General Manager – Powersports & Outdoor Power Equipment Dealership
Ball Equipment has been Eastern Michigan’s leader in Powersports & Outdoor Power Equipment Sales & Service for over 80 years as a family owned Michigan business. We are proud to represent industry leading OEM brands such as Polaris, Honda, BRP, Cub Cadet, Gravely, CFMOTO, Arctic Cat & Many More!! As our business expands, we are investing in strengthening our capabilities with a dedicated leader to join us in taking it to the next level.
Location: Richmond, Michigan
Department: Operations
Reports To: Executive Leadership
FLSA Status: Exempt
Position Summary
Ball Equipment is seeking an experienced and results-driven General Manager to lead our Richmond, Michigan dealership location.
The General Manager has overall responsibility for the performance, profitability, team leadership, customer experience, and daily operations of the dealership. This position has full profit-and-loss responsibility for the Richmond location and provides leadership across all three primary dealership departments: Sales, Parts, and Service.
The General Manager directly supervises the Sales Manager and the Parts and Service Manager, establishing clear expectations and holding each department accountable for achieving its financial, operational, and customer-service objectives.
This is a hands-on leadership position for someone who can understand the numbers, develop managers and employees, improve processes, and maintain a strong presence throughout the dealership. The successful candidate will combine financial and operational discipline with an approachable leadership style and a genuine commitment to customers and employees.
Key Responsibilities
Financial Performance and P&L Management
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Assume full responsibility for the dealership’s revenue, gross profit, operating expenses, and overall profitability.
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Develop and execute annual operating plans, departmental budgets, sales forecasts, and performance objectives.
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Review dealership and department-level financial statements, operating reports, key performance indicators, and budget-to-actual results.
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Identify performance gaps and implement corrective action plans to improve revenue, gross margins, expense control, productivity, and operating income.
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Partner with department managers to establish monthly, quarterly, and annual financial goals.
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Monitor payroll, staffing costs, inventory levels, discounts, purchasing, and other controllable expenses.
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Protect company assets and ensure dealership resources are used responsibly and efficiently.
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Provide executive leadership with accurate and timely reporting regarding dealership performance, risks, opportunities, and operational needs.
Dealership Leadership
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Provide overall leadership and direction for the Richmond dealership and its Sales, Parts, and Service operations.
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Directly manage, coach, and hold accountable the Sales Manager and Parts and Service Manager.
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Establish clear expectations, priorities, performance standards, and measurable goals for each department.
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Maintain a visible leadership presence throughout the showroom, parts department, service department, offices, and dealership property.
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Lead regular management and dealership-wide meetings to review results, communicate priorities, and address operational concerns.
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Promote accountability, teamwork, professionalism, urgency, and continuous improvement.
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Ensure department managers communicate and cooperate effectively rather than operating as separate departments.
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Serve as the primary connection between the Richmond location and Ball Equipment’s executive and corporate leadership teams.
Employee Development and Culture
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Recruit, retain, coach, and develop high-performing managers and team members.
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Ensure staffing levels are appropriate for customer demand, operational requirements, and seasonal business conditions.
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Support structured onboarding, training, cross-training, succession planning, and employee development.
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Conduct or oversee performance reviews, coaching conversations, corrective actions, and employee recognition.
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Help department managers establish individual performance goals and provide meaningful feedback to employees.
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Create a workplace culture built around respect, accountability, teamwork, customer service, and results.
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Address employee concerns promptly, professionally, and consistently.
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Ensure company policies, employment practices, and workplace standards are followed throughout the dealership.
Sales Department Oversight
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Partner with the Sales Manager to achieve unit sales, revenue, gross-profit, finance, warranty, accessory, and customer-experience objectives.
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Review inventory aging, sales pipeline activity, lead response, closing rates, gross margins, and salesperson performance.
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Ensure customer leads and inquiries are handled promptly and followed through to completion.
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Support effective merchandising, showroom presentation, product displays, pricing, promotions, and inventory positioning.
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Monitor new and pre-owned inventory levels and recommend adjustments based on demand, seasonality, aging, and market conditions.
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Ensure appropriate processes are followed for deal documentation, financing, trade-ins, delivery, and customer follow-up.
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Work with the Sales Manager to create strategies that increase dealership traffic, conversion, customer retention, and market share.
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Maintain working knowledge of major powersports and outdoor power equipment product categories, manufacturers, and competitive market conditions.
Parts and Service Department Oversight
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Partner with the Parts and Service Manager to achieve departmental revenue, gross-profit, productivity, efficiency, and customer-satisfaction goals.
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Review repair-order volume, service labor sales, technician productivity, technician efficiency, work-in-process, turnaround time, and warranty performance.
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Monitor parts sales, fill rates, special orders, obsolescence, inventory accuracy, inventory turns, and gross margins.
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Ensure technicians, service advisors, parts specialists, and support employees have the resources and direction needed to perform effectively.
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Promote communication among the Sales, Parts, and Service departments to provide a seamless customer ownership experience.
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Ensure service scheduling, repair-order management, parts availability, warranty administration, and customer communication processes are effective.
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Address bottlenecks, backlogs, aging repair orders, unresolved customer issues, and other conditions affecting departmental performance.
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Support the growth of service retention, preventative maintenance, accessory installation, parts sales, and repeat customer business.
Customer Experience
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Establish and maintain high standards for customer service throughout every area of the dealership.
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Ensure customers receive professional, knowledgeable, timely, and courteous assistance.
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Monitor customer feedback, online reviews, satisfaction results, and recurring service concerns.
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Personally assist with escalated or sensitive customer situations when management involvement is appropriate.
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Resolve customer concerns fairly while protecting the company’s reputation and business interests.
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Build lasting customer relationships that support repeat purchases, referrals, service retention, and long-term loyalty.
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Ensure that the dealership provides a consistent customer experience before, during, and after the sale.
Operational Management
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Oversee the dealership’s daily operations and ensure each department is organized, appropriately staffed, and prepared to serve customers.
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Develop, document, and improve dealership processes, workflows, and operating procedures.
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Ensure the showroom, customer areas, service department, parts department, offices, exterior grounds, and inventory displays are clean, safe, organized, and professional.
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Coordinate dealership opening, closing, security, cash-handling, facility, and asset-control procedures.
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Monitor inventory accuracy and ensure appropriate cycle-counting, receiving, stocking, transfer, and reconciliation processes are followed.
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Work with corporate leadership and shared-service departments on accounting, human resources, information technology, marketing, purchasing, inventory, and compliance matters.
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Ensure dealership records, transactions, repair orders, purchase orders, and other business documents are complete and accurate.
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Identify operational problems early and develop practical, sustainable solutions.
Manufacturer, Vendor, and Community Relationships
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Develop productive working relationships with manufacturers, OEM representatives, distributors, floorplan lenders, vendors, and service providers.
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Ensure the dealership meets applicable manufacturer standards, program requirements, reporting obligations, and performance expectations.
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Participate in manufacturer meetings, training programs, dealer events, and business reviews when appropriate.
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Represent Ball Equipment professionally within the Richmond community and the powersports and outdoor power equipment industries.
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Identify opportunities to strengthen local partnerships, community involvement, dealership visibility, and customer awareness.
Safety and Compliance
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Ensure compliance with company policies and applicable federal, state, and local requirements.
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Maintain a safe environment for customers, employees, contractors, and visitors.
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Enforce safety procedures involving service operations, equipment movement, material handling, hazardous materials, facility maintenance, and workplace conduct.
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Ensure required dealership licenses, records, postings, inspections, and compliance procedures remain current.
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Promptly address safety hazards, policy violations, operational risks, and other compliance concerns.
Performance Expectations
The General Manager will be evaluated based on the overall performance of the Richmond dealership, including:
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Revenue growth and operating profitability
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Departmental gross-profit performance
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Budget and expense management
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New and pre-owned unit sales
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Parts and service revenue growth
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Inventory management and aging
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Technician productivity and service efficiency
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Customer satisfaction and retention
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Employee engagement, development, and retention
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Compliance with company procedures
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Facility appearance, organization, and safety
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Accuracy and timeliness of reporting
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Achievement of dealership and departmental goals
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Base Salary: $90,000
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Annual Performance Bonus = 10% tied to net dealership profitability
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Total Compensation Potential: $110,000–$130,000+
Additional Benefits
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Vehicle Allowance
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Cell Phone Allowance
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100% Employer-Paid Health, Life, Dental, Short Term Disability + voluntary Long Term Disability, Supplemental Life products
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401k Matching - 100% on your first 3% of contribution, 50% on next 2%
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Competitive PTO/Sick
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Team Apparel & Employee Purchase Discounts
Qualifications
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Five or more years of progressive management experience in a dealership, retail, automotive, powersports, recreational vehicle, marine, agricultural equipment, construction equipment, outdoor power equipment, or similarly complex multi-department business.
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Previous experience leading multiple operating departments or business functions.
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Demonstrated responsibility for a profit-and-loss statement, operating budget, financial forecast, or business-unit financial performance.
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Proven ability to manage managers, build effective teams, and hold employees accountable for measurable results.
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Strong financial acumen, including the ability to understand income statements, gross margins, inventory reports, payroll costs, operating expenses, and key performance indicators.
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Experience improving sales, profitability, operational efficiency, employee performance, or customer satisfaction.
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Strong understanding of retail sales, inventory management, service operations, and customer-experience principles.
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Excellent leadership, communication, decision-making, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
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Ability to balance strategic priorities with the daily demands of dealership operations.
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Comfortable handling employee matters, difficult customer situations, operational problems, and competing priorities.
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Proficiency with dealership management systems, customer relationship management systems, Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, and business-reporting tools.
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Valid driver’s license and the ability to meet company driving requirements.
Preferred Qualifications
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General Manager, Store Manager, Branch Manager, Operations Manager, or Fixed Operations leadership experience.
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Powersports, motorcycle, ATV, side-by-side, utility vehicle, lawn and garden, outdoor power equipment, agricultural equipment, or equipment dealership experience.
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Experience managing Sales, Parts, and Service departments.
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Familiarity with dealership management systems (Lightspeed), inventory floorplans, OEM programs, warranty administration, and seasonal dealership operations.
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Experience with brands or products involving motorcycles, ATVs, UTVs, side-by-sides, snowmobiles, lawn mowers, tractors, zero-turn mowers, handheld power equipment, or related parts and accessories. Our current brands include Polaris, Honda, CFMOTO, Arctic Cat, Gravely, Cub Cadet, Ferris, and Husqvarna.
Leadership Characteristics
The successful candidate will be:
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Financially disciplined and results-oriented
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Highly accountable and comfortable holding others accountable
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Visible, engaged, and willing to lead from the dealership floor
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An effective coach who can develop managers and employees
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Customer-focused without losing sight of profitability and company policy
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Organized and capable of managing numerous priorities
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Decisive, practical, and solutions-oriented
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A strong communicator across departments and levels of the organization
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Comfortable working in a seasonal and fast-paced dealership environment
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Committed to Ball Equipment’s long-term success and reputation
Working Conditions
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Work is performed throughout an active dealership environment, including offices, showroom areas, parts counters, warehouses, service shops, outdoor display areas, and dealership grounds.
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The position requires regular walking and standing and occasional lifting or movement of merchandise, parts, supplies, or equipment.
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The General Manager must be available during important dealership operating hours and peak customer periods.
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Some weekends, extended hours, or schedule adjustments may be required during peak seasons, special events, inventory counts, staffing shortages, or other business needs.
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Occasional travel may be required for meetings, training, manufacturer events, or visits to other Ball Equipment locations.
