Market report · Kansas City, MO-KS
The State of Outbound Sales in Kansas City, 2026
How outbound selling looks across the Kansas City, MO-KS 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.
- 5,848business sites with 20+ people across the categories trades sell to, #26 of our 100 metros
- 78buyer sites per commercial painting contractor, #27 of 86 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 Kansas City
Biggest buyer pool
Restaurants: 1,679 sites
with 20 or more people, the largest buyer category in Kansas City, ahead of retail stores (1,234).
Where the metro leans
Warehousing and distribution: 1.72x the U.S. mix
Also over-represented: hospitals (1.51x) and hosting and data processing companies (1.26x). Trades that serve these buyers have more of them here than the national average suggests.
Most room
Commercial Painting & Coatings: #27 of 86 markets
78 buyer sites with 20+ people for each of 39 local commercial painting contractors. The most crowded is commercial roofing, #81 of 89.
Biggest reason to call
Kansas City Chiefs stadium, $3 billion
Approved. One of 7 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 Kansas City
5,848 business sites in Kansas City have 20 or more people on site in the categories commercial trades sell to. That ranks #26 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 | 1,679 | 4,299 | 0.93x | +139 |
| Retail stores | 1,234 | 6,258 | 0.91x | +55 |
| Manufacturing plants | 589 | 1,636 | 0.92x | +160 |
| Medical, dental and outpatient offices | 581 | 4,844 | 0.90x | +202 |
| Wholesale distributors | 559 | 2,721 | 1.24x | +95 |
| Senior living and nursing | 242 | 468 | 0.87x | 0 |
| Grocery stores | 180 | 791 | 0.73x | 0 |
| Churches and religious organizations | 179 | 1,378 | 0.26x | +7 |
| Trucking companies | 174 | 986 | 0.89x | +39 |
| Bank and credit union offices | 146 | 1,336 | 1.15x | +16 |
Kansas City leans toward warehousing and distribution (1.72x), hospitals (1.51x) and hosting and data processing companies (1.26x). 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 (0.26x) and private K-12 schools (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 (+202), manufacturing plants (+160) and restaurants (+139). New sites have no incumbent vendor yet.
The metro
Kansas City, MO-KS: 13 counties in this report's counts.
Johnson County, Jackson County and Clay County hold 77% of the larger business sites, so most programs start there.
Where the sites are
| County | Sites with 20+ | Share of metro |
|---|---|---|
| Johnson County, KansasStart here | 1,942 | 33% |
| Jackson County | 1,928 | 33% |
| Clay County | 662 | 11% |
| Wyandotte County, Kansas | 438 | 7% |
| Platte County | 286 | 5% |
| Cass County | 155 | 3% |
| Leavenworth County, Kansas | 86 | 1% |
| Lafayette County | 46 | 1% |
Chapter 02 The competition
Which trades have the most room in Kansas City
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 Kansas City figure is ranked against the other markets we track.
| Trade | Rank among markets | Sites per contractor | Contractors | 1-yr change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial Painting & CoatingsMost room | #27 of 86 | 78 | 39 | +3 |
| Commercial Landscaping | #45 of 100 | 3.8 | 819 | +29 |
| Commercial Cleaning & Janitorial | #48 of 100 | 3.8 | 576 | +28 |
| Commercial Electrical | #49 of 100 | 10 | 250 | +15 |
| Paving & Asphalt | #51 of 94 | 39 | 78 | +6 |
| Fire Protection | #53 of 96 | 41 | 80 | +4 |
| Commercial Construction | #60 of 100 | 4.0 | 442 | +17 |
| Commercial Flooring | #47 of 68 | 58 | 32 | +1 |
| Commercial HVAC & Mechanical | #71 of 100 | 8.5 | 228 | +1 |
| Managed Service Providers | #76 of 100 | 1.8 | 1,818 | +130 |
| Commercial Roofing | #81 of 89 | 43 | 70 | +4 |
Commercial painting & coatings (#27), commercial landscaping (#45) and commercial cleaning & janitorial (#48) rank best in Kansas City. For those trades a program can work longer before it calls the same building twice, and fewer competitors have already pitched each owner.
Commercial roofing is the most crowded trade here, #81 of 89: 43 buyer sites for each of 70 local commercial roofing contractors. Winning there takes a sharper reason to switch than a lower price.
Open programs
Our availability workbook does not cover Kansas City 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
7 named, sourced projects and 6 anchor owners in Kansas City. 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 · $3 billion Kansas City Chiefs stadium Approved An enclosed, roughly 70,000-seat stadium with a translucent roof near Kansas Speedway at 126th and State Avenue in Wyandotte County, Kansas, planned to open for the 2031 season. Construction is expected to start in late 2026 or early 2027, and the surrounding mixed-use district adds paving, site and landscaping work beyond the stadium itself. KCTV5, 2026-07-22
- 02 · $10 billion Google Project Mica data center campus Under construction Google's second Kansas City-area data center campus: five buildings on 500 acres off I-435 and Highway 169 in the Northland. Hyperscale campuses need electrical, cooling and fire protection crews over multiple building phases; the incentive deal exempts construction materials from sales tax. Kansas City Star, 2026-02-14
- 03 · More than $1 billion Children's Mercy Adele Hall Campus acute care tower Approved A new patient tower on Gilham Road at Children's Mercy's Adele Hall campus in Kansas City, Missouri, with an expanded emergency department, relocated ICUs and a surgical center. Construction is expected to start in fall 2026 and finish in 2031, a long run of hospital mechanical, electrical and fire protection work. KCUR, 2026-04-29
- 04 · 160,000 sq ft UMKC Healthcare Delivery and Innovation Building Under construction The largest capital project in UMKC history, at 25th and Charlotte streets in Kansas City; topped out in September 2025 and expected to open in 2027. With the structure topped out, interior trades follow: mechanical and electrical fit-out, then flooring, painting and turnover cleaning before 2027. UMKC, 2026-05-12
- 05 · Up to 20 million sq ft planned KCI 29 Logistics Park (Hunt Midwest and Prologis) Announced A 3,300-acre industrial park north of Kansas City International Airport at I-29 and I-435 in Platte County, now in a Hunt Midwest and Prologis joint venture that also covers Five Star Logistics Park. Each new building brings roofing, paving and sprinkler work, followed by electrical and HVAC for tenant fit-outs. KCTV5, 2026-02-26
- 06 · $66 million Central Middle School (new building) Under construction A new 125,000-square-foot middle school for up to 950 students at North 11th Street and Riverview Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas (Wyandotte County), funded by the $180 million bond voters approved in November 2024 and set to open in fall 2028. A ground-up school on a new site means roofing and envelope packages plus site grading, paving and campus landscaping, bid through 2027 ahead of the fall 2028 opening. FOX4 Kansas City (via Yahoo News), 2026-09-25
- 07 · $300 million Kansas City mental health hospital (University Health for the Missouri Department of Mental Health) Under construction A 300,000-square-foot mental health hospital with more than 200 beds on the former Belvidere Park site on Independence Avenue in Kansas City's Historic Northeast, with completion expected in 2028. A new building of this size carries a large roofing and envelope scope and a full site package on a former park site through 2027 and 2028, plus specialized mechanical and life-safety work. Kansas City Magazine, 2026-08-31
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 Kansas City. One relationship with a facilities team here can cover many buildings.
Health system · Kansas City, Wyandotte County, Kansas
The University of Kansas Health System
Wikipedia, citing the health system's annual reports, says the center has 993 staffed beds.
An academic medical center campus in Kansas City, Kansas with inpatient towers, clinics, research space and parking.
WikipediaCampus · Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri
University of Missouri-Kansas City
Wikipedia, citing UMKC's enrollment dashboard, gives fall 2026 enrollment of 15,238 students.
Includes the original Volker Campus, with classrooms, labs, residence halls and parking.
WikipediaAirport · Kansas City, Platte County, Missouri
Kansas City International Airport
Wikipedia, citing the City of Kansas City, says MCI set an all-time record with 12,121,778 passengers in 2024.
Run by the Kansas City Aviation Department, with terminal, parking, airfield and cargo facilities.
WikipediaLogistics hub · Edgerton, Johnson County, Kansas
BNSF Logistics Park Kansas City
Wikipedia, citing the Kansas City Business Journal, describes BNSF's Edgerton intermodal facility as 443 acres, opened in October 2013 next to a planned industrial park of more than 7,000,000 square feet of warehouse space.
An intermodal rail yard surrounded by large distribution warehouses with truck courts and wide paved lots.
WikipediaMajor employer · Claycomo, Clay County, Missouri
Ford Kansas City Assembly Plant
Ford lists approximately 9,205 total employees at the Kansas City Assembly Plant on a 1,269-acre site.
One of Ford's largest assembly plants, building Transit, E-Transit and F-150, with production halls, offices and employee parking.
Ford Motor CompanyPublic owner · Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri
Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies (Kansas City National Security Campus)
Wikipedia, citing Kansas City's FY2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, lists Honeywell Federal Manufacturing with 6,637 employees.
A National Nuclear Security Administration facility operated by Honeywell on Botts Road in south Kansas City.
WikipediaAnchor facts checked 2026-10; each source is linked on its card.
Which trades the work touches
| Trade | Projects and owners |
|---|---|
| Commercial Electrical | 11 |
| Commercial HVAC & Mechanical | 11 |
| Fire Protection | 7 |
| Paving & Asphalt | 6 |
| Commercial Roofing | 6 |
| Commercial Cleaning & Janitorial | 5 |
| Commercial Landscaping | 4 |
| Commercial Construction | 4 |
| Commercial Painting & Coatings | 1 |
| Commercial Flooring | 1 |
Chapter 04 The calendar
The Kansas City selling calendar
Outbound runs every month, but the weather changes what a buyer wants to hear. These are the NOAA records for the Kansas City 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 | 25 | 162 | 154 | 393 | 369 | 248 | 138 | 103 | 57 | 17 | 21 |
| Cooling degree daysaverage month | 0 | 0 | 10 | 12 | 104 | 279 | 409 | 364 | 159 | 20 | 1 | 0 |
| Heating degree daysaverage month | 1,105 | 863 | 641 | 323 | 117 | 10 | 2 | 9 | 60 | 289 | 634 | 978 |
| Average high (°F)average month | 39 | 44 | 55 | 66 | 75 | 84 | 88 | 87 | 79 | 68 | 54 | 43 |
NOAA logged 681 hail reports of 1 inch or larger and 1,006 damaging wind reports across the metro's counties from 2015 to 2024: #4 of 100 markets for hail and #9 for wind. May, June and July carried 60% 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 1,356 cooling degree days a year (#41 of 97 markets) and 5,031 heating degree days (#40 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 Kansas City, 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 Kansas City program
Before a program starts we size the list: the decision-maker records Abstrakt can prospect for each trade in the Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City territory.
- 6,176Commercial Roofing
- 6,176Commercial Construction
- 2,519Commercial HVAC & Mechanical
- 1,923Commercial 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 Kansas City
Before you hire a sales development rep in Kansas City, price the whole job, not just the salary.
The salary is the smallest part of the decision. About 9,250 people hold the role in the Kansas City, MO-KS 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 Kansas City 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: 1,679 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: 1,234 sites here
From our painting talk track. Night work that does not close the store. Chains often run repaints as multi-site programs from regional facilities.
- Is painting bought store by store or through a regional or national remodel program?Program work needs a different contact and often a vendor registration process.
- Can the work be done overnight without closing the store?Night work capability is often the deciding factor for retail painting.
- Are remodels, brand refreshes or new stores planned in this area?Planned programs give you a timeline and a defined scope.
Manufacturing plants: 589 sites here
From our painting talk track. Coating performance and shutdown windows. Ask what surfaces are failing and when the next shutdown is.
- Which surfaces are failing, such as floors, structural steel, tanks or equipment?Failing coatings define the scope and show whether this is a specialty coatings job.
- When is the next planned shutdown?Shutdown windows decide when the work happens and when you need to have the job won.
- Do customer or safety audits look at striping, floor markings or corrosion?Audit findings create urgency and a clear reason to fund the work.
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, Kansas City, MO-KS.
- 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 Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City 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.
