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Job outlook for auto sales consultants in the United States
Auto sales consultant job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected auto sales consultant job growth rate is 0% from 2018-2028.
About 1,900 new jobs for auto sales consultants are projected over the next decade.
Auto sales consultant salaries have increased 19% for auto sales consultants in the last 5 years.
There are over 170,410 auto sales consultants currently employed in the United States.
There are 245,083 active auto sales consultant job openings in the US.
The average auto sales consultant salary is $75,047.
Are auto sales consultant jobs in demand?
Auto sales consultant job and salary trends over time
Auto sales consultant jobs over time
Auto sales consultant job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 170,410 | 0.05% |
| 2020 | 173,669 | 0.05% |
| 2019 | 183,164 | 0.05% |
| 2018 | 183,823 | 0.06% |
| 2017 | 187,613 | 0.06% |
Average auto sales consultant salary over time
Auto sales consultant salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $75,047 | $36.08 | +7.2% |
| 2024 | $69,976 | $33.64 | +4.3% |
| 2023 | $67,066 | $32.24 | +4.3% |
| 2022 | $64,322 | $30.92 | +2.3% |
| 2021 | $62,853 | $30.22 | +4.1% |
Auto sales consultant jobs by state
Most common states for auto sales consultants
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Dakota | 869,666 | 199 | 23% |
| 2 | Alabama | 4,874,747 | 882 | 18% |
| 3 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 172 | 16% |
| 4 | Mississippi | 2,984,100 | 436 | 15% |
| 5 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 957 | 14% |
| 6 | Oklahoma | 3,930,864 | 565 | 14% |
| 7 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 463 | 13% |
| 8 | North Carolina | 10,273,419 | 1,183 | 12% |
| 9 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 156 | 12% |
| 10 | Florida | 20,984,400 | 2,315 | 11% |
| 11 | Pennsylvania | 12,805,537 | 1,436 | 11% |
| 12 | Ohio | 11,658,609 | 1,299 | 11% |
| 13 | Georgia | 10,429,379 | 1,106 | 11% |
| 14 | New Jersey | 9,005,644 | 991 | 11% |
| 15 | Tennessee | 6,715,984 | 765 | 11% |
| 16 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 588 | 11% |
| 17 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 437 | 11% |
| 18 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 350 | 11% |
| 19 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 73 | 11% |
| 20 | Vermont | 623,657 | 71 | 11% |
Most common cities for auto sales consultants
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Northglenn | 2 | 5% | $56,021 |
| 2 | Bixby | 1 | 4% | $50,061 |
| 3 | Key West | 1 | 4% | $65,304 |
| 4 | Bartlesville | 1 | 3% | $48,774 |
| 5 | Muskogee | 1 | 3% | $50,430 |
| 6 | Owasso | 1 | 3% | $49,449 |
| 7 | Knoxville | 2 | 1% | $63,855 |
| 8 | Bend | 1 | 1% | $64,862 |
| 9 | Broken Arrow | 1 | 1% | $49,839 |
| 10 | Livermore | 1 | 1% | $95,779 |
| 11 | Marysville | 1 | 1% | $67,606 |
| 12 | Rockford | 1 | 1% | $56,173 |
| 13 | Schaumburg | 1 | 1% | $57,658 |
| 14 | Las Vegas | 1 | 0% | $70,159 |
| 15 | Phoenix | 1 | 0% | $71,187 |
Auto Sales Consultant job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of auto sales consultant experts
Weber State University
University of Southern Mississippi
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Florida State University
The University of Findlay
University of Mount Union
Franklin and Marshall College
California State University Channel Islands
Ryan McKeehan
Weber State University
General Sales, Merchandising And Related Marketing Operations
What general advice would you give to an Auto Sales Consultant?
Ryan McKeehan: I advise seeking experiences over money when you are beginning your career. Often, new graduates will take the job that offers the most compensation. Choosing employment that provides the best opportunities to develop different skill sets will pay dividends in the long run. Leadership and problem-solving depend heavily on the experiences one can draw upon.
What Auto Sales Consultant skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Ryan McKeehan: At the start of one’s career, there are numerous ways to maximize one’s salary potential. One way is to change jobs every few years. The traditional stigma around job hopping has diminished, and each job change can bring new opportunities for salary upgrades and skill acquisition. By demonstrating a willingness to work hard and continuously upgrade skills, one can develop rare and valuable expertise that will be in high demand, opening doors to better opportunities and higher earnings.
What will help Auto Sales Consultants increase their earning potential?
Ryan McKeehan: With the rapid advancement of AI and other technologies, the role of salespeople is evolving. In this changing landscape, superior soft skills will be in high demand. The ability to communicate effectively, provide exceptional customer service, and sell ethically will be more crucial than ever. By honing these skills, one can stay ahead in the job market.
What general advice would you give to an Auto Sales Consultant?
Kevin Buckley: The biggest factor in earning potential is performance - salespeople get paid based on their ability to hit and exceed quotas through revenue generation. With a sales career, you have a lot of control over earnings. My advice is to be metrics-driven and have a plan to intentionally grow your sales skills through training, mentors, and personal development. Build a reputation for consistent over-achievement. It's also important to do research and understand typical compensation benchmarks. Some may offer higher base pay, while others offer more earnings leverage through aggressive commission/bonus structures.
What Auto Sales Consultant skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Kevin Buckley: Adaptability - The sales environment is evolving rapidly with changes in buyer expectations, technologies, and go-to-market strategies. Successful salespeople will need to be highly adaptable, comfortable with change, and able to quickly adjust their approach as needed. Those stuck in outdated methods will struggle. Digital Selling - The ability to effectively sell through digital channels and virtual interactions is now table stakes. Mastering skills like virtual presentations, video marketing, social selling, and leveraging sales technology tools will separate the top performers. Buyers expect a seamless, digitally-enabled experience. Business Acumen - More than ever, salespeople need the ability to position their products/services as strategic solutions that tangibly impact the client's key objectives, financial metrics, and business outcomes. Knowing how to speak the language of business strategy is crucial for consultative selling.
What will help Auto Sales Consultants increase their earning potential?
Kevin Buckley: My top advice is to be a continuous learner, both about your company/products and about the sales profession itself. Sales is a skill that requires ongoing development through practice, coaching, and studying new techniques. Don't rest on what you learned in school - seek out mentors, training opportunities, and ways to keep enhancing your sales capabilities. I would also advise resilience and to view every 'no' as a step closer to 'yes.' Sales has its share of rejection. Have a positive attitude, persist through obstacles, and be a student of why buyers say no so that you can improve.
What general advice would you give to an Auto Sales Consultant?
Dr. John Hansen: Regarding the third question, the only real way to maximize your salary in sales is to perform well against the success metrics in place in your role. Sales is, for the most part, an outcome-based profession, meaning that pay increases (or decreases) based on outcomes attained. Whatever the success metrics are in the position one is currently in, they will maximize their income to the extent that they perform well in relation to these success metrics.
What Auto Sales Consultant skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Dr. John Hansen: As to the first question, I would suggest any new graduate beginning in sales understand themselves to better understand what type of role they will best fit to. There has been a growing increase in assessment tests in sales to ensure that sales people are being placed in roles they will flourish in. For example, some sales people are more oriented towards finding new customers, while others are more oriented towards managing existing relationships. To the extent that new salespeople can better understand what role they will fit best to, and then secure that role, they are more likely to be successful. Beyond that, there is no substitute for hard work - particularly as one begins their career.
What will help Auto Sales Consultants increase their earning potential?
Dr. John Hansen: In terms of the second question, consultative selling has become critically important and will become even more important moving forward in the future. Gone are the days of salespeople simply being able to show up and pitch products while negotiating price. Today, instead, salespeople must be able to craft solutions in response to their customer’s problems. They must truly be consultative in their approach, guiding their customers through the purchasing process. To the extent that they can do this, they will be more successful in their careers.
What general advice would you give to an Auto Sales Consultant?
Derrek Schartz: Be agile and able to adapt. Sales has changed more of the last 20 years than over the previous 100. It's not your father's sales career. Over the last several decades the role of sales in most organizations has changed dramatically.
What Auto Sales Consultant skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Derrek Schartz: To maximize your total income in sales one must always be learning and growing. Improving their knowledge, skills, and abilities particularly in light of the disruptions beginng to occur, such as AI, digitization, and others.
What will help Auto Sales Consultants increase their earning potential?
Derrek Schartz: The future of sales will require a change to the knowledge, skills, and abilities of salespeople (KSAs). Knowledge is a very important part of what a salesperson needs to be effective.
C. Darren Brooks Ph.D.
Assistant Department Chair and Executive Director, Center for Human Resource ManagementFlorida State University
Department of Management and the Center for Human Resource Management
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Auto Sales Consultant job market given the pandemic?
C. Darren Brooks Ph.D.: The positive is that many companies are recruiting and hiring. The most noticeable trend is the is the impact of remote work and more specifically, how this has changed the nature in which many companies are interviewing, onboarding of new employees, and employee mobility. In terms of interviewing, interacting with potential employers via web-enable platforms requires job applicants to be attuned to details such as lighting, sound volume, environmental distractions that are not common with in-person interviews. Additionally, many employment events such as job fairs are virtual resulting in a much different experience for both the applicant and the employer. Getting comfortable with communicating in a clear and cogent way remotely is a key skill to develop. In fact, our Career Center at Florida State offers job search and interviewing sessions to help students and alumni develop better virtual interviewing skills.
Onboarding is another area that has seen a change as a result of the pandemic. While onboarding new employees through online programs what is a more recent change is the lack of physical support during the onboarding process. We know that onboarding is a critical period for employees as they are getting to know the company, job expectations, culture, how work is done, etc. Managing the onboarding process in a remote environment requires more deliberate action on the part of HR, supervisors, and the employee. In other words, we cannot rely on an employee walking down the hall to ask questions about an assignment or who to contact to obtain essential job information. Planned, regularly schedule interactions during the first few months to ensure expectations are understood, that the employee feels a part of the organization, and job-related questions can be addressed can help to alleviate feelings of uncertainty, frustration, stress, and alienation.
Lastly, we have noticed employment mobility decreasing over the past four to five years. In fact, data on migration and geographic mobility monitored by the U.S. Census found that as recently as 2018 only 9.8 percent of adults reported relocating which is down 10.2 percent from 1985[1]. Based on my research and consulting work, there are numerous reasons for this trend. First, individuals are making family-based choices not to move based on family considerations such as being nearby to assist with an aging parent or having a desire to stay close to family. Second, work and family balance have emerged as a key factor when deciding to relocate for work. More specifically, the decision to relocate for a job is no longer driven solely by financial reasons. Stability in the home and the need to accommodate the needs of other family members is equally important, such as dual income earning households or the illness of an elderly parent. Consequently, this complicates the decision-making process of whether to move. Lastly, communication and networking technology have enabled work to be performed without necessitating physical presence at a particular location. Given the psychological and financial costs of relocating and the fact that many jobs are being performed remotely, individuals are more likely to make decisions not to relocate and disrupt their personal lives because of their ability to connect to work via technology.
This is not to say that people are unwilling to relocate for work. However, it does mean that, as a result of more organizations moving work remotely, employers may have more challenges in relocating talent in the foreseeable future. In some instances, it may require employers increase salaries or enhance benefits in order to attract employees to move. Another option is for employers to establish offices in secondary cities outside the home office location. This option may afford an employee the opportunity to be closer to their preferred geography. For example, an individual living in Birmingham, AL may not be willing to relocate to Chicago due to factors such as the higher cost of living, family considerations or the weather but would be willing to move to Atlanta, GA or Charlotte, NC. Having a secondary office in one of these cities may be an acceptable alternative. Lastly, being flexible to hybrid location alternatives. While this is generally applied to certain types of jobs, allowing an employee to work remotely two or three weeks out of the month at home, then one-week in the company office may offer an opportunity to balance the needs of both the employer and the employee.
[1] Agovino, T. (2020). Americans aren't moving: The decline in worker mobility presents a challenge for employers in a tight labor market. Retrieved on December 11, 2020, SHRM
What's a good job out of college for Auto Sales Consultants?
Amy Rogan: There are any number of ways to break into journalism. There is no one true path. If a journalist is interested in television I recommend they look for assistant producer positions or assignment editor positions. Many people who think they want to be on-air talent figure out they really enjoy producing much better.
Digital content producer is another good way to work a journalist way into on-air television work. It's also a way to work into newspapers as they are now more digitally dependent.
Larger organizations have more specialty digital positions in research or digital analytics. But starting out in a small market allows you to learn a lot and work your way into bigger markets and responsibilities.
Michael Grossman Ph.D.
Professor, Political Studies and International StudiesUniversity of Mount Union
Department of Political Science and International Studies
What certifications/licenses/courses can have the biggest impact for Auto Sales Consultants?
Michael Grossman Ph.D.: It is less about licenses or courses and more about experiences. In this regard, internships are crucial.
What will help Auto Sales Consultants increase their earning potential?
Michael Grossman Ph.D.: It's all about practical knowledge. Employers are less interested in your major or the classes you take. They want to see that you can do the work they need you to do. So internships are important. Also employers want to see you can be trained and can think critically, write well, and speak well. So in this regard more liberal arts focused curriculum is important.
What certifications/licenses/courses can have the biggest impact for Auto Sales Consultants?
Cynthia Krom: Professional certifications matter. If your profession has a certification, you need to have that certification to be competitive in this new world. So, a public accountant needs to have a CPA, and a corporate accountant needs to have their CMA. A fraud examiner needs their CFE. Find out what is available in your profession and take whatever courses or exams are needed to be at the top of your game, because everyone else will.
We don't really know what will be happening with professional licenses with remote work. A psychotherapist may be licensed in New York, but remotely treating a client in New Mexico. Technically, they probably need a license in New Mexico. But who will control that? Will it just be the professional responsibility of the therapist to only practice where licensed? Will their malpractice insurance only cover them if the client is where they are licensed? What about a physician operating on someone a thousand miles away using robotics?
In terms of courses not related to professional certification or licensure, technology is where it is at. First and foremost, polish your Zoom skills. Zoom is now your face-to-face workplace and you need to be a pro. YouTube has great videos about lighting for Zoom, even with reflective eyeglasses. Perhaps your IT department is able to help with connectivity issues and learning remote technologies. And, as we have all recently seen, you need to learn how to turn off filters that make you look like a kitten! For nearly every field, you have to know Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, and Excel) or similar programs. You need to know how to work collaboratively on projects through things like Google Drive. If you are not fluent in the basics, you are showing up for a horse race with a little pony.
Ekin Pehlivan Ph.D.
Associate Professor of MarketingCalifornia State University Channel Islands
Martin V. Smith School of Business and Economics
What's a good job out of college for Auto Sales Consultants?
Ekin Pehlivan Ph.D.: I think a description of a "good" job opportunity is dependent on so many factors, almost all subjective. What I recommend my students usually, is that they try different things before graduation and find something that makes them feel a purpose other than (and in addition to) making ends meet. For this reason we started a program on our campus where students are hired to help non-profits and small businesses in our area of service. In this program, students get to gain and practice skills that can help them succeed in a corporate or freelance capacity. The students get to experiment without fear of losing a job and find what they would like their entry level positions to look like. While doing this they also help organizations and individuals who have the need but not the resources to get the services from professionals.