How To Become An Automotive Sales Consultant: What It Is and Career Path

What is an automotive sales consultant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted Expert

Derrek Schartz

Imagine you're an auto dealer who needs help selling cars to customers. Who would you employ to do the job? The answer: an automotive sales consultant. Also called automotive consultants, automotive sales consultants handle the various processes of car sales. From setting up test drives to connecting customers with suitable vehicles, they handle it all.

A career as an automotive sales consultant can be very rewarding. No matter what, it takes excellent closing skills and long hours of work. More often than not, success in this profession rests on the individual's ability to communicate and build trust with their customers. And to do this, you need to be professional, courteous, and provide valuable service.

As expected, an auto sales consultant should have completed their high school diploma or GED. He/She or she also needs to get some work experience working in a related discipline. If you've done any job that involves customer service, that's enough. Meanwhile, the average earnings of an auto sales consultant are around $62,642 per annum.

What general advice would you give to an Automotive Sales Consultant?

Derrek Schartz

Senior Lecturer, Website

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.

ScoreAutomotive Sales ConsultantUS Average

Salary

5.4

Avg. Salary $69,093

Avg. Salary $59,228

Diversity

7.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.56%

Asian 7.02%

Black or African American 10.27%

Hispanic or Latino 17.54%

Unknown 5.22%

White 59.39%

Gender

female 15.35%

male 84.65%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress Level

6.2

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

4.5

Complexity Level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

8.5

Work Life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Newest jobs for Automotive Sales Consultant in Ashburn, VA

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Key steps to become an automotive sales consultant

Explore automotive sales consultant education requirements

Most common automotive sales consultant degrees

Bachelor's

45.7 %

Associate

22.2 %

High School Diploma

19.9 %

Start to develop specific automotive sales consultant skills

Skills	Percentages
Customer Service	22.21%
Automotive Sales	11.42%
Customer Satisfaction	6.55%
Test Drive	6.36%
Work Ethic	4.98%

Complete relevant automotive sales consultant training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New automotive sales consultants learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an automotive sales consultant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real automotive sales consultant resumes.

Gain additional automotive sales consultant certifications

Automotive sales consultant certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific automotive sales consultant certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for automotive sales consultants include Automotive Sales Professional and Commercial Driver License (CDL).

More About Certifications

Research automotive sales consultant duties and responsibilities

manage Facebook page, critique and edit dealership website, radio presence, CRM experience
Utilize CRM software to follow up with prospective customers as well as to generate new leads.
Use of Internet base CRM system to generate leads, track prospects, and follow up with prospects and clients alike.
Coordinate and manage services and requests from clients for BMW, Lexus, and Mercedes for auto body repairs and restorations.

Prepare your automotive sales consultant resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your automotive sales consultant resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an automotive sales consultant resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Automotive Sales Consultant Resume templates

Build a professional Automotive Sales Consultant resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Automotive Sales Consultant resume.

Apply for automotive sales consultant jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an automotive sales consultant job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

Average automotive sales consultant salary

The average Automotive Sales Consultant salary in the United States is $69,093 per year or $33 per hour. Automotive sales consultant salaries range between $41,000 and $116,000 per year.

Average Automotive Sales Consultant Salary

$69,093 Yearly

$33.22 hourly

How do automotive sales consultants rate their job?

-/5

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Automotive Sales Consultant reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on May 2020

Pros

I love to engage the public and meet new faces. I enjoy explaining all of the benefits of the product I am selling, and making the customer feel important and well informed.

Cons

I don't like feeling like I haven't did a great at job at making customers feel comfortable and confident about where and who they are purchasing from.

A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2019