Market report · Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA
The State of Outbound Sales in Des Moines, 2026
How outbound selling looks across the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA 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.
- 1,840business sites with 20+ people across the categories trades sell to, #77 of our 100 metros
- 3.6buyer sites per commercial landscaping contractor, #49 of 100 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 Des Moines
Biggest buyer pool
Restaurants: 481 sites
with 20 or more people, the largest buyer category in Des Moines-West Des Moines, ahead of retail stores (444).
Where the metro leans
Colleges and universities: 1.65x the U.S. mix
Also over-represented: wholesale distributors (1.53x) and commercial property managers (1.53x). Trades that serve these buyers have more of them here than the national average suggests.
Most room
Commercial Landscaping: #49 of 100 markets
3.6 buyer sites with 20+ people for each of 280 local commercial landscaping contractors. The most crowded is paving & asphalt, #91 of 94.
Biggest reason to call
Des Moines International Airport new terminal, $557 million
Under construction; opening January 2027. One of 3 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 Des Moines-West Des Moines
1,840 business sites in Des Moines-West Des Moines have 20 or more people on site in the categories commercial trades sell to. That ranks #77 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 | 481 | 1,525 | 0.95x | +10 |
| Retail stores | 444 | 2,187 | 0.97x | +6 |
| Wholesale distributors | 213 | 958 | 1.53x | +1 |
| Medical, dental and outpatient offices | 176 | 1,438 | 0.92x | +40 |
| Manufacturing plants | 154 | 458 | 0.75x | -14 |
| Senior living and nursing | 79 | 150 | 1.05x | +5 |
| Bank and credit union offices | 73 | 449 | 1.44x | -1 |
| Grocery stores | 68 | 209 | 0.64x | +11 |
| Hotels | 61 | 143 | 1.01x | 0 |
| Trucking companies | 50 | 369 | 0.88x | -19 |
Des Moines-West Des Moines leans toward colleges and universities (1.65x), wholesale distributors (1.53x) and commercial property managers (1.53x). 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 (0.56x) and grocery stores (0.64x). A program built around those buyers runs out of fresh accounts sooner here.
Growing fastest over the past year, by establishment count: medical, dental and outpatient offices (+40), apartment and residential property managers (+26) and grocery stores (+11). New sites have no incumbent vendor yet.
The metro
Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA: 6 counties in this report's counts.
Polk County, Dallas County and Warren County hold 92% of the larger business sites, so most programs start there.
Where the sites are
| County | Sites with 20+ | Share of metro |
|---|---|---|
| Polk CountyStart here | 1,450 | 79% |
| Dallas County | 204 | 11% |
| Warren County | 46 | 3% |
| Jasper County | 33 | 2% |
| Guthrie County | 12 | 1% |
| Madison County | 4 | 0% |
Chapter 02 The competition
Which trades have the most room in Des Moines
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 Des Moines figure is ranked against the other markets we track.
| Trade | Rank among markets | Sites per contractor | Contractors | 1-yr change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial LandscapingMost room | #49 of 100 | 3.6 | 280 | -7 |
| Commercial Cleaning & Janitorial | #55 of 100 | 3.7 | 186 | -7 |
| Fire Protection | #59 of 96 | 39 | 24 | +2 |
| Commercial HVAC & Mechanical | #72 of 100 | 8.3 | 68 | -11 |
| Commercial Construction | #79 of 100 | 3.2 | 164 | -4 |
| Commercial Electrical | #80 of 100 | 8.0 | 106 | -1 |
| Managed Service Providers | #89 of 100 | 1.5 | 716 | -9 |
| Commercial Roofing | #80 of 89 | 43 | 22 | +1 |
| Commercial Flooring | #65 of 68 | 39 | 14 | +1 |
| Commercial Painting & Coatings | #83 of 86 | 36 | 27 | +4 |
| Paving & Asphalt | #91 of 94 | 24 | 42 | +6 |
Commercial landscaping (#49), commercial cleaning & janitorial (#55) and fire protection (#59) rank best in Des Moines. For those trades a program can work longer before it calls the same building twice, and fewer competitors have already pitched each owner.
Paving & asphalt is the most crowded trade here, #91 of 94: 24 buyer sites for each of 42 local paving contractors. Winning there takes a sharper reason to switch than a lower price.
Commercial HVAC & mechanical (-11) and managed service providers (-9) lost contractor establishments over the past year, so the same buildings are split among fewer firms than a year ago. Paving & asphalt (+6) and commercial painting & coatings (+4) added them.
Open programs
Our availability workbook does not cover Des Moines 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
3 named, sourced projects and 7 anchor owners in Des Moines-West Des Moines. 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 · $557 million Des Moines International Airport new terminal Under construction; opening January 2027 A new terminal at Des Moines International Airport opening in January 2027 with six new gates, with more gates phased in through 2030 for a total of 19. Final 2026 months concentrate electrical, flooring and finish work, and the later gate phases in 2027, 2028 and 2030 bring more construction plus a much larger terminal to clean and maintain. Business Record, 2026-02-06
- 02 · $210 million Microsoft sixth West Des Moines data center campus (Project Ruthenium) Construction starting 2026 Microsoft's sixth data center campus in West Des Moines, at Veterans Parkway and Woodland Avenue on the Madison County side of the city, with a 245,000-square-foot first building and room for up to four. Each data center building is a large electrical and mechanical cooling job, and Microsoft typically builds three to four buildings per campus over several years, so this is repeat work. WPR, 2025-05-15
- 03 · $32.7 million Des Moines Christian High School Permitted A 133,670-square-foot high school near Northwest 42nd Avenue and 136th Street in Urbandale, permitted in November 2025 along with a separate $6 million early education center. A new high school this size needs roofing, mechanical, electrical and parking lot work during construction, then ongoing custodial and grounds contracts. Business Record, 2026-01-07
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 Des Moines-West Des Moines. One relationship with a facilities team here can cover many buildings.
Health system · Des Moines, Polk County
MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center
MercyOne says its Des Moines Medical Center, founded in 1893, is Iowa's largest medical center with 802 beds available, and MercyOne Central Iowa has more than 7,000 colleagues.
A large downtown hospital campus plus Central Iowa clinic sites carry steady HVAC, life-safety, cleaning and flooring work.
MercyOneHealth system · Des Moines, Polk County
UnityPoint Health - Iowa Methodist Medical Center
UnityPoint Health says Iowa Methodist was established in 1901 and is one of two Level I Trauma Centers in the State of Iowa.
A teaching hospital campus that has grown from a single 1901 building needs ongoing mechanical, roofing, painting and life-safety work.
UnityPoint HealthCampus · Ankeny, Polk County
Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC)
DMACC's total spring 2025 enrollment stood at 20,788 students, including dual-enrolled high school students, according to Carroll Broadcasting.
Multiple campuses and career centers around the metro run classrooms, trade labs and parking lots that need cleaning, HVAC and grounds work.
Carroll Broadcasting Company (KCIM)Major employer · Des Moines, Polk County
Principal Financial Group headquarters
Business Record reports Principal's corporate campus on the northern part of downtown Des Moines includes four office buildings, parking garages and a child development center, and the company also owns the office tower at 801 Grand Ave.
Downtown office towers and parking garages need janitorial, HVAC, electrical, painting and parking-structure work.
Business RecordMajor employer · Altoona, Polk County
Meta Altoona Data Center
Meta said its seventh Altoona expansion brings the campus to more than 5 million square feet, its largest operational data center, with more than 400 people working on-site in operations each day.
Data halls and support buildings this large run heavy electrical, mechanical, fire protection and roofing systems that need service.
Meta Data CentersLogistics hub · Bondurant, Polk County
Amazon fulfillment center, Bondurant
KCCI reports the 645,000 square-foot fulfillment center, previously called Project Bluejay, will create 1,000 full-time jobs, according to Amazon.
A large distribution building with truck courts and employee parking needs roofing, paving, electrical and fire sprinkler service.
KCCIIndustrial park · Des Moines, Polk County
SE Des Moines Industrial Park
The City of Des Moines says the nearly 300-acre site near East Army Post Road and U.S. Highway 65 was certified development-ready by the Iowa Economic Development Authority in April 2025, with Ryan Companies as development partner.
A certified, industrially zoned site means new buildings to bid on: site work, paving, electrical and building shells for manufacturing and logistics users.
City of Des MoinesAnchor facts checked 2026-10; each source is linked on its card.
Which trades the work touches
| Trade | Projects and owners |
|---|---|
| Commercial HVAC & Mechanical | 8 |
| Commercial Electrical | 7 |
| Fire Protection | 6 |
| Paving & Asphalt | 6 |
| Commercial Cleaning & Janitorial | 5 |
| Commercial Roofing | 4 |
| Commercial Construction | 2 |
| Commercial Flooring | 2 |
| Commercial Painting & Coatings | 2 |
| Commercial Landscaping | 1 |
Chapter 04 The calendar
The Des Moines selling calendar
Outbound runs every month, but the weather changes what a buyer wants to hear. These are the NOAA records for the Des Moines-West Des Moines 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 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 61 | 172 | 216 | 128 | 109 | 37 | 10 | 11 | 22 |
| Cooling degree daysaverage month | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 65 | 201 | 304 | 242 | 91 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Heating degree daysaverage month | 1,359 | 1,098 | 840 | 453 | 195 | 28 | 11 | 23 | 101 | 409 | 801 | 1,191 |
| Average high (°F)average month | 30 | 35 | 48 | 62 | 72 | 81 | 85 | 83 | 76 | 64 | 48 | 35 |
NOAA logged 346 hail reports of 1 inch or larger and 444 damaging wind reports across the metro's counties from 2015 to 2024: #14 of 100 markets for hail and #41 for wind. May, June and July carried 65% of the reports. Storm calls are a real door-opener here, and the contractor who is already known before the season gets the inspection.
The metro averages 919 cooling degree days a year (#57 of 97 markets) and 6,509 heating degree days (#17 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.
Roofing demand spikes after hail and wind events, when owners want an inspection and documentation for their insurer, so be the known contractor before the storm, not one of many calling after it. Planned work follows each owner's budget: inspections feed capital requests, and replacements are approved ahead of installation. Outbound runs every month, keyed to each building's roof age and budget date.
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 Des Moines, 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 Des Moines program
Before a program starts we size the list: the decision-maker records Abstrakt can prospect for each trade in the Des Moines-Ames-West Des Moines territory.
- 2,194Commercial Roofing
- 2,194Commercial Construction
- 900Commercial HVAC & Mechanical
- 691Commercial 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 Des Moines
Before you hire a sales development rep in Des Moines, price the whole job, not just the salary.
The salary is the smallest part of the decision. About 2,400 people hold the role in the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA 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 Des Moines 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: 481 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: 444 sites here
From our landscaping talk track. Store appearance and snow safety. In shopping centers the landlord usually controls the contract, so qualify who buys.
- Is this a freestanding store, or does the shopping center landlord handle the grounds?In centers the landlord usually buys, so this qualifies whether you are talking to the right company.
- Is grounds and snow bought store by store or through a regional or national program?Regional programs need a different conversation and a different contact than a single store.
- How is snow and ice handled before the store opens?Opening-time snow coverage is a safety and liability issue that gets attention fast.
Wholesale distributors: 213 sites here
From our MSP talk track. Orders that cannot stop. Ask what happens to order entry and shipping when systems are down.
- When order entry or the warehouse system goes down, how long until someone has it back?Distributors lose orders by the hour, so response and recovery time are what they pay for.
- Did your last cyber insurance renewal ask about controls you did not have in place?Renewal questionnaires ask about multi-factor sign-in, backups and endpoint protection, and the controller has to answer them.
- How many warehouses or branches do you run, and are they on one network?Multi-site distributors need consistent networking and security, which is recurring work an in-house person rarely covers alone.
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, Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA.
- 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 Des Moines-Ames-West Des Moines 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.
