Brian Kahla
Houston,United States
Summary
Results-driven General Sales Manager. I specialize in increasing sales and maximizing team success. Talented motivator and leader with a decisive, hardworking and resourceful approach.
Overview
27
27
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
General Sales Manager
Russell & Smith Honda
01.2021 - 02.2025
- In January of 2021, I was promoted to General Sales Manager at our Russell and Smith Honda store
- Motivated team members to meet and exceed objectives by setting goals, tracking performance on daily basis and implementing improvement strategies.
- Developed and implemented comprehensive salesperson training program.
- Upheld company policies and implemented standards fairly.
Platform Used Car Director
Russell and Smith Honda/Ford
07.2019 - 12.2020
- In July of 2019, I was promoted to Platform Director of Used Vehicle Operations for our Russell and Smith Honda and Ford.
- I worked with the General Managers of both stores to implement process and accountability measures.
- Oversaw used vehicle reconditioning to quickly prepare for sales and safeguard stock quality.
- Analyzed trade-in vehicle evaluations prior to sales agreements.
- Planned forecasts and sales objectives using sales assumptions based on prior sales, local economic outlooks and industry factors.
Used Car Director
Russell and Smith Honda
03.2014 - 05.2019
- In March 2014 I began working for the Smith family once again as their Used Car Director of the Russell and Smith Honda store
- The department at that time was selling 50-60 pre-owned vehicles per month
- We quickly started to increase the monthly volume and within a year the average was 120 per month
- We successfully became one of the top Honda Certified dealers per month and even ranked #1 in 2016
- Oversaw used vehicle reconditioning to quickly prepare for sales and safeguard stock quality.
- Analyzed trade-in vehicle evaluations prior to sales agreements.
- Planned forecasts and sales objectives using sales assumptions based on prior sales, local economic outlooks and industry factors.
General Sales Manager
Group 1 Automotive
08.1998 - 02.2014
- In August 98 I started my Automotive Career at Mike Smith Autoplaza.
- I initially started in the new car department selling Lincoln, Mercury, and Mitsubishi
- After about 6 months I was promoted to our pre-owned department
- This department was a high-volume store for the area and the rest of the staff was well-tenured with lots of experience
- My total time selling new and pre-owned cars was about 2 years
- In early 2000, I was promoted to an assistant selling manager role at our GMC, Oldsmobile, and Dodge pre-owned department
- I was still selling cars but would cover the manager's duties whenever he was off
- This is when I first learned to appraise cars, structure, and quote deals
- January 2001 I was promoted to back to the Mike Smith Autoplaza Used Car Supercenter as a full-time assistant used car manager
- Early 2003 I was promoted to Used Car Director of our Mike Smith Auto Group Clearance Center
- This location is where the company sent aging inventory from all the other stores to be sold
- In 2005 I was promoted back to the Mike Smith Autoplaza Used Car Supercenter store to be the Director
- New car franchises included Honda, Nissan, and BMW
- We were one of the largest Used Car operations in the area
- From 2008-2012 I was promoted to Executive Brand Manager of Mike Smith Nissan and VW of Beaumont
- It was a General Manager position but all major decisions still had to be authorized by Group 1's market director
- In August of 2012, I decided to move to Houston and was transferred to Group 1's David Taylor Cadillac and Sterling Mcall GMC store as the Used Car Director over both stores
Education
High School -
West Brook High School
01.1997
Skills
- General Sales Management
- Inventory Planning
- Inventory Management
- Dealership operations
- Training and coaching
- Automotive systems
- Sales analytics
Certification
- Ethos Group Finance and Insurance Training
- Used Vehicle Management Mastery
- General Sales Management Program
Timeline
General Sales Manager
Russell & Smith Honda
01.2021 - 02.2025
Platform Used Car Director
Russell and Smith Honda/Ford
07.2019 - 12.2020
Used Car Director
Russell and Smith Honda
03.2014 - 05.2019
General Sales Manager
Group 1 Automotive
08.1998 - 02.2014
High School -
West Brook High School
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