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From Automotive Retailing Today...

Job Definition

The general manager ensures the profitability of the entire dealership by selling vehicles, controlling expenses and maintaining customer satisfaction. Duties of the general manager include planning, motivating and coordinating the dealership's management through leadership and solid business practices.

As with all positions within dealerships, general managers are expected to uphold the highest ethical standards.

Job Duties

Job duties for a general manager include:

Hiring all management positions, completing performance evaluations regularly and developing short and long-term goals for each department manager (includes administrative, sales, parts, collision and service departments).
Planning and developing short and long-term goals and objectives annually, and submitting time projections to corporate management for approval.
Effectively communicating with the comptroller/office manager on a weekly basis to review departmental forecasts and ensure consistency with annual projections.
Paying close attention to daily operations, recommending and creating improved courses of action where necessary.
Explaining the policies and procedures of the dealership to all employees and following up with employees to ensure that these issues are understood and followed.
Providing dealership management with weekly reports on the financial condition of the dealership.
Overseeing the monthly financial statement to ensure it is complete, accurate and submitted on time to the management/dealership owners.
Coordinating with the business/administrative office to ensure that records and analyses are correctly maintained.
Creating a good working relationship with lending institutions and manufacturer personnel and maintaining these relationships.
Coordinating regular meetings with the managers of each department to ensure their profitability and efficiency.
Overseeing the hiring and training of all department managers.
Maintaining an enthusiastic attitude to build positive employee attitudes and morale.
Overseeing and maintaining compensation plans for all employees.
Creating cost-effective advertising programs and merchandising strategies for the dealership.
Focusing on any customer complaints that department managers are unable to rectify and taking the necessary steps to resolve these complaints.

Job Requirements

General managers should have at least two years of dealership sales and five years in a supervisory position. Experience in other dealership departments is a plus. They must have strong leadership and organizational skills, and the ability to understand profit and loss statements and manage a large, diverse staff.

General managers also must possess strong communication skills to deal with customers, employees and vendors.

Managers are required to stay abreast of the federal, state, and local regulations affecting their operations and comply with them. Also they must provide the necessary training on regulations and ethical practices.

Education Requirements

A high school diploma or the equivalent is required and a college degree in business administration is preferred.

Career Path

The general manager should have previous experience as a general sales manager before progressing to the general manager position. General managers may eventually own their own dealership.

Salary Range

The average annual earnings of general managers are approximately $100,000 to $200,000. Earnings vary depending on experience, and the dealer's geographic location and size.

Some dealerships, especially larger ones, may pay bonuses and have special incentive programs for exceeding sales quotas.

Please click here for more information about average salaries.

Benefits

Benefits vary by employer, but most dealerships offer on site training, health insurance, retirement plans, and other benefit options. Talk with the specific dealer human resource manager about benefit packages.

(Source: Automotive Retailing Today.)

Education and Training in Automotive


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