Opinions on pay plans
Curious to hear from other commission-based car salespeople on what you believe is a fair pay plan in today’s market.
Not looking to complain about mine at all, honestly from what I’ve seen I think I’m on one of the better plans out there, but I’d like some outside perspective from people across different dealerships/manufacturers (I sell Fords and Lincolns for comparison). I’ve also been on this pay plan for a few years now, so I fully understand the ins and outs of it and how it performs over time.
One thing that made me curious to ask this is we’ve had a few newer guys come through recently with horror stories from other dealerships in the immediate area saying the most they’d make on a deal was around $200 total, regardless of gross. That honestly blew my mind and made me realize how different pay plans can be store to store.
Current pay plan:
• 25% front-end gross on used cars
• 30% front-end gross on new cars
• 5% back-end gross
• Completely uncapped
• $200 minimum commission
Volume bonus structure:
• 8 cars = $1,000 bonus
• 12 cars = $1,500 bonus
• 16 cars = $2,000 bonus
• 20+ cars = backdated to car #1 with an immediate $4,000 bonus, then +$200 for every car after 20
Purely commission based, no salary included.
What are y’all seeing at your stores, and what do you personally consider a strong/fair pay plan nowadays?