Pete Lawless
Inver Grove Heights,MN
Summary
I am an accomplished and results-driven General Sales Manager with over 13 years of automotive industry experience and a proven track record of elevating sales performance and building lasting relationships across all levels of the organization. I have successfully increased annual revenues while simultaneously improving national store performance rankings and minimizing expenses. I excel in coaching and developing high-performing teams. With expertise in dealership operations, OEM compliance, and vendor program management, I am a highly effective communicator and trusted partner to clients, vendors, and internal stakeholders. My commitment to excellence, strategic vision, and collaborative approach make me an invaluable asset to any organization.
Overview
19
19
years of professional experience
Work History
General Sales Manager
Lincoln of Bloomington
01.2025 - Current
- Built, coach, and manage a high-performing sales team focused on setting, achieving, and exceeding sales targets while maintaining strong expense control, profitability, and CSI performance.
- Provide daily mentoring to drive increase in unit volume, gross profit, and customer satisfaction, fostering a high-accountability, performance-driven culture.
- Lead and train the sales team on effective use of Smart Vincent, eliminating gross leaks and minimizing write-offs (only one certificate write-off totaling $750 across 392 new vehicles sold in 2025).
- Enhance overall customer satisfaction by resolving escalated sales and service concerns with professionalism, speed, and customer-centric solutions.
- Create and analyze operational and financial reports to forecast sales trends, identify revenue growth and profitability opportunities, and guide strategic sales decisions.
- Oversee new and pre-owned inventory strategy—including analysis, ordering, and pricing—to align with gross profit objectives and market demand.
- Manage monthly wholesale operations with the manufacturer, including oversight of new vehicle builds in Webdo to align production with sales strategy.
- Direct the LCTP and Service Loaner fleet programs to maximize profitability and support a targeted 20% growth in new car sales for 2026.
- Lead the development and execution of monthly, quarterly, and annual marketing initiatives aligned with FDAA incentives and brand messaging to drive traffic and sales performance.
- Achieved the 2025 Presidents Award, recognizing the top four stores across 11 states for excellence in Customer Service, Sales, and Service—the first time in the store’s history as a Lincoln Dealer
Senior Sales Manager / Lincoln Brand Manager
Apple Ford Lincoln
01.2019 - 12.2025
- Drove Apple Lincoln division annual revenues from $600,000 to over $12M in four years through strategic sales initiatives and operational improvements.
- Elevated Lincoln store’s national ranking from 425th to top 100 by implementing performance management systems and fostering a culture of excellence.
- Recruit, hire, train and develop a high-performing sales team, setting ambitious goals and empowering team members to consistently exceed sales targets, optimize expenses, and surpass profitability and customer satisfaction index (CSI) benchmarks.
- Provide daily mentorship and coaching to sales staff, fostering a culture of accountability and excellence that drives increased unit volume, gross profit margins, and top-tier CSI results.
- Champion customer satisfaction by personally resolving escalated concerns across sales and service departments, strengthening client loyalty and enhancing the dealership’s reputation.
- Analyze operational reports to forecast sales trends, identify new revenue opportunities, and implement strategies that maximize profitability.
- Direct the management of new and pre-owned inventory, leveraging data-driven analysis, strategic ordering, and dynamic pricing to achieve gross profit objectives.
- Prepare comprehensive sales and revenue reports for executive leadership, supporting informed decision-making and continuous improvement.
- Strategically manage monthly, quarterly, and annual new car marketing programs to align with FDAA incentives and advertising messages, maximizing campaign effectiveness and dealership growth.
- Earned the President’s Award in 2021, 2023 and 2024 by leading the dealership to top-tier performance in sales growth, operational excellence, and customer satisfaction.
Business Operations Project Manager
The American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT)
04.2016 - 01.2019
- Managed the execution of medium to large complex projects, from conception through product launch using waterfall and agile methodologies for internal stakeholders and external clients.
- Partnering closely with senior IT and business leaders to successfully deliver new products while meeting timeline and budget.
- Assisted in standing-up the Project Management Office (PMO) to ensure best project management practices, accurate project metrics/trend tracking, and stakeholder communication (to internal and client stakeholders) are consistently used.
- Worked with Product Owners and Product Management to ensure alignment on when work is planned.
- Responsible for aligning work delivery for over 75 projects from the Board of Trustees of ARRT over the course of the next 10 years.
- Responsible for managing the implementation of Iterative based release management software updates, upgrades and newly offered programs through web-based activities.
- Led ARRT Psychometrics department and Radiologic Health Branch (RHB) of the California Department of Public Health discontinued the use of the California developed Radiography Supervisor and Operator (SOR) examination and replaced it with the Core Module of ARRT's Limited Scope of Practice in Radiography Examination over a 2-year implementation period.
- Mentored new Project Managers on PMO processes and practices.
- Managed and escalated project risks and issues to project leadership.
Infrastructure Project Manager Consultant
Logisolve
05.2015 - 12.2015
- Created and maintained Project Plan and identify project scope.
- Coordinated efforts with Application Teams and IT resources to move ahead to make Go/Launch date for moving all transactions through new gateway.
- Completed SAD with architecture team for 27X EDI Transactions Flow.
- Completed test plan document & coordinated with third parties Highmark and Availity test dates and scope for joint testing.
- Worked with Application development to make 270/276 EDI Transaction code changes applied and ready to deploy to interpret transaction planned to deploy into production.
- Developed Test Case Scenarios for Migrated and Non-Migrated with business and led test team.
- Led test team.
- Identified issues and risks and created/managed mitigation plans.
- Led Application and Development team to determine Components and version of Components to be in place on specific launch dates.
- Was responsible for reporting project status and issues to leadership and project stakeholders.
- Was responsible for release planning and implementation of transaction conversion.
- Assisted in triaging production issues post deployment.
- Worked with Service Now team to organize tickets for new deployment.
Independent Consultant
LawMan Solutions LLC
10.2010 - 03.2015
- Sold optimized websites.
- Worked with clients to identify requirements and scope to implement search engine optimized (SEO) websites.
- Led the development, web strategy, and delivery of internet marketing programs to increase site adoption.
- Created project plan and managed all aspects of system development lifecycle.
- Mitigated issues and risks.
- Was responsible for building profiles in top directories to increase inbound linking.
- Managed client relationships.
- Created monthly and ad hoc Google Analytics for clients and provide recommendations for improving website traffic.
IT Project Manager Consultant
TekSystems
11.2013 - 02.2014
- Managed multiple projects for IT, Including development of laboratory outreach web portal.
- Managed project for implementation of new plan administrator for Human Resources department and Vendor Switchover.
- Led effort to research and identify new contract management vendor.
- Helped automate processes to reduce hours spent on tasks by full-time employees.
- Identified and documented areas of process improvement.
- Worked with Business Intelligence in identifying redundancy in applications and software.
- Managed issues and risks and created/implemented mitigation plans.
- Reported weekly status to leadership and project stakeholders.
Project Manager Consultant
Leidos
09.2012 - 09.2013
- Managed cross-functional project for ICD-10 conversion at Fairview Health Services.
- Worked with clients to complete ICD-10 analysis and impact assessment.
- Led joint application development (JAD) sessions with project stakeholders.
- Was responsible for creating and maintaining project plans.
- Led project teams in identifying lost revenues and leveraging best practices to recover lost revenues.
- Created weekly and monthly status reports for project leadership.
- Managed issues and risks and coordinated all of the project tasks over cross functional teams.
- Project and resource Management.
- Worked with change scope committee to assure project timelines complete.
- ICD Work Flow development for John Muir Health in Walnut Grove California.
MDU/Bulk Account Executive
Comcast
03.2011 - 09.2012
- Was responsible for selling and up-selling video, internet, and voice products to large-scale MDU Owners, Property Management Companies, HOA’s and Universities.
- Worked with clients to prepare ROI and negotiated contracts.
- Facilitated meetings with stakeholders to identify client implementation requirements.
- Developed and implemented retention and renewal plans.
- Created and managed client implementation plans.
- Resolved client complaints.
- Created monthly and ad hoc reports for senior management and clients.
- Identified, led, and implemented departmental process improvement efforts on an ongoing basis.
Senior Client Development Consultant
FindLaw (Thomson Reuters)
02.2009 - 10.2010
- Was responsible for selling and up selling optimized internet marketing solutions to attorneys.
- Facilitated meetings with clients to gather and document high-level business requirements.
- Participated and led joint application development (JAD) sessions.
- Continually worked with project management team to ensure client’s requirements were being met and to ensure the project was on schedule.
- Validated proper use of HTML Meta tags, including page description, page titles, geographical terms and keywords.
- Created monthly and ad hoc web analytics and activity tracking reports for clients.
- Was part of a project team to roll out Siebel CRM (CRM) application to the national sales team.
Technical Specialist
Emdeon
10.2008 - 02.2009
- Led project to identify areas of lost revenue attrition totaling 26 Million.
- Created reports from Siebel CRM application.
- Performed data analysis to identify areas throughout mixed product life cycle to determine areas of lost revenue; reported findings to executive staff.
- Managed project to implement sales strategy to recover lost revenues.
- Worked with third-party vendors to improve data integrity of new data captured.
Business Development and Marketing Manager
Apple Autos
01.2007 - 09.2008
- Stood up and led the Business Development Center (BDC) to strengthen sales performance and support the sales team’s pipeline and follow-up process.
- Coached and empowered sales staff throughout the sales process to improve conversion rates, customer experience, and overall team performance.
- Collaborated with digital vendors to optimize online presence, increasing traffic quality and sales opportunity flow.
- Oversaw web analytics across all sites to identify trends, evaluate campaign effectiveness, and guide sales and marketing strategy.
- Built reports to uncover customer trends, inform inventory strategy, and support revenue-driving decisions.
- Developed and deployed targeted email and SMS campaigns to increase lead engagement and drive showroom and digital traffic.
- Defined and implemented marketing strategies that supported sales objectives and dealership growth.
- Drove CRM data accuracy and integrity to improve sales forecasting, follow-up effectiveness, and customer lifecycle management.
- Led and developed team members through coaching, goal setting, and performance reviews, strengthening accountability and improving sales results.
- Negotiated vendor contracts to support marketing and sales operations while maximizing ROI and lowering costs.
- Managed vendor relationships to ensure tools, marketing channels, and operational support remained aligned with sales goals and dealership priorities.
Education
Business Management and Marketing
Augsburg College
Skills
- Sales Management
- Effective Communication
- Data-driven decision making
- Operational efficiency
- Customer satisfaction enhancement
- Negotiation skills
- Marketing strategy
- Sales analytics
- Goal attainment
- Relationship Building
- Business Capability Assessment
- Staff Training and Career Development
- Vendor Relationship Management
- Contract Negotiation
- Inventory strategy
- Performance coaching
- Strategic planning
- Operations management
- Profit maximization
- Sales strategy development
- Pricing strategy
Industry Application
- Automotive
- Healthcare
- Marketing/Online Marketing
- Legal Industry - Digital Retailing
Education Certificates
Augsburg College, Major Business Management and Marketing
Skills Inventory
- Sales Management
- Inside and Outside Sales
- Gather, Document & Translate Business Requirements
- As-Is/To-Be Environment Identification
- Use Case Development & Tracking
- Project Facilitation & Management
- Relationship Building
- Business Process Mapping
- Strategic Process Improvement
- Business Capability Assessment
- Healthcare EDI Transactions
- Problem Solving
- End User Training
- Staff Training and career development
- Gap Analysis
- Working with External clients & 3rd Party Vendors
- Vendor Relationship Management
- Negotiation of contracts
- Business Development, Farmer/Hunter
- Deep dive data analysis
Tools Methods
- SDLC
- Waterfall
- Agile 'Scrum'
- Project Delivery Process
- MS Office suite
- Adobe Dreamweaver
- Google Analytics
- SharePoint
- MS Project
- MS Visio
- CRM
- Salesforce
- JIRA
- Azure DeOps
- Trello
- Sitfinity
Roles
- General Sales Manager
- Senior Sales Manager
- Project Manager
- IT Project Manager
- Account Executive
- Senior Client Development Consultant
- Technical Specialist
- Business Development and Marketing Manager
- Solution Consultant
- District Sales Manager
- Sales Consultant
- Business Operations Project Manager
Timeline
General Sales Manager
Lincoln of Bloomington
01.2025 - Current
Senior Sales Manager / Lincoln Brand Manager
Apple Ford Lincoln
01.2019 - 12.2025
Business Operations Project Manager
The American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT)
04.2016 - 01.2019
Infrastructure Project Manager Consultant
Logisolve
05.2015 - 12.2015
IT Project Manager Consultant
TekSystems
11.2013 - 02.2014
Project Manager Consultant
Leidos
09.2012 - 09.2013
MDU/Bulk Account Executive
Comcast
03.2011 - 09.2012
Independent Consultant
LawMan Solutions LLC
10.2010 - 03.2015
Senior Client Development Consultant
FindLaw (Thomson Reuters)
02.2009 - 10.2010
Technical Specialist
Emdeon
10.2008 - 02.2009
Business Development and Marketing Manager
Apple Autos
01.2007 - 09.2008
Business Management and Marketing
Augsburg College