Store leadership positions
3 positions, each with what the role does, when a store needs it, what it pays and one flat fee per hire.
The general manager answers to the dealer for everything: profit, people and customers. Large stores add an assistant general manager, and groups develop future GMs in training programs.
How to pick the right level
- Every store needs a general manager; at smaller stores the dealer or GSM may fill the role.
- An assistant general manager fits large stores, often as the GM's successor.
- A GM in training fits groups that grow their own leaders.
Every level, what it pays and the fee
General Manager in Training
$10,000 per hireA rising manager placed in a dealer group's development program to run a store.
When a store needs it: Dealer groups. Pay: $89,970 to $219,560 a year.
Assistant General Manager
$10,000 per hireSecond in command at a large store, often a general manager in training.
When a store needs it: Large stores. Pay: $132,700 to $219,560 a year.
General Manager
$15,000 per hireRuns the entire dealership and answers to the dealer for its profit, people and customer satisfaction.
When a store needs it: Every store. Pay: $219,560 to $401,890 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.
Related positions
Dealer group leadership positions · Dealer group legal positions