A sales consultant carries a customer through a buying process that can take hours and several handoffs, then keeps working the follow-up after the customer leaves. Put the pay plan and brand in the job post, search your radius for candidates whose work history shows CRM use and appointments, and Spark the ones who fit. Read the written pay plan with every finalist before you talk about income.
Data as of October 20, 2026.
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How to hire a Sales Consultant on AutoHire
- 01
Write the Post with the Pay Plan in the Open
Say whether you sell new, used or both, put your brand in the Brand Experience field if brand familiarity matters, and describe the pay structure plainly: draw against commission, base plus commission, or commission only. Add the schedule, including Saturdays. Candidates who dislike the structure drop out before you spend an hour on them.
- 02
Search by Title, Radius and Years
On /find-talent use the keyword box for sales consultant or salesperson, set a radius in miles that matches a believable commute for evening and weekend shifts, and filter by years of experience. Be careful with the target salary ceiling: commission earners describe income in ways that do not map to a base number.
- 03
Read the Duties Under Each Past Store
Open the profile and read the duties listed for each dealership, not only the headline. You want CRM use, appointment setting, internet lead handling and trade appraisals. Check the open-to-work flag, and turn on Verified only if you want candidates who completed ID verification.
- 04
Spark the Fits, Message the Maybes
A Spark invites a candidate to one of your open jobs without a full conversation, so use it where the history clearly matches. Message when you need an answer first, such as whether they have worked a draw. Name the store, brand, pay structure and shift in that first message, then ask how their last store handled internet leads. Messaging allowance depends on your plan.
Resources to help you hire
What a Sales Consultant does
A sales consultant owns the customer from first contact to delivery. That means greeting an up on the lot or the showroom floor, finding out what they need and what payment they can live with, walking the vehicle, taking the test drive and bringing a number to the desk. The consultant also walks the customer's trade with the appraiser, so the trade value is not a surprise at the table.
Stores hire for a plain reason: units. Floor traffic is only part of the supply now. Internet leads, phone ups and the past-customer base all land with the consultants, and the one who answers a lead quickly and is standing at the door when the shopper arrives often gets the sale before the other stores reply. The CRM holds all of that, and a consultant who skips notes leaves the manager unable to follow up when the consultant is off.
New and used are different jobs under one title. On a franchise new-car floor the consultant learns trims, incentives and lease programs, and is measured on the manufacturer's customer satisfaction survey. On the used side the consultant sells condition, history and price against the local market. Some stores split the two, so say which you mean in the post.
A Typical Week
The week is built around ups. A consultant opens with the morning meeting on inventory and incentives, checks the CRM for appointments and overnight leads, and only then expects a customer. Midweek is slower, which is when calls to past customers and unsold shoppers happen. Saturday is the busiest day. Month-end changes the pace: the desk pushes harder, bonuses hinge on a unit count, and stalled deals get pulled back to life. Tell candidates the schedule before they accept.
What to look for in a Sales Consultant
Skills
- Can describe their walkaround and test drive in the order they do it, including the question they ask before the drive.
- Handles price objections by returning to payment and trade value instead of arguing the number.
- Writes a short, specific follow-up text or email and can explain why it is worded that way.
- Understands a monthly payment as price, trade, rate, term and down payment working together, and can talk through it without a calculator.
Experience and Tools
- Has used a dealership CRM daily and can say what they logged on each contact.
- Has worked both floor traffic and internet or phone leads, since the two ask for different habits.
- Has been through a trade appraisal with a manager and knows why the number moves.
- Knows the brand's incentive and lease vocabulary if you sell new.
Profile Signals
- Duties that name appointments, follow-up or repeat and referral business, not only sold vehicles.
- Tenure long enough to have built a book of past customers.
- A bio that says what they sell and to whom, rather than a general claim about liking people.
- For first-time automotive candidates, retail history that shows they can handle an unhappy customer.
Interview questions for a Sales Consultant
- Q1
Walk me through the last deal you were proud of, from first contact to delivery.
A strong answerA good answer names the customer's source, what they needed, how the trade was handled, where the deal almost died and what the candidate did to save it. Expect a specific vehicle and objection, not a summary.
- Q2
A customer says another store quoted them lower. What happens next?
A strong answerThe candidate asks to see the quote, checks that it compares the same vehicle, fees and trade, and brings in the manager if needed. Dropping the price on their own authority is a weak answer.
- Q3
How do you handle an internet lead compared with a walk-in?
A strong answerThey describe replying fast with an answer to the question the shopper asked, then moving to a call and an appointment. For the walk-in they talk about qualifying in person.
- Q4
How do you spend a slow Tuesday?
A strong answerCalls to past customers, unsold ups and open leads, notes in the CRM, and learning inventory. A candidate who says they wait for ups has not built a book of business.
- Q5
Explain how you were paid at your last store and what you earned from each part.
A strong answerThey can name the draw or base, the commission, the volume bonus and the spiffs, and say which part did the most work. Vagueness here suggests they were not tracking their own deals.
- Q6
Tell me about a deal that was charged back or unwound.
A strong answerThey know why it happened, such as a canceled product, a lender decline after delivery or a returned vehicle, and say plainly how it hit their pay. Blaming the customer alone is a weaker answer.
- Q7
How do you earn a repeat customer or a referral?
A strong answerA real routine: a service check-in, an anniversary call, a note when the lease nears the end, a referral request at delivery. They can name a customer who came back.
Red flags and hiring mistakes
Red Flags
- Cannot explain how they were paid or what they earned per unit without guessing.
- Claims big volume but gives no detail on lead source, appointments or follow-up.
- Speaks poorly of every previous manager and every customer who did not buy.
- Has never used a CRM, or treats note-taking as the manager's job.
- Needs a guaranteed income, while your plan is commission-based and the post said so.
Common Mistakes
- Hiding the pay plan until the second interview, then losing a good candidate over a structure nobody had discussed.
- Hiring the best talker without checking how they handle the CRM and a lead they have to chase for weeks.
- Skipping the license question. Some states require a salesperson license, so check what your state requires before the start date.
- Promising a draw without writing down whether it is recoverable against future commission.
Pay and cost to hire
Consultant pay is almost always a plan, not a wage. The common pieces are commission on front gross (the profit on the vehicle itself), a minimum commission on small deals, a volume bonus once the consultant reaches a unit count for the month, and spiffs for particular models or products. Some stores pay a salary or hourly base, and some pay a draw, which is an advance against commission that may or may not be recoverable. Ask which.
Chargebacks belong in the same conversation. If a deal unwinds or a product is canceled, a store may reclaim part of the commission. Put the chargeback rules in writing and read them with the finalist. There is no exact BLS occupation for this role, so no figure is shown on this page, and the written plan is the only honest pay number you can give.
The first 90 days
Training on the CRM, inventory, the store's process and the pay plan, plus time shadowing a veteran on real ups. Put the consultant on the lead rotation early so a follow-up list starts building. Review the first few deals with the manager the same day.
Move to working ups alone with the desk close by. Review CRM notes weekly for missed follow-ups. Send them on a trade appraisal and into a desking session so they understand where the numbers come from.
Look at the mix of floor, internet and repeat deals. Sit down about the pay plan with actual paychecks in hand, clear up any chargeback confusion, and set a unit goal they helped write.
Keeping a Sales Consultant
- Run the up rotation by a written rule and follow it. Consultants leave quickly when traffic seems to go to favorites.
- Change the pay plan only at the start of a pay period, with notice. Mid-month changes cost trust faster than a lean month.
- Keep the desk responsive. A consultant left waiting on a manager to look at a number loses the customer and blames the store.
- Price inventory to the market. Good consultants cannot sell a vehicle priced above it for long.
Terms Sales Consultant candidates use
- Up
- A customer who comes to the store, or the turn a consultant takes to greet the next customer.
- Desking
- Structuring a deal at the desk with price, trade, rate, term and payment, usually by a manager.
- Front Gross
- The profit on the vehicle sale itself before finance and insurance products.
- Unit
- One vehicle sold, the basic count for volume bonuses and rankings.
- Spiff
- A small extra payment for selling a specific vehicle or product.
- Chargeback
- Commission taken back when a deal unwinds or a product is canceled.
- Draw
- An advance paid against future commission.
Sales Consultant: common questions
Do I have to hire someone with car sales experience?
No. Many stores train people from retail, hospitality or customer service. Experience helps with internet leads and used inventory, but a new hire with a training plan can do well. Say in the post whether you train.
How much should a dealership expect to pay a sales consultant?
It depends on the plan, not a single wage. Combine commission, volume bonuses and any base or draw, and compare total plans in your market. This role has no exact BLS occupation, so no figure is shown here.
Should I offer a draw or commission only?
A draw gives a new hire stability while a pipeline builds, but it must be clear whether it is recoverable. Commission only attracts experienced people with a book of customers. Put the choice in the post.
Do car salespeople need a license?
It varies by state. Some states require a salesperson license and some license only the dealership. Check what your state regulator requires before the start date.
How long does it take a new salesperson to become productive?
It depends on the store, the brand and the lead flow. A consultant with a steady up rotation and a quick manager tends to ramp faster. Review actual deals and follow-up activity, not the calendar.
Is it better to hire from another dealership or from outside the industry?
Another dealership gives you someone who knows the process and may bring customers, along with a pay expectation tied to a different plan. Outside hires cost more training time.
What should a car sales job ad include?
The brand, new or used, the pay structure, the schedule including weekends, whether you train, and any license requirement. A clear ad filters better than a long one.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (data as of October 20, 2026)
Data as of October 20, 2026.
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