Market report · Lexington-Fayette, KY
The State of Outbound Sales in Lexington, 2026
How outbound selling looks across the Lexington-Fayette, KY 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.
- 1,430business sites with 20+ people across the categories trades sell to, #89 of our 100 metros
- 4.0buyer sites per commercial landscaping contractor, #38 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 Lexington
Biggest buyer pool
Restaurants: 476 sites
with 20 or more people, the largest buyer category in Lexington-Fayette, ahead of retail stores (286).
Where the metro leans
Colleges and universities: 2.51x the U.S. mix
Also over-represented: manufacturing plants (1.36x) and hotels (1.27x). Trades that serve these buyers have more of them here than the national average suggests.
Most room
Commercial Landscaping: #38 of 100 markets
4.0 buyer sites with 20+ people for each of 191 local commercial landscaping contractors. The most crowded is commercial HVAC & mechanical, #89 of 100.
Biggest reason to call
UK central utility plant and Chandler Hospital expansion infrastructure, $580 million
Approved; phased construction underway. 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 Lexington-Fayette
1,430 business sites in Lexington-Fayette have 20 or more people on site in the categories commercial trades sell to. That ranks #89 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 | 476 | 1,128 | 0.96x | +28 |
| Retail stores | 286 | 1,729 | 1.06x | -3 |
| Medical, dental and outpatient offices | 174 | 1,276 | 1.14x | +27 |
| Manufacturing plants | 155 | 423 | 1.36x | +40 |
| Wholesale distributors | 107 | 505 | 0.91x | -18 |
| Senior living and nursing | 53 | 149 | 0.72x | +2 |
| Grocery stores | 43 | 204 | 0.82x | +9 |
| Hotels | 39 | 107 | 1.27x | +1 |
| Trucking companies | 30 | 198 | 0.94x | +5 |
| Churches and religious organizations | 28 | 368 | 0.48x | +1 |
Lexington-Fayette leans toward colleges and universities (2.51x), manufacturing plants (1.36x) and hotels (1.27x). 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 (0.48x) and senior living and nursing (0.72x). A program built around those buyers runs out of fresh accounts sooner here.
Growing fastest over the past year, by establishment count: manufacturing plants (+40), restaurants (+28) and medical, dental and outpatient offices (+27). New sites have no incumbent vendor yet.
The metro
Lexington-Fayette, KY: 6 counties in this report's counts.
Fayette County, Scott County and Jessamine County hold 85% of the larger business sites, so most programs start there.
Where the sites are
| County | Sites with 20+ | Share of metro |
|---|---|---|
| Fayette CountyStart here | 1,003 | 70% |
| Scott County | 111 | 8% |
| Jessamine County | 97 | 7% |
| Clark County | 59 | 4% |
| Woodford County | 37 | 3% |
| Bourbon County | 20 | 1% |
Chapter 02 The competition
Which trades have the most room in Lexington
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 Lexington figure is ranked against the other markets we track.
| Trade | Rank among markets | Sites per contractor | Contractors | 1-yr change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial LandscapingMost room | #38 of 100 | 4.0 | 191 | -9 |
| Commercial Cleaning & Janitorial | #50 of 100 | 3.8 | 145 | -1 |
| Commercial Electrical | #59 of 100 | 9.8 | 63 | 0 |
| Commercial Roofing | #55 of 89 | 59 | 12 | +1 |
| Fire Protection | #66 of 96 | 37 | 24 | +3 |
| Commercial Painting & Coatings | #67 of 86 | 52 | 14 | 0 |
| Commercial Construction | #80 of 100 | 3.2 | 131 | +4 |
| Paving & Asphalt | #76 of 94 | 31 | 24 | -1 |
| Managed Service Providers | #88 of 100 | 1.5 | 507 | +4 |
| Commercial HVAC & Mechanical | #89 of 100 | 6.8 | 72 | -3 |
Commercial landscaping (#38), commercial cleaning & janitorial (#50) and commercial electrical (#59) rank best in Lexington. For those trades a program can work longer before it calls the same building twice, and fewer competitors have already pitched each owner.
Commercial HVAC & mechanical is the most crowded trade here, #89 of 100: 6.8 buyer sites for each of 72 local mechanical contractors. Winning there takes a sharper reason to switch than a lower price.
Commercial landscaping (-9) and commercial HVAC & mechanical (-3) lost contractor establishments over the past year, so the same buildings are split among fewer firms than a year ago. Commercial construction (+4) and managed service providers (+4) added them.
Not ranked here: commercial flooring (5 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 Lexington 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 Lexington-Fayette. 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 · $580 million UK central utility plant and Chandler Hospital expansion infrastructure Approved; phased construction underway A new central utility plant, chilled water modernization, backup generators for Chandler Hospital and new utility piping on the University of Kentucky's Lexington campus, delivered through a public-private partnership with Kentucky Infrastructure Partners to support a hospital expansion toward about 1,400 beds. Distribution piping started in mid-2026 and the plant follows in phases, which is large-scale mechanical, electrical and generator work now, ahead of the hospital expansion's own building systems and finish scopes. UKNow (University of Kentucky), 2026-05-21
- 02 · 550,000 sq ft UK Cancer and Advanced Ambulatory Building Topped out; opening 2028 A 550,000-square-foot building on UK's Lexington campus that consolidates UK Markey Cancer Center services from six locations. With the steel topped out, the next two years are mechanical, electrical, medical gas, fire protection and interior finish work, and an outpatient cancer building needs healthcare-grade cleaning once open. LEX 18 News, 2026-07-16
- 03 · 509,000 sq ft Michael D. Rankin MD Health Education Building Under construction; opening spring 2027 A building of more than 509,000 square feet on UK's Lexington campus housing several health colleges and adding capacity for 1,200 more students. The final year before a spring 2027 opening is when flooring, painting, low-voltage and mechanical trim-out crews peak, followed by custodial and grounds contracts for a large academic building. LEX 18 News, 2026-07-16
- 04 Toyota Kentucky advanced paint facility Groundbreaking June 2026 A next-generation paint facility at Toyota's Georgetown plant in Scott County, part of about $2 billion in investments Toyota Kentucky has announced over the past two years. Automotive paint shops are dense with air handling, exhaust, process electrical and fire suppression, so this is a multi-year mechanical and electrical job inside an operating plant. Toyota Newsroom, 2026-06-22
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 Lexington-Fayette. One relationship with a facilities team here can cover many buildings.
Health system · Lexington, Fayette County
UK HealthCare Albert B. Chandler Hospital
The UK College of Medicine says UK Chandler Hospital consists of 940 beds with four specialty intensive care units.
The flagship of UK HealthCare's hospitals and clinics, a large academic medical campus with central utilities, critical care units and constant cleaning and life-safety demands.
University of Kentucky College of MedicineHealth system · Lexington, Fayette County
Baptist Health Lexington
Greater Lexington lists Baptist Health with 2,851 employees in Fayette County.
A second major hospital owner in the city with an acute care campus, medical office buildings and parking that need mechanical, electrical and environmental services.
Greater LexingtonCampus · Lexington, Fayette County
University of Kentucky
LEX18 reported that UK's Fall 2025 enrollment reached a record 38,719 students.
Greater Lexington lists UK as the region's largest employer, with a main campus of residence halls, labs, athletic venues, parking and grounds.
LEX18Major employer · Georgetown, Scott County
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky
Toyota lists its Georgetown plant at 9 million square feet on 1,300 acres.
A vehicle and engine assembly complex with huge roof areas, plant electrical systems, paved lots and grounds, plus suppliers clustered nearby in Scott County.
Toyota USA NewsroomAirport · Lexington, Fayette County
Blue Grass Airport
Blue Grass Airport reported a record-breaking 1,614,053 total passengers in 2025.
A terminal, parking areas, airfield and general aviation hangars run by the airport board.
Blue Grass AirportIndustrial park · Lexington, Fayette County
Coldstream Research Campus
The University of Kentucky says Coldstream is a 735-acre campus home to over 50 organizations.
A research and office park at I-75 and I-64 with lab, office and light manufacturing buildings, shared roads and landscaped grounds.
Coldstream Research Campus, University of KentuckyPublic owner · Lexington, Fayette County
Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government
Greater Lexington lists the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government with 3,484 employees.
The merged city-county government owns fire stations, police facilities, public works yards, parks and office buildings that it maintains through public bids.
Greater LexingtonAnchor facts checked 2026-10; each source is linked on its card.
Which trades the work touches
| Trade | Projects and owners |
|---|---|
| Commercial HVAC & Mechanical | 10 |
| Commercial Electrical | 8 |
| Commercial Cleaning & Janitorial | 7 |
| Paving & Asphalt | 6 |
| Commercial Landscaping | 3 |
| Commercial Roofing | 3 |
| Fire Protection | 3 |
| Commercial Flooring | 3 |
| Commercial Construction | 2 |
| Commercial Painting & Coatings | 1 |
Chapter 04 The calendar
The Lexington selling calendar
Outbound runs every month, but the weather changes what a buyer wants to hear. These are the NOAA records for the Lexington-Fayette 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 | 3 | 8 | 25 | 35 | 47 | 63 | 106 | 40 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 10 |
| Cooling degree daysaverage month | 1 | 0 | 7 | 9 | 98 | 225 | 336 | 302 | 147 | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| Heating degree daysaverage month | 988 | 790 | 626 | 303 | 119 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 50 | 273 | 588 | 865 |
| Average high (°F)average month | 42 | 47 | 56 | 67 | 76 | 83 | 86 | 86 | 80 | 69 | 56 | 46 |
NOAA logged 29 hail reports of 1 inch or larger and 320 damaging wind reports across the metro's counties from 2015 to 2024: #68 of 100 markets for hail and #48 for wind. May, June and July carried 62% of the reports. Storms are not the main driver here, so roof age, leaks and budget timing carry the roofing conversation.
The metro averages 1,145 cooling degree days a year (#47 of 97 markets) and 4,617 heating degree days (#45 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 Lexington, 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 Lexington program
Before a program starts we size the list: the decision-maker records Abstrakt can prospect for each trade in the Lexington-Fayette--Richmond--Frankfort territory.
- 1,898Commercial Roofing
- 1,898Commercial Construction
- 650Commercial HVAC & Mechanical
- 518Commercial 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 Lexington
Before you hire a sales development rep in Lexington, price the whole job, not just the salary.
The salary is the smallest part of the decision. About 1,950 people hold the role in the Lexington-Fayette, KY 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 Lexington 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: 476 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: 286 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.
Medical, dental and outpatient offices: 174 sites here
From our landscaping talk track. Patient access and safety. Many practices lease, so the landlord or property manager is often the buyer.
- Do you own the building, or does a landlord or property manager handle the grounds?Many practices lease, so this tells you whether to keep selling here or move to the landlord.
- How are walkways and parking handled when it snows or ices over?Patient access and slip risk are the strongest reasons a practice will act.
- Have patients complained about the entrance, parking or grounds?Complaints give the practice administrator a reason to push for a change.
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, Lexington-Fayette, KY.
- 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 Lexington-Fayette--Richmond--Frankfort 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.
