There is a well known management saying “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.” Commission sales people can take a lesson from that saying as well. It would state,”Car salespeople who choose not to track their key activities will not achieve their desired income.”Many in sales believe that the “Win” or “Inking The Deal” is what matters. On the contrary, closing is the result of what matters. Closing the deal is the outcome of the front-end effort.In the automobile sales arena, the highest paid commission sales people have a process to measure their effectiveness. They do this to be able to map out exactly what needs to be done to meet their personal financial targets.That’s right, professional automobile sales people know what they are going to earn because they have decided what that income number will be.Not possible, you say.Think again. To borrow a quote from Stephen Covey, “Begin with the end in mind.”Let’s say an automobile sales person sets a target to earn one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) in commissions over the next twelve months. How would she do it?No, I don’t mean working harder, prospecting more, taking more walk-ins; although they might be what is required to achieve the $100,000 goal.I am not talking about the activity. I am mapping out the planning of how to achieve a six figure commission sales income in selling automobiles.Begin With The End In MindHere is how top sales commission earners decide on a minimum income target over a twelve month period. Based on their closing history they list three numbers:1. their desired income target2. their average commission per sale3. their closing ratioFor example, let’s say Jennifer Brown wants to earn $100,000 over the next twelve months. Based on her sales history, she knows her average commission is $525 per car and that she closes about 20 of every 100 people she speaks to; hence, a 20% closing ratio.Jennifer takes her calculator and crunches the numbers…* Income Target divided by Average Commission per Sale = Number of automobile sales required to achieve the income target$100,000 / $525 = 190 sales* Next calculation:Number of car sales needed to achieve income target divided by closing ratio to determine how many people Jennifer needs to prospect190 automobile sales / 20% = 952 peopleWow, seems like a lot of prospecting.By-the-way, if you are a commission sales person, regardless of the product you represent, a target needs to be believable. A number like 952 can be scary. That seems like an awful lot of people to prospect. And, it might be a little over-whelming for one’s belief system to grab hold of.Since achieving a $100,000 income target is based over 12 months, Jennifer decides to divide the number of prospects by twelve months. That’s about 79 contacts per month. Not unrealistic for a savvy automobile sales person.In fact, to make the number even more palatable, Jennifer divides the number of prospects by the number of days an automobile salesperson works in the run of a year. Allowing for holidays and vacation, the average is 240.Now, 952 prospects divided by 240 days is 4 prospects. Prospecting an average of four people a day is certainly achievable for a professional car salesperson.ConclusionAchieving a six figure income as an automobile sales person is attainable. But you need to know your numbers. As a sales professional, tracking your daily activity is critical.And there are variables. For example, as Jennifer improves her closing ratio, if she stays on target with her prospecting numbers, she will exceed her commission sales income goal.Also, as she becomes more experienced, she will likely hold more gross per sale. That translates into more commissions.And, with experience comes more repeat and referral business.Most importantly, here is what truly excites me about commission sales. Anytime you want a raise, just sell another car. It is that easy.Remember: Nothing happens until someone sells something.Sales Champions Make It Happen!