Automotive Sales Manager

 Job Summary

Ensures customer retention and the profitability of this profit center by recruiting qualified sales personnel. Assumes responsibility for appraising, purchasing, reconditioning, displaying, and merchandising vehicle inventory.

Essential Duties

• Forecasts goals and objectives for sales, gross and key expenses on a monthly and annual basis.
• Hires, motivates, counsels, and monitors the performance of all used-vehicle sales employees.
• Prepares and administers an annual operating forecast and budget for the used vehicle sales department.
• Understands and keeps abreast of and complies with federal, state, and local regulations that affect used vehicle sales.
• Directs and schedules the activities of all department employees, ensuring proper staffing at all times.
• Assists individual salespeople in setting aggressive yet realistic monthly goals and objectives and provides them with the support to meet these goals.
• Ensures proper follow-up of all potential buyers by developing, implementing, and monitoring a prospecting and sales control system.
• Develops, implements, and monitors a follow-up system for used-vehicle purchasers.
• Maintains vehicle inventory. Monitors customers' likes and dislikes, lost sales, and dealership sales history and conducts local market analyses to determine which vehicles to stock.
• Processes salesperson commission sheets daily and monitors the payroll records of all used-vehicle salespeople.
• Conducts daily and weekly sales and sales training meetings.
• Establishes and enforces product-knowledge standards.
• Oversees the efforts of used vehicle salespeople to enhance the image and customer satisfaction ratings of the dealership.
• Helps salespeople close deals.
• Ensures 100 percent turnover of each customer to F&I.
• Communicates daily with new vehicle sales manager regarding units needed for used vehicle inventory.
• Ensures that used-vehicle salespeople are informed of all new inventory and current advertising efforts, including special sales.
• Appraises all incoming used vehicles.
• Ensures that cosmetic and mechanical reconditioning is performed within the dealership's cost and time limitations.
• Plans and controls the display of used vehicles.
• Establishes and controls wholesaling activities.
• Establishes delivery procedures and ensures that delivery includes an introduction to the service department and scheduling of the first service appointment.
• Assists in the development of advertising campaigns and other promotions.
• Keeps abreast of auto auction activity and prices and attends auctions on a regular basis.
• Approves all paperwork from auctions and provides proper documentation to the office for purchases.
• Notifies the used vehicle department manager of anticipated delivery of purchases.
• Tracks results of auction purchases and compares gross profits of auction vehicles with those of trade-ins.
• Develops and maintains outside sources (wholesalers and retailers) for both buying and selling units.
• Handles customer complaints immediately and according to dealership's guidelines.
• Attends managers' meetings.
• Maintains professional appearance.
• Other tasks as assigned.