This 5-Minute Exercise Predicts Your Month

Walk into almost any dealership and ask a salesperson:

“How many cars are you going to sell this month?”

You’ll hear answers like:

• “Hopefully 10…”

• “I’m aiming for 12…”

• “Depends on traffic…”

• 
  

That’s not a plan.

That’s a guess.

And in this business, guessing is expensive.

The Problem: No Blueprint, No Control

Most automobile salespeople operate without a clear roadmap. They show up, wait for ups, handle a few calls, and hope things fall into place.

But hope is not a strategy.

If you don’t know:

• How many people you need to speak with

• What your closing ratio actually is

• Where your opportunities are coming from

Then you’re not in control of your income… your environment is.

Step #8 of our "system": Planning for Success (The Blueprint)

This is where everything changes.

The Blueprint for Success is built around one simple but powerful concept:

Your past performance predicts your future results — if you measure it.

That’s why we focus on a 90-day statistical average.

The Exercise That Changes Everything

Go back and look at your last 3 months:

• December

• January

• February

• 
  

Then track the following:

• Walk-in traffic

• Phone opportunities

• Appointments set

• Deals closed

• Manager TOs

• Repeat customers

• Referrals

• Network activity

• 
  

This is not busy work.

This is how you uncover the truth about your business.

Your Closing Ratio: The Number That Controls Everything

Once your numbers are filled in, you can calculate your closing ratio.

And this is where things get real.

Let’s say:

• You close 1 out of every 10 people you speak with

If your goal is:

• 10 cars this month

Then you need:

• 100 conversations

Not “more traffic”Not “better luck”

100 real opportunities.

Why Most Salespeople Stay Stuck

Here’s the hard truth…

Most people never do this exercise because it exposes the gap.

If you only have:

• 40 opportunities available

But your math says you need:

• 100

Then you’re not “a little off”…

You’re operating at 40% of what’s required.

And that’s why the month feels stressful, inconsistent, and unpredictable.

The Shift: From Waiting to Hunting

Once you know your number, your behavior changes.

If traffic is light (and it often is at the end of Q1 heading into spring), professionals don’t sit around…

They go create opportunity:

• Reconnect with past customers

• Ask directly for referrals

• Work their personal network

• Target the service drive for upgrades

Because now you know exactly what you’re chasing.

Better Closers Need Fewer Opportunities

Here’s the upside…

If your closing ratio improves:

• 1 in 5 → you need 50 conversations

• 1 in 4 → you need 40

• 1 in 3 → you need just 30

That’s why skill development matters.

Better conversations = fewer opportunities required = more control over your time and income.

The Real Advantage: Predictability

When you complete your blueprint, something powerful happens:

You stop wondering how the month will go…

And you start engineering the result.

You know:

• Your number

• Your gap

• Your plan to close it

That’s what professionals do differently.

Your Next Move

If you haven’t already:

• Complete your 90-day average

• Calculate your closing ratio

• Set your target for the month based on math

Because in this business…

The people who track their numbers write their own pay plan.

Everyone else just reacts to it.