Market report · Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH
The State of Outbound Sales in Dayton, 2026
How outbound selling looks across the Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH metro right now: who the buyers are, which trades have room, what is being built, what a rep costs to hire here. Then a 4-tool kit to work the market this month.
- 2,106business sites with 20+ people across the categories trades sell to, #62 of our 100 metros
- 63buyer sites per paving contractor, #11 of 94 markets: the best rank of any trade here
Sites: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023; rank among the 100 metros on our market pages. Room: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023 sites per contractor in U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private ownership, 2026 Q1, among markets with at least 10 contractors.
Executive summary Read this if nothing else
5 things to know about outbound sales in Dayton
Biggest buyer pool
Restaurants: 626 sites
with 20 or more people, the largest buyer category in Dayton-Kettering, ahead of retail stores (371).
Where the metro leans
Senior living and nursing: 2.08x the U.S. mix
Also over-represented: hospitals (1.66x) and manufacturing plants (1.58x). Trades that serve these buyers have more of them here than the national average suggests.
Most room
Paving & Asphalt: #11 of 94 markets
63 buyer sites with 20+ people for each of 15 local paving contractors. The most crowded is managed service providers, #49 of 100.
Biggest reason to call
Think Dayton building at onMain, $70 million
Under construction. One of 4 named, sourced projects in this report.
Hiring locally
$124,700 for an in-house SDR's first year (illustrative)
At a $55,000 base salary, once commission, payroll taxes and benefits, tools, recruiting and training, turnover and manager time are added, before ramp time.
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; project sources as of 2026-09; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Full list at the end.
Chapter 01 The market
Who buys in Dayton-Kettering
2,106 business sites in Dayton-Kettering have 20 or more people on site in the categories commercial trades sell to. That ranks #62 of the 100 metros we publish. Here is what those buyers are and where they sit.
The largest buyer categories
Sites with 20 or more people are the ones worth an SDR's time: big enough to have a facility lead, a service budget and a contract that comes up for renewal. The "vs. U.S. mix" column compares each category's share of local employment with its national share (1.00x is the U.S. average).
| Category | Sites with 20+ | All sites | vs. U.S. mix | 1-yr change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RestaurantsLargest pool | 626 | 1,616 | 1.41x | -14 |
| Retail stores | 371 | 2,323 | 1.39x | -52 |
| Manufacturing plants | 355 | 911 | 1.58x | -11 |
| Medical, dental and outpatient offices | 266 | 1,521 | 1.34x | 0 |
| Wholesale distributors | 139 | 695 | 0.98x | -60 |
| Senior living and nursing | 105 | 275 | 2.08x | +27 |
| Grocery stores | 54 | 341 | 1.37x | -1 |
| Auto dealerships | 50 | 113 | 1.41x | -4 |
| Churches and religious organizations | 45 | 554 | 0.76x | -4 |
| Trucking companies | 42 | 233 | 0.99x | -4 |
Dayton-Kettering leans toward senior living and nursing (2.08x), hospitals (1.66x) and manufacturing plants (1.58x). A trade that already sells to those buyers elsewhere has a deeper pool here than the national numbers suggest, and a case study from one of them travels well on the phone.
It is thinner than the U.S. mix in churches and religious organizations (0.76x). A program built around those buyers runs out of fresh accounts sooner here.
Growing fastest over the past year, by establishment count: senior living and nursing (+27) and warehousing and distribution (+8). New sites have no incumbent vendor yet.
The metro
Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH: 3 counties in this report's counts.
Montgomery County holds 69% of the larger business sites, so most programs start there.
Where the sites are
| County | Sites with 20+ | Share of metro |
|---|---|---|
| Montgomery CountyStart here | 1,444 | 69% |
| Greene County | 367 | 17% |
| Miami County | 229 | 11% |
Chapter 02 The competition
Which trades have the most room in Dayton
Buyer sites per contractor is a rough read on how crowded a trade is: more sites for each local competitor means more doors nobody else is knocking on. Each trade's Dayton figure is ranked against the other markets we track.
| Trade | Rank among markets | Sites per contractor | Contractors | 1-yr change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paving & AsphaltMost room | #11 of 94 | 63 | 15 | +3 |
| Commercial Construction | #12 of 100 | 7.8 | 91 | +3 |
| Commercial Cleaning & Janitorial | #15 of 100 | 5.0 | 185 | +1 |
| Commercial HVAC & Mechanical | #22 of 100 | 13 | 68 | 0 |
| Fire Protection | #25 of 96 | 53 | 25 | +2 |
| Commercial Electrical | #27 of 100 | 12 | 77 | 0 |
| Commercial Roofing | #26 of 89 | 79 | 13 | +1 |
| Commercial Landscaping | #39 of 100 | 4.0 | 252 | -9 |
| Managed Service Providers | #49 of 100 | 2.8 | 405 | -19 |
Paving & asphalt (#11), commercial construction (#12) and commercial cleaning & janitorial (#15) rank best in Dayton. For those trades a program can work longer before it calls the same building twice, and fewer competitors have already pitched each owner.
Managed service providers is the most crowded trade here, #49 of 100: 2.8 buyer sites for each of 405 local managed service providers. Winning there takes a sharper reason to switch than a lower price.
Managed service providers (-19) and commercial landscaping (-9) lost contractor establishments over the past year, so the same buildings are split among fewer firms than a year ago. Paving & asphalt (+3) and commercial construction (+3) added them.
Not ranked here: commercial flooring (4 contractors) and commercial painting & coatings (9 contractors). With fewer than 10 local contractors the ratio is noise, though a thin field is itself a sign of open ground.
Open programs
Our availability workbook does not cover Dayton yet. We take one client per trade per territory, so ask before you plan around it.
Chapter 03 The projects
What is being built, and who owns the buildings
4 named, sourced projects and 7 anchor owners in Dayton-Kettering. Each one is a reason to call that has nothing to do with your company and everything to do with the buyer's building.
The projects
- 01 · $70 million Think Dayton building at onMain Under construction A five-story, 120,000-square-foot research and innovation building on the 38-acre former Montgomery County Fairgrounds site in Dayton, the first commercial building in the onMain district, scheduled to open in 2027. A 2027 opening puts mechanical, electrical and fire protection rough-in in 2026 and interior finishes in 2027, and lab and research space keeps HVAC and electrical service work going after occupancy. University of Dayton, 2025-09-26
- 02 · $25 million Kettering Health Xenia Health Center and Greene Memorial renovations Under construction A 24,000-square-foot primary and urgent care center on Progress Drive across from the Xenia YMCA in Greene County, opening fall 2027, alongside $15 million in renovations at Kettering Health Greene Memorial. Outpatient clinics need medical-grade HVAC, electrical and fire protection during the build and daily healthcare cleaning once open, while the hospital renovation adds phased flooring and painting. WYSO, 2026-04-09
- 03 · more than $20 million Supply Technologies distribution center Scheduled to open July 2026 A 375,000-square-foot flagship distribution center in Union, Montgomery County, with automated warehouse operations, a quality and engineering lab and an innovation center. Automated distribution space depends on reliable electrical service and dock-area paving, and a building this size needs recurring floor care, cleaning and parking lot maintenance. Park-Ohio press release via Yahoo Finance, 2025-12-16
- 04 Joby Aviation Dayton-area production facility Acquired; operations starting 2026 A manufacturing facility of more than 700,000 square feet in the Dayton area that Joby is acquiring to help double air taxi production to four aircraft per month by 2027. Converting a large existing plant to aircraft production means electrical and mechanical upgrades for new lines, then large-floor cleaning and facility maintenance once operations ramp. AviTrader, 2026-01-09
Projects current as of 2026-09; each source is linked on its card. Values are as reported by the source.
The anchor owners
Health systems, campuses, large employers and industrial parks hold the biggest concentrations of commercial buildings in Dayton-Kettering. One relationship with a facilities team here can cover many buildings.
Health system · Kettering, Montgomery County
Kettering Health
Kettering Health, headquartered in Kettering, says its system includes 14 medical centers and over 100 outpatient locations, with more than 1,800 physicians and 15,000 employees.
Medical centers and outpatient buildings spread across the region each run HVAC plants, roofs, floors and parking that need service.
Kettering HealthHealth system · Dayton, Montgomery County
Miami Valley Hospital (Premier Health)
Premier Health calls Miami Valley Hospital the region's most experienced Level I Trauma Center, with campuses in downtown Dayton, Miami Valley Hospital South in Centerville and Miami Valley Hospital North in Englewood.
Three hospital campuses, including a downtown tower complex, carry ongoing mechanical, life-safety and environmental services work.
Premier HealthPublic owner · Greene and Montgomery counties
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
WYSO reported in August 2024 that Wright-Patterson employs 38,000 personnel within its fences, double the 19,000 it had in 2002 when it was Ohio's largest single-site employer.
Research labs, offices, hangars and support buildings on the base are maintained and built through federal contracting.
WYSO Public RadioCampus · Fairborn, Greene County
Wright State University
Wright State reports more than 11,000 students and 32 academic buildings on 730 acres across two campuses.
A 730-acre footprint of academic buildings, a medical school and parking lots needs grounds care, cleaning, HVAC and paving.
Wright State UniversityMajor employer · Dayton, Montgomery County
CareSource
Ohio approved a tax break for CareSource to create 167 full-time-equivalent positions by expanding its downtown Dayton headquarters.
A growing downtown headquarters campus means office HVAC, janitorial, electrical and interior finish work.
Dayton Daily NewsAirport · Vandalia, Montgomery County
Dayton International Airport (DAY)
Dayton International Airport says it spans over 4,500 acres with approximately 4.7 miles of runway and 17 active airline gates.
Terminal, parking lots and airport-owned land need cleaning, HVAC, electrical and pavement work.
Dayton International AirportLogistics hub · Union, Montgomery County
Union Airpark distribution cluster
Legrand opened a 637,000-square-foot center off Union Airpark Boulevard, near the Procter & Gamble distribution center and an Amazon fulfillment center at 1835 Union Airpark.
Large distribution buildings near the airport carry long roofs, truck courts, dock lighting and sprinkler systems.
Dayton Daily NewsAnchor facts checked 2026-10; each source is linked on its card.
Which trades the work touches
| Trade | Projects and owners |
|---|---|
| Commercial Cleaning & Janitorial | 10 |
| Commercial HVAC & Mechanical | 10 |
| Commercial Electrical | 9 |
| Paving & Asphalt | 5 |
| Fire Protection | 5 |
| Commercial Flooring | 4 |
| Commercial Roofing | 3 |
| Commercial Painting & Coatings | 2 |
| Commercial Construction | 1 |
| Commercial Landscaping | 1 |
Chapter 04 The calendar
The Dayton selling calendar
Outbound runs every month, but the weather changes what a buyer wants to hear. These are the NOAA records for the Dayton-Kettering metro's counties, month by month.
| Measure | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail and damaging wind reportstotal, 2015 to 2024 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 46 | 32 | 113 | 84 | 23 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 4 |
| Cooling degree daysaverage month | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 82 | 199 | 291 | 251 | 102 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| Heating degree daysaverage month | 1,129 | 930 | 747 | 384 | 158 | 15 | 2 | 7 | 69 | 335 | 666 | 981 |
| Average high (°F)average month | 36 | 40 | 50 | 64 | 73 | 82 | 85 | 84 | 78 | 65 | 52 | 41 |
NOAA logged 58 hail reports of 1 inch or larger and 280 damaging wind reports across the metro's counties from 2015 to 2024: #52 of 100 markets for hail and #51 for wind. April, June and July carried 72% of the reports. Storms are not the main driver here, so roof age, leaks and budget timing carry the roofing conversation.
The metro averages 941 cooling degree days a year (#55 of 97 markets) and 5,424 heating degree days (#37 of 97). Cooling load peaks in June, July and August; heating in January, February, March, November and December. Peak months are when HVAC calls lead with service and response times; the rest of the year they lead with planned work and budgets.
7 months average a high of 60°F or more (April, May, June, July, August, September and October). That is when exterior painting, paving and landscaping crews are busiest, so in-season calls catch owners while they can see the work that needs doing. The contracts themselves are bid on each property's own dates, so the selling runs all year.
Trades with no weather season
Cleaning, construction, electrical, flooring and fire protection sell on contract end dates, budgets and inspection cycles. Learn each account's date on the first call and come back before it.
Chapter 05 The numbers
What one meeting takes, trade by trade
What booking a meeting has taken on our own calling floor for the trades we run in Dayton, next to the records we can prospect here. The sales center figures are national; it does not break them out by city yet.
| Trade | Dials per appointment | Reached proposal | Proposals won | Dials for 10 meetings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fire ProtectionFastest to book | 78 | 21.6% | 13.2% | about 780 |
| Paving & Asphalt | 86 | 32.2% | 7.4% | about 860 |
| Commercial Landscaping | 88 | 18.8% | 12.7% | about 880 |
| Commercial Electrical | 96 | 14.6% | 21.1% | about 960 |
| Commercial HVAC & Mechanical | 98 | 16.6% | 24.9% | about 980 |
| Commercial Painting & Coatings | 115 | 31.2% | 14.4% | about 1,150 |
| Commercial Flooring | 122 | 30.8% | 9.8% | about 1,220 |
| Commercial Roofing | 140 | 25.9% | 16.1% | about 1,400 |
| Commercial Cleaning & Janitorial | 142 | 23.9% | 21.7% | about 1,420 |
| Managed Service Providers | 162 | 10.0% | 20.5% | about 1,620 |
All of these trades together: 122 dials per appointment
The records behind a Dayton program
Before a program starts we size the list: the decision-maker records Abstrakt can prospect for each trade in the Dayton-Springfield-Sidney territory.
- 2,970Commercial Roofing
- 2,970Commercial Construction
- 1,291Commercial HVAC & Mechanical
- 1,092Commercial Cleaning & Janitorial
Source: Abstrakt territory record counts, as of October 2026: estimated decision-maker records Abstrakt can prospect for each program in the territory. Shown for the programs the count covers.
Read it this way
Divide the records by the dials one meeting takes and you see how long a list lasts before it repeats. A thin list means a program has to work every record well, not just call more.
Chapter 06 Build or buy
What an in-house SDR costs in Dayton
Before you hire a sales development rep in Dayton, price the whole job, not just the salary.
The salary is the smallest part of the decision. About 2,270 people hold the role in the Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH metro, and every one of their employers is competing for the same hires.
| Cost | Year one |
|---|---|
| Base salary | $55,000 |
| Commission and bonus | $15,000 |
| Payroll taxes and benefits (25% of pay) | $17,500 |
| Tools and data ($550 a month) | $6,600 |
| Recruiting and training | $7,000 |
| Turnover (35% a year, rehiring) | $2,450 |
| Manager and QA time (5 hours a week) and admin (4 hours a month) | $21,150 |
| Total, before ramp time | $124,700 |
Headcount: 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). The cost lines are the starting values of our SDR cost calculator: $15,000 commission, 25% payroll taxes and benefits, $550 a month in tools, $7,000 recruiting and training, 35% yearly turnover, and manager, QA and admin time. Change any of them there.
$124,700
for one in-house SDR's first year at a $55,000 base salary.
That buys one rep. It does not buy the list, the manager's coaching system or cover when the rep leaves.
Part two Apply this
The Dayton market toolkit
4 working tools built from the chapters above. Tick the boxes as you go (they stay ticked in this browser), copy the scripts into your CRM, or save the whole guide as a PDF and print this part as a worksheet.
Tool 01
Account scorecard
Before an account goes on the call list, check every line that fits. Call the accounts with the most ticks first, and leave the ones with none for later.
Tool 02
Discovery question bank
Ask fewer, better questions. Pick three or four for the call and save the rest for the meeting. Each one comes with the reason it earns its place.
Restaurants: 626 sites here
From our fire protection talk track. Staying open and passing inspection. Multi-unit operators are worth more than single locations.
- When was your hood suppression system last inspected, and when is the next one due?Due dates tell you when to call and what to offer.
- Have you had a failed inspection or a citation recently?Failed inspections threaten the ability to stay open and create urgency.
- How many locations do you operate, and does each one use a different vendor?Multi-unit operators are more valuable and often want one vendor across locations.
Retail stores: 371 sites here
From our paving talk track. First impressions and liability. Many stores lease, so confirm who controls the lot before pitching.
- Does the store control the parking lot, or does the landlord or shopping center manage it?This is the first qualifying question, since many retail lots belong to the landlord.
- Are there potholes, cracks or faded striping customers have complained about?Visible problems in front of customers drive action and point to a first job.
- Is a remodel or refresh planned for this location?Remodels are when lot work often gets funded and scheduled.
Manufacturing plants: 355 sites here
From our construction talk track. Building around live operations and hitting a production start date. Ask what growth is planned and where.
- What growth is planned, such as new lines, added capacity or a new site?Planned growth defines the project and the timeline.
- What production start date does the project have to hit?A fixed start date changes how the owner weighs schedule against price.
- How will construction work around live operations?Your answer to this is often the deciding factor for plant managers.
Any first meeting
Plain practice that works in every market.
- How are you handling this today, and what would you change about it?The gap between today and what they want is the whole reason to meet.
- What happens if nothing changes this year?Tells you whether there is a cost to waiting, or only curiosity.
- Who else would need to agree before anything moves?Names the people who can stall the deal, while you can still invite them.
- When does the current contract or budget come up for review?Gives you the date to plan around, even when the answer today is no.
- What would make a first meeting worth your time?Lets the buyer set the agenda, which is the agenda they will show up for.
Tool 03
Trigger watchlist
Each of these changes gives a buyer a reason to take the call this month instead of next year. Tick the ones you will track, and set a news alert or CRM field for each so you hear about it first.
Tool 04
30-day action plan
4 weeks, 15 steps, nothing you need to buy. Tick each one off as you finish it; your progress stays in this browser.
Week 1Draw the territory
Week 2Check the rules, then write the talk track
Week 3Make the calls
Week 4Measure and decide
Sources and notes
- U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023: business sites by category, size and county, Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private ownership, 2026 Q1: contractor establishments, one-year change and concentration (location quotient).
- Projects: named public sources linked on each card, current as of 2026-09.
- Anchor owners: sources linked on each card, checked 2026-10.
- NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 2015 to 2024: hail and damaging wind reports by month across the metro's counties.
- NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county monthly series, 1991-2020 averages: degree days and average highs by month.
- Abstrakt sales center, Performance Intelligence, national, as of October 2026: dials, appointments, proposals and wins by trade. Method.
- Abstrakt territory record counts, as of October 2026: decision-maker records per program in the Dayton-Springfield-Sidney territory.
- 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).
- The toolkit's discovery questions come from our trade talk tracks; the plan and checklists are sales practice, not data.
