Market report · Salt Lake City-Murray, UT
The State of Outbound Sales in Salt Lake City, 2026
How outbound selling looks across the Salt Lake City-Murray, UT 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.
- 3,437business sites with 20+ people across the categories trades sell to, #47 of our 100 metros
- 129buyer sites per commercial flooring contractor, #5 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 Salt Lake City
Biggest buyer pool
Restaurants: 895 sites
with 20 or more people, the largest buyer category in Salt Lake City-Murray, ahead of retail stores (720).
Where the metro leans
Hosting and data processing companies: 1.87x the U.S. mix
Also over-represented: colleges and universities (1.54x) and bank and credit union offices (1.48x). Trades that serve these buyers have more of them here than the national average suggests.
Most room
Commercial Flooring: #5 of 68 markets
129 buyer sites with 20+ people for each of 10 local commercial flooring contractors. The most crowded is fire protection, #94 of 96.
Biggest reason to call
University of Utah Eccles Health Campus
Under construction, steel frame rising June 2026. 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 Salt Lake City-Murray
3,437 business sites in Salt Lake City-Murray have 20 or more people on site in the categories commercial trades sell to. That ranks #47 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 | 895 | 2,592 | 0.69x | +54 |
| Retail stores | 720 | 3,628 | 0.72x | -113 |
| Manufacturing plants | 441 | 1,430 | 1.40x | +100 |
| Wholesale distributors | 397 | 1,719 | 1.26x | -28 |
| Medical, dental and outpatient offices | 347 | 2,999 | 0.92x | +211 |
| Bank and credit union offices | 124 | 928 | 1.48x | +50 |
| Senior living and nursing | 120 | 238 | 0.57x | +1 |
| Grocery stores | 114 | 362 | 0.43x | -3 |
| Trucking companies | 103 | 571 | 0.67x | -13 |
| Hotels | 73 | 172 | 0.61x | -5 |
Salt Lake City-Murray leans toward hosting and data processing companies (1.87x), colleges and universities (1.54x) and bank and credit union offices (1.48x). 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 (0.30x) and grocery stores (0.43x). 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 (+211), manufacturing plants (+100) and restaurants (+54). New sites have no incumbent vendor yet.
The metro
Salt Lake City-Murray, UT: 2 counties in this report's counts.
Salt Lake County holds 97% of the larger business sites, so most programs start there.
Where the sites are
| County | Sites with 20+ | Share of metro |
|---|---|---|
| Salt Lake CountyStart here | 3,341 | 97% |
| Tooele County | 75 | 2% |
Chapter 02 The competition
Which trades have the most room in Salt Lake 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 Salt Lake City figure is ranked against the other markets we track.
| Trade | Rank among markets | Sites per contractor | Contractors | 1-yr change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial FlooringMost room | #5 of 68 | 129 | 10 | +1 |
| Commercial HVAC & Mechanical | #21 of 100 | 13 | 98 | +9 |
| Commercial Painting & Coatings | #20 of 86 | 83 | 25 | +1 |
| Commercial Electrical | #33 of 100 | 12 | 140 | +16 |
| Commercial Roofing | #36 of 89 | 74 | 27 | +1 |
| Commercial Landscaping | #64 of 100 | 3.3 | 591 | +1 |
| Commercial Cleaning & Janitorial | #77 of 100 | 3.2 | 456 | +15 |
| Paving & Asphalt | #79 of 94 | 30 | 65 | +1 |
| Commercial Construction | #88 of 100 | 2.8 | 376 | +36 |
| Managed Service Providers | #93 of 100 | 1.3 | 1,711 | +111 |
| Fire Protection | #94 of 96 | 23 | 94 | +9 |
Commercial flooring (#5), commercial HVAC & mechanical (#21) and commercial painting & coatings (#20) rank best in Salt Lake City. For those trades a program can work longer before it calls the same building twice, and fewer competitors have already pitched each owner.
Fire protection is the most crowded trade here, #94 of 96: 23 buyer sites for each of 94 local fire protection contractors. Winning there takes a sharper reason to switch than a lower price.
Open programs
Our availability workbook does not cover Salt Lake 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
4 named, sourced projects and 6 anchor owners in Salt Lake City-Murray. 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 University of Utah Eccles Health Campus Under construction, steel frame rising June 2026 A University of Utah hospital campus in West Valley City meant to expand healthcare access on Salt Lake County's west side. With steel going up in mid-2026, the next stretch is roofing, envelope and the large healthcare mechanical, electrical and fire protection packages, followed by interior finishes. The Salt Lake Tribune, 2026-06-18
- 02 The Point (former Utah State Prison site) Infrastructure complete, vertical construction beginning later in 2026 A 600-plus acre mixed-use district in Draper whose first buildings include the 5,200-seat Mountain America Event Center, the 363-unit Chroma apartments, Convergence Hall and the 60,000 sq ft Amber office building. Several buildings going vertical within a year create overlapping demand for mechanical, electrical, sprinkler and finish trades, and a walkable district with parks and trails needs landscaping and site work. Building Salt Lake, 2026-06-29
- 03 Salt Palace Convention Center Renovation Planned, construction beginning spring 2027 Partial demolition and rebuild of the Salt Palace in downtown Salt Lake City to add a second ballroom and revised meeting space, part of Smith Entertainment Group's plans around the Delta Center. A spring 2027 start makes this one to position for now: ballroom and meeting space rebuilds carry large HVAC, electrical, flooring and painting scopes, and the venue stays a cleaning and maintenance account. Building Salt Lake, 2026-08-17
- 04 · Approximately $2.8 million Former Leonardo Building Renovation Construction expected to begin November 2026, move-in April 2027 Renovation of about 30,000 sq ft across three floors of the former Leonardo museum on Library Square in downtown Salt Lake City into Youth Services space and city department offices. A short interior-only schedule: office and classroom buildouts mean HVAC and electrical modifications, flooring and painting between November and April. Building Salt Lake, 2026-09-29
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 Salt Lake City-Murray. One relationship with a facilities team here can cover many buildings.
Health system · Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County
Intermountain Health
Intermountain Health, based in Salt Lake City, lists 34 hospitals and 400 clinics and calls itself the largest nonprofit health system in the Intermountain West.
Hospitals, clinics and support buildings across the Salt Lake Valley run central plants, sprinklers, patient floors, roofs and parking areas that need regular service.
Intermountain HealthHealth system · Murray, Salt Lake County
Intermountain Medical Center
Wikipedia, with a citation, says Intermountain's flagship hospital in Murray has 504 beds and is a Level I trauma center; it opened in October 2007 on a 100-acre site.
A multi-building hospital campus with a trauma center and outpatient buildings needs mechanical, electrical, life-safety and grounds work.
WikipediaCampus · Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County
University of Utah
The University of Utah lists 38,000+ students and a campus size of 1,534 acres.
A hillside campus of classroom, research, hospital and housing buildings carries large mechanical, roofing, paving and grounds needs.
University of UtahAirport · Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County
Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC)
The airport says 28,158,007 passengers traveled through SLC in 2025.
The rebuilt terminal, concourses, parking garage and airfield support buildings need cleaning, HVAC, electrical and pavement work.
Salt Lake City International AirportLogistics hub · Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County
Northwest Quadrant (Utah Inland Port)
The Utah Inland Port Authority says the Northwest Quadrant project area spans 16,000 acres next to two interstates, national rail lines and the international airport.
Warehouse, distribution and manufacturing buildings going up across the area need roofing, dock paving, lighting and sprinkler work.
Utah Inland Port AuthorityMajor employer · Salt Lake County
Rio Tinto Kennecott
Rio Tinto says Kennecott has mined the Bingham Canyon Mine since 1903 and operates one of only 2 copper smelters in the US, along with a concentrator and refinery.
Mining, smelting and refining plants with rail and tailings infrastructure carry heavy electrical, industrial coatings and fire protection needs.
Rio TintoAnchor facts checked 2026-10; each source is linked on its card.
Which trades the work touches
| Trade | Projects and owners |
|---|---|
| Commercial HVAC & Mechanical | 9 |
| Commercial Electrical | 8 |
| Fire Protection | 6 |
| Commercial Flooring | 4 |
| Commercial Roofing | 4 |
| Commercial Cleaning & Janitorial | 4 |
| Commercial Painting & Coatings | 3 |
| Commercial Landscaping | 3 |
| Paving & Asphalt | 3 |
| Commercial Construction | 2 |
Chapter 04 The calendar
The Salt Lake City selling calendar
Outbound runs every month, but the weather changes what a buyer wants to hear. These are the NOAA records for the Salt Lake City-Murray 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 | 4 | 4 | 91 | 104 | 170 | 112 | 96 | 17 | 6 | 8 |
| Cooling degree daysaverage month | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 23 | 132 | 329 | 268 | 65 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Heating degree daysaverage month | 1,127 | 890 | 728 | 532 | 277 | 80 | 2 | 2 | 110 | 459 | 810 | 1,121 |
| Average high (°F)average month | 38 | 43 | 53 | 59 | 69 | 81 | 90 | 88 | 77 | 63 | 48 | 38 |
NOAA logged 20 hail reports of 1 inch or larger and 592 damaging wind reports across the metro's counties from 2015 to 2024: #76 of 100 markets for hail and #27 for wind. June, July and August carried 63% of the reports. Storms are not the main driver here, so roof age, leaks and budget timing carry the roofing conversation.
The metro averages 818 cooling degree days a year (#60 of 97 markets) and 6,138 heating degree days (#26 of 97). Cooling load peaks in 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.
6 months average a high of 60°F or more (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 Salt Lake 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 Salt Lake City program
Before a program starts we size the list: the decision-maker records Abstrakt can prospect for each trade in the Salt Lake City-Provo-Orem territory, which reaches past the Salt Lake City-Murray metro.
- 5,768Commercial Roofing
- 5,768Commercial Construction
- 2,350Commercial HVAC & Mechanical
- 1,717Commercial 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 Salt Lake City
Before you hire a sales development rep in Salt Lake City, price the whole job, not just the salary.
The salary is the smallest part of the decision. About 7,900 people hold the role in the Salt Lake City-Murray, UT 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 Salt Lake 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: 895 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: 720 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: 441 sites here
From our HVAC talk track. Production uptime and energy. Ask how cooling issues affect the line.
- Where does cooling or ventilation actually touch production, in process cooling, make-up air or the control rooms?This separates comfort cooling from equipment that affects output, and output is where the plant spends money quickly.
- When was the last time a mechanical issue slowed or stopped a line?A recent incident gives you the cost of failure in the plant's own words, which justifies a preventative program.
- When are your planned shutdowns, and does HVAC work get scheduled into them?Shutdown windows are when real work gets done, so knowing them tells you when a proposal needs to be approved.
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, Salt Lake City-Murray, UT.
- 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 Salt Lake City-Provo-Orem 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: Salt Lake City skyline with the Wasatch Range behind it, by Brent Pace on Unsplash, Unsplash License.
- The toolkit's discovery questions come from our trade talk tracks; the plan and checklists are sales practice, not data.
