Digital sales positions
3 positions, each with what the role does, when a store needs it, what it pays and one flat fee per hire.
More of the deal now starts online: trade value, payment, credit and even delivery. Digital sales roles make sure the customer who starts on your website finishes the deal with you.
How to pick the right level
- A digital retail specialist guides shoppers who build the deal on your website.
- An internet sales manager owns lead response and third-party lead sources at a single store.
- An eCommerce director sets digital retailing standards across a group.
Every level, what it pays and the fee
Digital Retail Specialist
$2,500 per hireGuides online shoppers who start the deal on the website: trade, payment, credit and home delivery.
When a store needs it: Large stores. Pay: $34,910 to $63,550 a year.
Internet Sales Manager
$5,500 per hireOwns online lead handling from first response to sold, and the third-party lead sources behind it.
When a store needs it: Mid-size stores and up. Pay: $64,580 to $138,970 a year.
eCommerce Director
$15,000 per hireSets a group's digital retailing, lead handling and online merchandising standards.
When a store needs it: Dealer groups. Pay: $138,970 to $313,950 a year.
About store size and pay
Store size guidance reflects how dealerships typically staff as they grow, drawn from our 25 years inside dealerships and recruiting for them since 2012. Every store is different, so we confirm the right level on your intake call.
- Every store: Any franchised or independent dealership
- Mid-size stores: About 100 or more new and used retail units a month, or 50 or more employees
- Large stores: About 250 or more units a month, or 150 or more employees
- Dealer groups: About 3 to 10 rooftops
- Large dealer groups: 10 or more rooftops
- Stores with a body shop, stores with in-house financing and specialty dealers: roles that depend on the business, not its size
Pay bands are what people in each role earn at automobile dealers, from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025), including commissions and bonuses. Most bands run from the 25th to the 75th percentile; senior levels use the upper range of the same occupation. A band marked * uses all-industry figures because BLS does not report that role for auto dealers.