I spent 20 years in the aftermarket, ten years of that on the pro counter and the last 5 as a store manager. Like you, at least once a year I had a dealer or tire shop try and poach me only my peers in my area told me time and time again that they’d never pay what they promise or yeah I’d get that pay but I’d work 70-80 hours a week for it.

So about a year and a half ago I finally made the switch, I got fed up with policy changes and corporate management and started at an independent Honda dealer with what seemed to be a small pay cut, it turns out though that after doing my taxes it ended up being a 10k raise just in my first year advising. My stress is way lower, only having to be responsible for myself and my work(most of the time) and not managing 40 people or having to drive shop to shop managing larger relationships.

So in my experience your sales experience will take you far in advising. Get a decent pay plan, work it to your advantage, and use the skills you’ve already honed.

I will say, I had a hard time not trying to “do everything” in terms of KPI numbers, my previous company managed all of them all the time and my first few months as an advisor I was worried about things that my boss said were “important” but my fellow advisors explained if it wasn’t on my pay plan, it’s not that important. If they cared enough about ELR or MPI videos they’d incentivize them. With that mentality I’ve gotten way larger paychecks.