I've been a lurker on here for years and have learned a lot. Because of lurking for so long, I know this question has come up countless times. I am hoping that I can tell you a bit about my position and you guys can give me an idea.
Currently, my pay plan is 500/week + commission (the way it is set up, commission averages 700 take home).
I started as a sales person and was doing well. I was averaging 15 cars a month and bringing home about 4k-5k. That was a lot of money to college kid me! After my first year, the GM approached me and asked if I wanted to move on Internet Sales. I was struggling to keep up with my school and working. I was still selling cars, but I guess the lack of sleep was becoming noticeable. I appreciated it and moved to the BDC. I also took a paycut, bringing home about 2700. A few months in, the BDC manager quit and I was made the "manager" while they found someone new. I was also given their pay plan in the meantime. Fast forward 2 years and I'm still there, making the same money.
In the time I have been here, and with a lot of things I have learned on this site, % of sales went up from roughly 5% to a 6 month average of 14%. Not great, but a major improvement. I've cut back on expenses- through cutting useless lead sources and cutting back on employees. We have 2 less employees now, about 60hrs per week and $600 week, and making better numbers (nothing crazy here, they just spent a lot of time on facebook before). I'm in charge of 7 people in the department. We've increased unit sales by just over 40. We are also have average gross compared to showroom sales.
The person before me was responsible for updating the inventory (deleting cars), creating a work schedule, getting customers in, and managing the employees. I am responsible for that, plus the social media and our reputation, working out deals with vendors, Graphics (for our ads), taking pictures of cars, pricing the cars, making videos, updating the website (through coding that I had to teach myself), working with the local university to set up events, training new hires, and putting together company wide reports for all the departments. We also have a few other sister stores that I help in a lot of those same aspects. I've also turned into the IT guy-they have cut their contract with another company and now i'm responsible for all that stuff (computers not working, phone system not working, installing cameras, needed software). I know I'm missing some random small things, but thats pretty much the idea. I also fill in at the sales desk if they need help. One of the guys that works in my department actually makes the same amount that I make and he just focuses on calling customers and getting them in.
Maybe I'm just burnt out, but I feel like something needs to change. I'm barely making enough to get by between bills and student loans (for a degree I'm not even using. Yay!) I approached my GM with 2 things- a raise (he looked at me like I was crazy) or the possibility of interviewing for a Finance position that just opened up (i'd have to go to finance school). He asked if I could train someone else to do my job. Sure, in a few months (at least). Then he asked me if I could do both jobs (I said No). What do you guys think? I live in North Florida if that matters.
Again, so sorry for making another one of these posts but I'm almost at that point where I flip every desk on my way out of here.
Currently, my pay plan is 500/week + commission (the way it is set up, commission averages 700 take home).
I started as a sales person and was doing well. I was averaging 15 cars a month and bringing home about 4k-5k. That was a lot of money to college kid me! After my first year, the GM approached me and asked if I wanted to move on Internet Sales. I was struggling to keep up with my school and working. I was still selling cars, but I guess the lack of sleep was becoming noticeable. I appreciated it and moved to the BDC. I also took a paycut, bringing home about 2700. A few months in, the BDC manager quit and I was made the "manager" while they found someone new. I was also given their pay plan in the meantime. Fast forward 2 years and I'm still there, making the same money.
In the time I have been here, and with a lot of things I have learned on this site, % of sales went up from roughly 5% to a 6 month average of 14%. Not great, but a major improvement. I've cut back on expenses- through cutting useless lead sources and cutting back on employees. We have 2 less employees now, about 60hrs per week and $600 week, and making better numbers (nothing crazy here, they just spent a lot of time on facebook before). I'm in charge of 7 people in the department. We've increased unit sales by just over 40. We are also have average gross compared to showroom sales.
The person before me was responsible for updating the inventory (deleting cars), creating a work schedule, getting customers in, and managing the employees. I am responsible for that, plus the social media and our reputation, working out deals with vendors, Graphics (for our ads), taking pictures of cars, pricing the cars, making videos, updating the website (through coding that I had to teach myself), working with the local university to set up events, training new hires, and putting together company wide reports for all the departments. We also have a few other sister stores that I help in a lot of those same aspects. I've also turned into the IT guy-they have cut their contract with another company and now i'm responsible for all that stuff (computers not working, phone system not working, installing cameras, needed software). I know I'm missing some random small things, but thats pretty much the idea. I also fill in at the sales desk if they need help. One of the guys that works in my department actually makes the same amount that I make and he just focuses on calling customers and getting them in.
Maybe I'm just burnt out, but I feel like something needs to change. I'm barely making enough to get by between bills and student loans (for a degree I'm not even using. Yay!) I approached my GM with 2 things- a raise (he looked at me like I was crazy) or the possibility of interviewing for a Finance position that just opened up (i'd have to go to finance school). He asked if I could train someone else to do my job. Sure, in a few months (at least). Then he asked me if I could do both jobs (I said No). What do you guys think? I live in North Florida if that matters.
Again, so sorry for making another one of these posts but I'm almost at that point where I flip every desk on my way out of here.
