Car Sales Goal Sheet: Plan the Month From Your Pay Goal
A car sales goal sheet works the month backwards from what you want to be paid. Start with the pay goal, find the units your plan needs at your real average gross, then the buyers and appointments behind those units at your own ratios, then the daily line. On a starting plan, a $5,000 month takes 16 units at $1,800 of front gross, or 12 at $2,400.
Search this and you get a paid template shop, a project-management template, a template library, a field-sales vendor, a design tool and two paid spreadsheet sites. They're goal trackers in general. None of them ties the goal to a pay plan, which is the only thing that makes a car sales goal more than a number you hope for.
This one starts from the plan. Every pay figure here comes from the free car salesman commission calculator, and its next-tier readout does the mid-month check for you.
Why start the goal from pay, not units?
Because the units you need depend on the plan you're on and the gross you actually hold. "Sell 15 this month" means one thing to a rep averaging $2,400 of front gross and something else to a rep living on minis.
Here's one pay goal, $5,000, on the calculator's starting plan: 25% of front gross after an $800 pack and a $150 mini. Its volume bonuses are $500 at 10 units, $1,000 at 15 and $2,000 at 20. No draw, no back-end. The three average grosses are illustrations.
| Your average front gross | Each unit pays | Units for a $5,000 month | What that month pays |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1,400 | $150, the mini | 20 | $5,000, with the $2,000 bonus |
| $1,800 | $250 | 16 | $5,000, with the $1,000 bonus |
| $2,400 | $400 | 12 | $5,300, with the $500 bonus |
Same goal, eight units apart. And look at the first row. At $1,400 of average gross, 19 units would pay $3,850. The 20th unit brings the top tier, and the month jumps to $5,000. On a mini-heavy month, the tier is the goal.
Your average gross is the input that matters most, so use a real one. Take the last three months from your car sales log sheet, or from your commission sheets, not the number you'd like it to be.
How do you go from units to buyers?
With your own ratios. Every rep's are different, and we won't hand you an industry close rate, because a number that isn't yours will plan the wrong month. Your log has what you need: how many buyers you sat down with last month, how many bought, and how many appointments showed.
Here's the chain, with placeholder ratios to show the arithmetic. Replace every ratio with your own.
| Line | How to work it out | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Units needed | The calculator, at your plan and average gross | 16 |
| Your close rate on buyers you meet | Last month's units divided by buyers you sat down with | 1 in 4 (placeholder) |
| Buyers to meet | Units needed divided by close rate | 64 |
| Buyers from floor traffic | What the floor gave you last month | 30 (placeholder) |
| Buyers needed from appointments | Buyers to meet, minus floor traffic | 34 |
| Your appointment show rate | Appointments that showed, divided by appointments set | 2 in 3 (placeholder) |
| Appointments to set | Buyers from appointments, divided by show rate | 51 |
The middle of the table is where the month is won or lost. The floor traffic isn't yours to control. The appointments are. If the floor gave you 30 buyers last month and might give you 20 this month, the appointment line has to cover the gap.
The year-long version of this math, from an income goal to units to at-bats, is in how many cars you have to sell to make $100K. This sheet is the month in front of you.
What's the daily line?
Divide by the days you'll actually be on the floor, not the days in the month. Say that's 22.
| Daily line | Example |
|---|---|
| Units per day | 16 ÷ 22 = about 0.7, or a unit every day and a half |
| Appointments to set per day | 51 ÷ 22 = about 2.3 |
| Buyers to meet per day | 64 ÷ 22 = about 2.9 |
The daily line is the only part of the sheet you can act on at 9 in the morning. "Sixteen units" is a wish. "Set three appointments today" is a job.
Set the goal against the month you're in, too. On the seasonal factors in the Census Bureau's monthly retail trade time series, a normal January runs well below the year's trend and March well above it. The numbers are in the best and worst months for car sales. A January goal built from March's floor traffic is a goal you'll miss.
Where's the goal sheet template?
Copy the block below into a spreadsheet. The example column shows the arithmetic; type your own numbers into the column beside it.
Line,Example,Your number,Where it comes from
Pay goal for the month,5000,,Your budget
Average front gross,1800,,Your log or commission sheets: last three months
Units needed,16,,The commission calculator at your plan and average gross
Close rate on buyers you meet,25%,,Your log: units / buyers you sat down with
Buyers to meet,64,,Units needed / close rate
Buyers from floor traffic,30,,Your log: last month
Buyers needed from appointments,34,,Buyers to meet - floor traffic
Appointment show rate,67%,,Your log: showed / set
Appointments to set,51,,Buyers from appointments / show rate
Days on the floor,22,,Your schedule
Units per day,0.73,,Units needed / days on the floor
Appointments to set per day,2.3,,Appointments to set / days on the floorTurn the divided lines into formulas once it's in a spreadsheet, so changing one ratio updates the whole month. Then keep the sheet next to your log, because the log is where next month's ratios come from.
How do you check the goal at mid-month?
Against the next tier, not the goal. Enter the units you've delivered so far in the calculator, and the next-tier readout tells you how many more units reach the next bonus, and what it pays.
Say it's the 15th, you've delivered 7 units at about $1,800 each, and you're on pace for 14. Here's what the last few units are worth on the starting plan:
| Month-end units | Month's commission | What the last unit added |
|---|---|---|
| 14 | $4,000 | $250 |
| 15 | $4,750 | $750: its own $250, plus the bonus going from $500 to $1,000 |
| 16 | $5,000 | $250 |
The 15th unit is worth three times the 14th. That's the mid-month question: not "am I on pace for 16," but "where is my 15th unit coming from." The calculator's extra-units box shows the same thing for any number of extra units. Why the unit that crosses a tier pays so much, flat or retro, is in what a car sales volume bonus is really worth.
If you're behind, adjust the inputs, not the goal. Look at the appointment line first. It's the one you control.
What makes a goal sheet fail?
- A made-up average gross. If your real average is $1,400 and the sheet says $1,800, it plans 16 units for a month that needs 20.
- Borrowed ratios. Someone else's close rate plans someone else's month.
- Counting the floor twice. Walk-ins and appointments are different lines. Add them; don't double them.
- Ignoring the tier. On a mini-heavy month, the bonus is the biggest single line. Plan to cross it.
- Never looking at it again. The sheet earns its keep at mid-month.
Where do the extra buyers come from?
The appointment line has to come from somewhere, and one place that doesn't depend on the floor is Facebook Marketplace near you. A posted unit is in front of buyers who are already shopping there.
autobook.io handles the posting. It imports your dealership's inventory from its website and writes an editable description for each unit. It posts to Marketplace from your own profile, in your own browser, in batches of up to 50. Posting a vehicle by hand takes 10 to 15 minutes. You still choose the units, answer every buyer in Messenger, set the appointments and close, and the buyers take roughly 40 minutes a day. It removes the grind, not the job. Plans start from $99/month, and across the network about one in nine posted vehicles sells.
Start the sheet by putting your real plan and average gross into the commission calculator. The units line falls out of it.
Frequently asked questions
How many units do I need to hit my number this month?
As many as your pay goal needs on your plan, at your real gross. On a starting plan, a $5,000 month took 16 units at $1,800 of average front gross. What salespeople average in a year is in how many cars you have to sell to make $100K.
Is there a free car sales goal sheet template?
Yes, the CSV block in this article. Paste it into a spreadsheet, replace the example ratios with your own, and turn the divided lines into formulas.
What close rate should I use?
Your own, from last month's log: units sold divided by buyers you sat down with. We don't publish an industry rate, because a rate that isn't yours plans the wrong month.
Should my goal be units or pay?
Pay, converted into units on your plan. A units goal ignores your gross and your tiers. A pay goal ignores nothing.
What should I do if I'm behind at mid-month?
Find the next tier in the calculator and plan the units that reach it. Then look at your appointment line, because it's the part of the month you control.