or openOpened August 2026

An expanded pediatric inpatient behavioral health unit on the fifth floor of Akron Children's Kay Jewelers Pavilion in Akron, growing from 24 to 30 beds with room for 40, and adding a crisis stabilization unit.

Behavioral health units need medical-grade cleaning and durable flooring, and room to grow to 40 beds signals more interior fit-out work for HVAC and electrical contractors.

cleaningflooringHVACelectrical

Akron.com, 2026-09-10 (opens in a new tab)

Akron North High School replacement

$85 million

See sourceIn design; scope under board review September 2026

A new or partly renovated North High School in Akron's North Hill for about 1,100 students, with Hasenstab Architects presenting options from an $85 million, 169,000-square-foot new build to a $105 million to $110 million version; the 90-plus-year-old original building will be demolished under every option.

Whichever concept the board picks, a high school of 169,000 square feet or more needs roofing, fire sprinkler and alarm systems, flooring and painting, with a construction manager at risk now pricing the work.

constructionroofingfire protectionflooringpainting

Signal Akron, 2026-09-18 (opens in a new tab)

University of Akron Schrank Hall North and South renovation

$16.5 million

Approved or fundedState capital funding approved June 2026; programming study planned

State capital money toward renovating Schrank Hall North and South, a pair of multipurpose academic halls in the center of the University of Akron campus, as part of the university's plan to consolidate into fewer buildings.

The university puts elevator repairs, roof replacements and interior renovations at about $20 million, so roofing contractors and interior finish trades are the main openings once the program is set.

roofingconstructionflooringpainting

Signal Akron, 2026-06-15 (opens in a new tab)

Quaker Square and Quaker Station redevelopment

$40.7 million

Approved or fundedOhio historic tax credits awarded June 2026

Conversion of the Quaker Oats silos at Quaker Square in downtown Akron into a hotel and residences, plus updates to the restrooms, kitchen facilities and roof of the neighboring Quaker Station conference center at 120 E. Mill St.

The state describes the work as addressing deteriorated materials and modernizing building systems, which in a hotel conversion means fire sprinkler and alarm work, new floors and interior build-out, while Quaker Station adds a roof job and an operating banquet venue that needs cleaning.

roofingfire protectionconstructionflooringcleaning

Signal Akron, 2026-06-25 (opens in a new tab)

CitiCenter apartment conversion

$37 million

See sourceInterior demolition started September 2026; completion expected January 2028

Welty Development's conversion of the vacant 10-story former YWCA building at 146 S. High St. in downtown Akron into 115 market-rate apartments.

Converting a 95-year-old building to apartments means new fire sprinkler and alarm systems, flooring and painting throughout, with historic plaster restoration adding specialty finish work through 2027.

fire protectionconstructionflooringpainting

Signal Akron, 2026-09-10 (opens in a new tab)

Akron-Summit County Public Library branch renovation program

$160 million

Approved or fundedBonds approved April 2026; first phase under way, six-to-11-year program

A voter-approved bond program to renovate all 19 Akron-Summit County Public Library locations, including a $33 million Main Library makeover, a new Springfield-Lakemore branch and about $6.8 million for each remaining branch.

The first phase is roof replacement at the Ellet, Nordonia Hills and Tallmadge branches, closed until summer 2027, and the phased renovations that follow at the other branches bring interior construction, flooring and paint work for years.

roofingconstructionflooringpainting

Akron.com, 2026-04-30 (opens in a new tab)
Market view

What we see in Akron

Akron's work is public and institutional, and much of it is already funded. The Akron-Summit County Public Library's voter-approved bonds pay to renovate every branch in a multi-year program, starting with roof replacements at Ellet, Nordonia Hills and Tallmadge, which stay closed until summer 2027. A dual-school campus on the old Kenmore High School site is under construction for August 2028, a North High School replacement is in design, and the University of Akron is building out the Polsky Building downtown in phases through 2028.

That favors the trades with room. HVAC ranks #8 of 100 markets on larger buyer sites per contractor, electrical #12, general construction #13 and fire protection #14 of 96, and from 2021 to 2025 the fire protection contractor count fell 20.8% and electrical 10.1%. Downtown conversions add sprinkler work: CitiCenter's apartment conversion started interior demolition in September 2026, and the Quaker Square silos won historic tax credits in June 2026 to become a hotel and residences.

The private buyer list is industrial and fraying at the edges. Manufacturing sits at 1.82x the U.S. concentration but fell by 18 establishments in the latest year, wholesale fell by 52 and trucking by 26. Medical offices rose by 39 and senior care runs at 1.86x, so health care is the steadier call list. Summit County holds 79% of the larger buyer sites.

Abstrakt's reading of the sourced figures and projects above, written .

Decision-makers

Who signs, and how many of them work in Akron

9,010 general and operations managers, 1,270 medical and health services managers and 1,140 buyers and purchasing agents work in the Akron, OH metro. Jobs across every industry, not a contact list.

Jobs and median annual pay by title, Akron, OH
TitleJobsMedian payTrades that call this title first
General and operations managers
SOC 11-1021
9,010$98,340MSP
Medical and health services managers
SOC 11-9111
1,270$104,430
Buyers and purchasing agents
SOC 13-1020
1,140$75,230
Computer and information systems managers
SOC 11-3021
1,140$154,010
Construction managers
SOC 11-9021
920$102,630
Property, real estate, and community association managers
SOC 11-9141
500$60,140landscaping, painting, paving
Education administrators, postsecondary
SOC 11-9033
410$93,970
Facilities managers
SOC 11-3013
340$98,560cleaning, construction, electrical, flooring, roofing, fire protection, HVAC
Purchasing managers
SOC 11-3061
210$134,140

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) (opens in a new tab), May 2025, Akron, OH, all industries. Each title is the closest BLS occupation to a role in the trade's playbook; titles BLS does not publish for this metro are left out. Each trade link opens the Akron guide's decision-maker questions.

Opportunity estimator

What Could Your Next 12 Months in Akron Look Like?

A planning model, not a forecast: put in your own numbers and it applies Abstrakt's national sales center rates for your trade.

Default 16.1%: Abstrakt national rate for this trade. Use your own if you know it.

Baseline, 12 months

12,000prospecting dials
86meetings set
22proposals
3.6customers won
$89,355first-year value of those customers
Scenarios
ScenarioDials per meetingMeetingsCustomers wonFirst-year value
Conservative190632.6$65,841
Baseline140863.6$89,355
Optimistic1081114.6$115,831
Get My Akron Opportunity Assessment

How it works. Meetings are dials divided by dials per appointment; proposals, customers won and value follow from the proposal rate, the win rate and your customer value. The rates are Abstrakt sales center, Performance Intelligence, national, October 2026, across all programs, not Akron results; the scenarios use the slower and faster quarter of buyer industries. Outbound results typically build over 6 to 12 months, so a first year rarely runs at a full year's pace. Benchmarks by trade and method.

Hiring locally

What an in-house SDR costs in Akron

  • 2,380people in the role locally, all competing for the same hires

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Sales representatives of services, except advertising, insurance, financial services and travel (SOC 41-3091).

In-house SDR, first year (illustrative)$124,700

An illustrative model, not a quote: in-house adds $15,000 commission, 25% payroll taxes and benefits, $550/month tools, $7,000 recruiting and training, 35% yearly turnover, and manager, QA and admin time, before ramp time. Abstrakt includes the SDR, management, tools and data.

Local sales intelligence

See how a Akron program is built in Abstrakt Intelligence

Ava walks through the platform our strategists use, set to Akron.

Abstrakt Intelligence

This demonstration showcases real Abstrakt Intelligence capabilities using fictional companies and contacts to protect client and prospect privacy. Ava is Abstrakt's AI guide. The screens are the demo set to the Akron territory; its territory counts come from the demo data, not the Census figures above.

Read the transcript of Ava's Akron walkthrough

Hi, I'm Ava.

Here's what an Abstrakt program looks like in Akron.

First, we size your territory.

The Akron area has about 15 thousand companies and 70 thousand business contacts.

Next, we pick the playbook for your industry.

Each playbook starts with criteria that have already booked meetings.

For roofing, that's roof size, roof age and who owns the building.

Then we build the list.

Anyone who isn't a fit comes off before a rep ever sees the name.

Every prospect gets a full profile.

The decision-maker, the building, and every touch so far.

Before the first dial, each rep practices in an AI role play and gets certified.

Now the calls start.

The dialer, the talk track and the follow-up all live in one place.

Every meeting is reviewed for quality before it reaches you.

And we track each one all the way to closed.

We take one client per trade per territory.

Once a spot is taken, it's gone.

Check if your trade is still open in Akron.

Client results

Results from programs like this one

Each story is labeled with where the program ran. Abstrakt runs every program from its St. Louis sales floor.

  • Commercial cleaningLocal program, Tulsa

    How Century Facility Services broke its referral ceiling: $415K closed in year one

    Century Facility Services

    After losing a sales rep, Century Facility Services outsourced outbound and booked 58 appointments and closed $415K in year one.

    • 58 appointments booked
    • 7 deals closed
    • $415K closed business

    First year of the program (case published April 2026)

  • Commercial roofingRegional

    How Schena Roofing booked 475 appointments and kept a seasonal calendar full

    Schena Roofing & Sheet Metal

    Schena Roofing booked 475 appointments and closed $1.69M from 2018 to 2024, with another $1.39M in proposals delivered.

    • 475 appointments
    • $1.69M closed business
    • $1.39M in proposals delivered

    2018 to 2024, from Abstrakt program records. Closed business and proposals delivered are separate figures.

  • Fire protectionLocal program, Philadelphia

    How Harring Fire Protection turned outbound and inbound into $200K in new business

    Harring Fire Protection

    Outbound appointment setting plus an inbound website produced 195 appointments and 16 closed deals worth $200K in 28 months.

    • 195 appointments booked
    • 16 deals closed
    • $200K closed business

    28-month partnership (case published April 2026); search figures within 12 months of the February 2025 site launch

See all client stories

Outsourced sales development

How Abstrakt runs a Akron program

Reps on Abstrakt's St. Louis sales floor work your Akron list by phone, email, LinkedIn and direct mail after two weeks of training and certification on your account.

Contractor licensing in Ohio

Ohio's OCILB licenses commercial contractors in only five trades: electrical, HVAC, plumbing, hydronics, and refrigeration. Other trades, including general contracting and roofing, are handled by local building departments, and the State Fire Marshal certifies fire protection companies.

Confirm with Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board (OCILB), Ohio Department of Commerce (opens in a new tab). Checked 2026-09-30.

Free market report

The State of Outbound Sales in Akron, 2026

This page's Akron data in one report for your team, with the Ohio calling rules. No form to fill in.

Free trade territory report · PDF

Get the territory report for your trade in Akron

One trade, one city, every page about your market: the account types that buy your work here and how many of each, Tier 1 sites, the counties to start in, who signs and what to ask them, the months that matter, federal contracts and permits, the Ohio calling rules, and whether the territory is still open. One client per trade per territory.

  • Account tiers and a worked first-list example
  • Decision-maker roles, questions and objections
  • A 90-day calling plan sized to the Akron counts

Send me the report

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Territory assessment

See Your Akron Sales Opportunity

A Partner Sales Manager sizes your Akron territory for your trade, checks whether it is open (one client per trade per territory) and shows what a program would look like.

Program commitments, including activity and meeting expectations, are defined in your agreement before launch.

Get My Territory Assessment

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We use your details only to prepare and discuss your assessment. See our Privacy Policy (opens in a new tab).

Outsourced sales development in Akron, answered

Does Abstrakt provide B2B lead generation and appointment setting in Akron?

Yes. Abstrakt runs outsourced lead generation and B2B appointment setting across the Akron, OH metro from its St. Louis sales floor: U.S.-based reps prospect the buildings, qualify the opportunity and book meetings with the person who signs. We take one client per trade per territory.

How does B2B appointment setting work for a Akron program?

It starts with the list. Of the 1,989 sites in Akron with 20 or more people on site, we keep the ones that buy your trade inside your service area, then a certified rep works them by phone, email, LinkedIn and direct mail. Meetings are booked with the decision-maker, reviewed before they reach you and tracked to a proposal and a close.

Which commercial trades have the most room to grow in Akron?

Measured by larger buyer sites per contractor across the markets we track (a market is ranked for a trade only where it has at least 10 local contractors), commercial HVAC & mechanical (#8 of 100), commercial electrical (#12 of 100) and commercial construction (#13 of 100) rank best in Akron.

What kinds of businesses are concentrated in Akron?

Compared with the national mix, Akron has more senior living and nursing (1.86x), warehousing and distribution (1.83x) and manufacturing plants (1.82x). Those industries are the best-represented buyers for trades that serve them.

Is the Akron business market growing?

The latest year dipped: private business establishments fell 1.1% from 2025 Q1 to 2026 Q1. The measures below point in different directions. Private business establishments across Akron's counties went from 17,944 in 2021 to 18,898 in 2025 (+5.3%), and private employment +3.2% (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, annual averages). In the latest Census count, 1,281 establishments opened and 1,317 closed in the metro (U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics, 2023, March to March), so closings outran openings by 36.

How much federal construction money is spent in Akron?

Federal contract obligations with a place of performance in Akron's counties came to $85.3 million in federal fiscal year 2026 (October 2025 to September 2026), $3.6 million of it in construction (NAICS 23) (USAspending.gov (U.S. Department of the Treasury), retrieved 2026-10-15). Fiscal 2026 will still rise as delayed defense contract actions post.

How does the Akron-Summit County library bond program turn into contractor work?

In phases over several years. Voters approved bonds in April 2026 to renovate every Akron-Summit County Public Library location, including a Main Library makeover and a new Springfield-Lakemore branch. The first phase is roof replacement at the Ellet, Nordonia Hills and Tallmadge branches, closed until summer 2027, and renovations at the other branches follow with interior construction, flooring and paint. Roofers should be on the bid lists now; roofing ranks #40 of 89 markets here.

Which downtown Akron conversions need fire protection contractors?

Start with two. Welty Development started interior demolition in September 2026 on CitiCenter, the vacant former YWCA building on South High Street, for apartments due in January 2028, with new sprinkler and alarm systems throughout. The Quaker Oats silos at Quaker Square won Ohio historic tax credits in June 2026 for a hotel and residences conversion, which means fire sprinkler and alarm work too. Fire protection has room here, ranked #14 of 96 markets on larger buyer sites per contractor.

Which counties make up the Akron market?

The metro covers 2 counties. Summit County holds 79% of the larger business sites, so most programs start there.

What does outsourced sales development cost in Akron?

Starting at $5,000 per month for an Outbound BDR program, as a flat monthly program. The price depends on how many reps work your program, the channels, and how large a territory and how many trades it covers. For comparison, one in-house SDR costs about $124,700 in year one at a $55,000 base salary on our illustrative model, before ramp time.

Sources and method

Updated . Approved the local markets plan: the data sources, the method and the in-house SDR cost model shown on market pages: Scott Scully, Executive Chairman, October 15, 2026. Every figure is regenerated from its source by a script in the site's code, never typed by hand.

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