Market report · Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL
The State of Outbound Sales in Orlando, 2026
How outbound selling looks across the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL 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.
- 6,262business sites with 20+ people across the categories trades sell to, #24 of our 100 metros
- 82buyer sites per commercial flooring contractor, #20 of 68 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 Orlando
Biggest buyer pool
Restaurants: 2,079 sites
with 20 or more people, the largest buyer category in Orlando-Kissimmee, ahead of retail stores (1,540).
Where the metro leans
Auto dealerships: 1.53x the U.S. mix
Also over-represented: private K-12 schools (1.52x) and apartment and residential property managers (1.50x). Trades that serve these buyers have more of them here than the national average suggests.
Most room
Commercial Flooring: #20 of 68 markets
82 buyer sites with 20+ people for each of 31 local commercial flooring contractors. The most crowded is commercial cleaning & janitorial, #95 of 100.
Biggest reason to call
AdventHealth Orlando medical tower, $660 million
Approved; contractor selected. One of 5 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 Orlando-Kissimmee
6,262 business sites in Orlando-Kissimmee have 20 or more people on site in the categories commercial trades sell to. That ranks #24 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 | 2,079 | 6,002 | 1.15x | +220 |
| Retail stores | 1,540 | 9,017 | 1.18x | +163 |
| Medical, dental and outpatient offices | 717 | 6,462 | 1.15x | +430 |
| Wholesale distributors | 450 | 3,132 | 0.78x | +124 |
| Manufacturing plants | 399 | 1,673 | 0.84x | +117 |
| Grocery stores | 239 | 1,058 | 0.97x | +52 |
| Hotels | 225 | 515 | 1.26x | +8 |
| Senior living and nursing | 174 | 461 | 0.66x | +6 |
| Churches and religious organizations | 147 | 1,195 | 1.11x | +19 |
| Bank and credit union offices | 111 | 1,353 | 0.90x | +50 |
Orlando-Kissimmee leans toward auto dealerships (1.53x), private K-12 schools (1.52x) and apartment and residential property managers (1.50x). 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 senior living and nursing (0.66x) and hosting and data processing companies (0.66x). 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 (+430), restaurants (+220) and retail stores (+163). New sites have no incumbent vendor yet.
The metro
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL: 4 counties in this report's counts.
Orange County, Seminole County and Lake County hold 88% of the larger business sites, so most programs start there.
Where the sites are
| County | Sites with 20+ | Share of metro |
|---|---|---|
| Orange CountyStart here | 3,736 | 60% |
| Seminole County | 1,071 | 17% |
| Lake County | 699 | 11% |
| Osceola County | 659 | 11% |
Chapter 02 The competition
Which trades have the most room in Orlando
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 Orlando figure is ranked against the other markets we track.
| Trade | Rank among markets | Sites per contractor | Contractors | 1-yr change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial FlooringMost room | #20 of 68 | 82 | 31 | 0 |
| Paving & Asphalt | #40 of 94 | 43 | 96 | +4 |
| Commercial Electrical | #43 of 100 | 11 | 251 | -3 |
| Managed Service Providers | #50 of 100 | 2.8 | 1,209 | +31 |
| Commercial HVAC & Mechanical | #63 of 100 | 8.7 | 223 | +6 |
| Commercial Landscaping | #73 of 100 | 3.1 | 1,335 | +51 |
| Commercial Roofing | #70 of 89 | 48 | 80 | -1 |
| Commercial Painting & Coatings | #69 of 86 | 51 | 76 | 0 |
| Fire Protection | #79 of 96 | 30 | 135 | +7 |
| Commercial Construction | #92 of 100 | 2.4 | 711 | +4 |
| Commercial Cleaning & Janitorial | #95 of 100 | 2.1 | 1,049 | -5 |
Commercial flooring (#20), paving & asphalt (#40) and commercial electrical (#43) rank best in Orlando. For those trades a program can work longer before it calls the same building twice, and fewer competitors have already pitched each owner.
Commercial cleaning & janitorial is the most crowded trade here, #95 of 100: 2.1 buyer sites for each of 1,049 local commercial cleaning companies. Winning there takes a sharper reason to switch than a lower price.
Commercial cleaning & janitorial (-5) and commercial electrical (-3) lost contractor establishments over the past year, so the same buildings are split among fewer firms than a year ago. Commercial landscaping (+51) and managed service providers (+31) added them.
Open programs
Our availability workbook does not cover Orlando 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
5 named, sourced projects and 6 anchor owners in Orlando-Kissimmee. 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 · $660 million AdventHealth Orlando medical tower Approved; contractor selected A 14-story tower with 440 inpatient beds and 24 operating rooms on AdventHealth Orlando's downtown campus, part of a $1 billion campus investment. With completion targeted for 2030, structural work leads to several years of mechanical, electrical, fire protection and interior finish packages on an active hospital campus. Construction Dive, 2025-05-30
- 02 · $560 million Orange County Convention Center Grand Concourse expansion Under construction A 650,000-square-foot addition next to the North-South building at the Orange County Convention Center on International Drive, with a 100,000-square-foot ballroom and 44,000 square feet of meeting rooms. Work runs through 2029 next to an operating venue, so mechanical, electrical, flooring and painting crews will be scheduled around events, and the larger building adds cleaning and maintenance volume when it opens. Spectrum News 13, 2026-03-21
- 03 · 480,782 sq ft Orlando Health hospital at the Tupperware campus Plans filed A 146-bed hospital with an eight-story patient tower, a central energy plant and more than 1,100 parking spaces, connected to Orlando Health's existing emergency room near the Tupperware SunRail station in Kissimmee, Osceola County. A central energy plant and a two-phase hospital build mean large mechanical and electrical scopes, plus parking lot paving and fire protection, once permits clear. GrowthSpotter, 2026-06-23
- 04 · $470 million ELSPES silicon capacitor manufacturing campus at NeoCity Approved; Phase 1 begins January 2027 A two-phase semiconductor component manufacturing campus and U.S. headquarters for South Korea's ELSPES at NeoCity in Osceola County, with two facilities of 289,000 square feet each. Phase 1 ($270 million) starts in January 2027; clean manufacturing space carries heavy HVAC, process electrical and fire protection work, plus roofing and site paving on a new building. Spectrum News 13, 2026-05-04
- 05 · 76,280 sq ft CoreSite Orlando second data center building Permit pending A proposed two-story data center building on CoreSite's existing campus at 9701 S. John Young Parkway in Orlando, Orange County, next to its current 129,000-square-foot facility. If the permit modification is approved, the build is mostly electrical, cooling and fire suppression work on an existing site, followed by mechanical maintenance and specialized cleaning contracts. GrowthSpotter, 2026-06-02
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 Orlando-Kissimmee. One relationship with a facilities team here can cover many buildings.
Health system · Orlando, Orange County
AdventHealth Orlando
Wikipedia, with citations, lists AdventHealth Orlando at 1,322 beds and calls it the largest hospital in central Florida.
The flagship campus on Rollins Street, part of a system with hospitals and outpatient sites across Central Florida, runs central plants, sprinkler systems and patient floors that need constant service.
WikipediaHealth system · Orlando, Orange County
Orlando Health
Wikipedia, with a citation, says Orlando Health is Central Florida's fourth-largest employer with nearly 29,000 employees, and its Orlando Regional Medical Center is home to the region's only Level I trauma center.
Hospitals, freestanding ERs and urgent care centers across the metro each need HVAC, life-safety, flooring and environmental services work.
WikipediaCampus · Orlando, Orange County
University of Central Florida
UCF lists enrollment of 70,674 on its About UCF page.
The main campus east of Orlando plus downtown and Lake Nona sites run classroom, lab, housing and athletic buildings with large parking garages and grounds.
University of Central FloridaMajor employer · Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Orange and Osceola counties
Walt Disney World Resort
Wikipedia, with citations, says Walt Disney World covers approximately 27,000 acres and has 80,000+ employees.
Theme parks, water parks, resort hotels, golf courses and conference centers spread across one property create steady demand for painting, roofing, HVAC, landscaping and paving.
WikipediaAirport · Orlando, Orange County
Orlando International Airport (MCO)
Wikipedia, citing airport traffic data, lists 57,675,573 total passengers at MCO in 2025 and says the airport covers 11,605 acres.
Terminals A, B and C, parking garages and airside support buildings need cleaning, HVAC, electrical and pavement work year-round.
WikipediaIndustrial park · Orlando, Orange County
Central Florida Research Park
The Central Florida Research Park lists 1,027 acres, 9,500+ employees, 68 buildings and 140+ companies next to the University of Central Florida.
Office, lab and simulation buildings in a campus-style park share parking lots, roofs and landscaped grounds that owners and property managers maintain.
Central Florida Research ParkAnchor facts checked 2026-10; each source is linked on its card.
Which trades the work touches
| Trade | Projects and owners |
|---|---|
| Commercial HVAC & Mechanical | 11 |
| Commercial Electrical | 7 |
| Commercial Cleaning & Janitorial | 7 |
| Paving & Asphalt | 6 |
| Fire Protection | 6 |
| Commercial Flooring | 5 |
| Commercial Landscaping | 3 |
| Commercial Roofing | 3 |
| Commercial Painting & Coatings | 3 |
Chapter 04 The calendar
The Orlando selling calendar
Outbound runs every month, but the weather changes what a buyer wants to hear. These are the NOAA records for the Orlando-Kissimmee 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 | 9 | 6 | 20 | 41 | 61 | 41 | 26 | 19 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Cooling degree daysaverage month | 76 | 91 | 136 | 208 | 375 | 481 | 546 | 547 | 473 | 315 | 144 | 92 |
| Heating degree daysaverage month | 227 | 147 | 80 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 60 | 164 |
| Average high (°F)average month | 71 | 74 | 78 | 83 | 88 | 91 | 92 | 92 | 89 | 84 | 78 | 73 |
NOAA logged 118 hail reports of 1 inch or larger and 118 damaging wind reports across the metro's counties from 2015 to 2024: #33 of 100 markets for hail and #70 for wind. April, May and June carried 61% of the reports. Storms are not the main driver here, so roof age, leaks and budget timing carry the roofing conversation.
The metro averages 3,484 cooling degree days a year (#7 of 97 markets) and 686 heating degree days (#92 of 97). Cooling load peaks in May, June, July, August, September and October; heating in January, February 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.
Every month averages a high of 60°F or more, so exterior painting, paving and landscaping work is not squeezed into a short season here. The calendar that matters is each property's contract and budget date.
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.
HVAC outbound runs every month of the year, and the season changes the message, not the effort. In peak months calls lead with service: which units struggled, how fast the current contractor responded, and when the agreement renews. The rest of the year they lead with planned work, budgets and equipment past mid-life.
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 Orlando, 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 Orlando program
Before a program starts we size the list: the decision-maker records Abstrakt can prospect for each trade in the Orlando-Deltona-Daytona Beach territory, which reaches past the Orlando-Kissimmee metro.
- 8,134Commercial Roofing
- 8,134Commercial Construction
- 2,689Commercial HVAC & Mechanical
- 1,934Commercial 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 Orlando
Before you hire a sales development rep in Orlando, price the whole job, not just the salary.
The salary is the smallest part of the decision. About 18,340 people hold the role in the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL 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 Orlando 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: 2,079 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: 1,540 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.
Medical, dental and outpatient offices: 717 sites here
From our flooring talk track. Cleanable surfaces and installing without closing the practice. Weekend installs are common.
- Which areas are clinical and which are office, and what is in each now?Clinical areas need cleanable, seamless surfaces, which changes product and price.
- Can installs happen on weekends or after hours so the practice stays open?Keeping patients flowing is the main concern, so scheduling answers matter.
- Is a remodel, acquisition or new location planned?New clinics and remodels bring the largest flooring projects.
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, Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL.
- 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 Orlando-Deltona-Daytona Beach 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).
- Cover photo: Downtown Orlando skyline across Lake Eola, by Mick Haupt on Unsplash, Unsplash License.
- The toolkit's discovery questions come from our trade talk tracks; the plan and checklists are sales practice, not data.
