WHAT DOES A GENERAL SALES MANAGER DO?

Reviewed by Lam Nguyen under Editorial Standards

Updated: Jan 06, 2026 - The General Sales Manager oversees daily sales operations, recruits and trains staff, and strives to exceed sales targets for new and used vehicles. This position manages customer negotiations and financial processes transparently, maintaining high CSI Scores by enforcing customer service policies aligned with Motor Group standards. This role collaborates with company leadership to set sales and profit goals, administer manufacturer programs, and plan advertising strategies.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for General Sales Manager

1. General Sales Manager Details

  • Business Development: Develop, maintain and grow the business
  • Forecasting: Determine monthly and yearly forecasts in terms of unit sales, gross profit objectives, and departmental profits
  • Performance Review: Meet with Sales Managers to review performance and plan of action
  • Staff Mentoring: Mentor sales staff and conduct sales meetings
  • Sales Training: Provide ongoing training for Sales Managers and ensure that they are following an established protocol to obtain optimum results
  • Customer Satisfaction: Follow all dealership processes and procedures to ensure an excellent Customer Satisfaction Index rating on sales, delivery and follow-up
  • Meeting Attendance: Attend department and management meetings
  • Lead Tracking: Track all customers and make sure all leads are logged along with effective follow-up procedures for all potential customers by monitoring a prospecting and sales CRM system
  • Goal Achievement: Ensure that all salespeople meet/exceed standard goals
  • Sales Training: Conduct sales training with the assistance of the GM
  • Inventory Management: Review and update inventory daily to ensure the proper mix of stock for maximum efficiency

2. General Sales Manager Responsibilities

  • Budget Management: Create, properly manage and exceed all Sales and Operational budgets.
  • Sales Leadership: Manage the sales team and be active in calling leads, along with the sales team, to facilitate growth.
  • Sales Education: Deliver ongoing sales and retention education to established studios
  • Lead Management: Ensure that all new leads are called within 24 hours by the sales team
  • Lead Volume: Ensure that 60+ leads are called per day by the sales team
  • Franchise Evaluation: Implement mechanisms to gauge the quality of franchisees
  • Email Management: Answer all emails coming into the designated studio email address
  • Client Communication: Use the studio email to send business/client-related emails
  • Client Requests: Handle all client requests in accordance to the designated studio’s policies (e.g., pausing memberships, updating credit card, activating/deactivating membership, activating/deleting account, special requests, etc)
  • Studio Maintenance: Maintain top-notch cleanliness, appearance and organization of the studio and inventory
  • Staff Management: Recruit, hire, train and deliver the onboarding program for all staff
  • Process Adherence: Ensure all Front Desk systems and studio practices/processes are adhered to, including member check-in, telephone inquiries, payment handling, delinquent account procedures, and customer care calls

3. General Sales Manager Job Summary

  • Goal Setting: Set performance and revenue growth goals
  • Budget Management: Manage and optimize the budget
  • Training Program: Implement a recurring training program
  • Retention Program: Implement a retention program
  • Reporting: Regular reporting to corporate HQ
  • Sales Objectives: Establish/execute sales objectives for the team to achieve
  • Customer Relationships: Develop and maintain customer relationships
  • Partnership Development: Work in partnership with OEM to achieve
  • Relationship Building: Develop and encourage strong working relationships with associates/stakeholders
  • Sales Mentoring: Mentoring and auto-motivating sales consultants

4. General Sales Manager Accountabilities

  • Team Supervision: Supervises the efforts of sales team by reviewing sales proposals and negotiations with clients.
  • Sales Monitoring: Monitors sales progress and reports to management.
  • Sales Strategy: Develops, implements, and communicates sales strategies/action plans.
  • Digital Marketing: Works with Digital Sales Manager to successfully market digital/interactive products.
  • Sales Expertise: Understands and has a track record of success working in the national sales arena.
  • Event Marketing: Leads the sales and marketing efforts of specified station events.
  • Sales Meetings: Takes part in conducting sales meetings.
  • Team Development: Hires, coaches, trains, counsels and motivates sales and sales support team.
  • Incentive Planning: Develops sales commission and incentive plans.
  • Inventory Management: Manages inventory and pricing through coordination with the traffic department.
  • Cross-Department Coordination: Coordinates sales activities with other departments.

5. General Sales Manager Functions

  • Sales Operations: Oversee all aspects of day-to-day sales operations.
  • Staff Recruitment: Participating in recruiting and training sales staff members.
  • Sales Achievement: Meet and exceed sales requirements for new and used cars.
  • Negotiation Management: Manage negotiations and finance processes with sales associates in a clear, concise, and transparent process for consumers.
  • Customer Satisfaction: Maintaining consistently high CSI Scores by creating policies, procedures, and a culture of customer service that comply with the Motor Group’s existing policies and procedures.
  • Objective Setting: Work with Directors and Officers to establish annual and monthly objectives for unit sales, gross profits, expenses, and operating profit.
  • Performance Monitoring: Monitors salesperson productivity and performance.
  • Program Management: Administers and monitors factory-sponsored programs.
  • Incentive Communication: Communicate manufacturer and/or dealership programs and incentives to sales staff with the objective of increasing new car gross and F&I penetration.
  • Advertising Strategy: Plan advertising strategy and budget for dealership in conjunction with Director and Marketing.

Job Role FAQs

What is a job role?

A job role refers to the duties, responsibilities, and expectations associated with a specific position within an organization. It explains what tasks an employee performs, how they contribute to team objectives, and how their work supports the company’s overall goals.

What are the typical responsibilities of a job role?

Typical job role responsibilities include completing daily tasks, collaborating with team members, making decisions, and meeting performance targets. For example, a software developer may write code, fix bugs, review pull requests, and collaborate with product teams.

What is the difference between a job role and a job title?

A job title is the official name of a position, such as Marketing Manager or Software Engineer. A job role describes the actual duties, responsibilities, and expectations associated with that position.

Why are clearly defined job roles important?

Clearly defined job roles help organizations improve productivity, reduce workplace confusion, and ensure accountability. When employees understand their responsibilities and expectations, teams can collaborate more effectively.

How do job roles support career development?

Understanding different job roles helps professionals identify career paths and the skills required for advancement. By learning the expectations of various roles, individuals can build relevant skills and plan long-term career growth.

Editorial Process

Lamwork content is developed through structured review of publicly available job postings and documented hiring trends.

Editorial operations are managed by Thanh Huyen, Managing Editor, with research direction and final oversight by Lam Nguyen, Founder & Editorial Lead. Content is periodically reviewed to reflect observable labor market changes.