What Are The Factors of Success for Every Car Salesperson?

Here’s What Top Performers in Car Sales Know That You Don’t

In today’s ultra-competitive auto sales environment, average won’t cut it. The top 20% of salespeople are outproducing everyone else by a mile, and it’s not because they got lucky. It’s because they made a choice—a choice to push harder, think sharper, and perform better. They embraced a winning mindset in automotive sales. So here’s the truth:

Success isn’t a talent issue. It’s a mindset issue.

At the Kintz Group, we’ve trained thousands of salespeople across the country, and the top performers all have four things in common. These aren’t feel-good motivational posters. They’re battle-tested, results-driven factors that separate closers from posers.

With that in mind, let’s break down the four:

1. ATTITUDE: The Foundation of Being a Top Closer

Your ATTITUDE is the bedrock of your career in sales. You’ve heard it before—Napoleon Hill famously said, “Your attitude will determine your altitude.” But this isn’t just a motivational quote; it’s a reality.

Having an attitude of success is more than putting on a smile for the customer. It’s about choosing positivity and resilience, even on the tough days. Or focusing on what you can do instead of what’s not going your way. It’s about bouncing back quickly from rejection and using every “no” as motivation for the next “yes.”

The right attitude influences everything: how you greet customers, how you handle objections, how you engage with your team, and how you perform under pressure. Focus on positive activities—prospecting, following up, learning something new—and your attitude will thrive.

✅ Quick Tip: To build a stronger mindset each day, start every shift with 5 minutes of mindset reset.
Visualize closing 3 deals. Practice your opener. Choose your tone. Your attitude drives your paycheck.

2. EFFORT: The Driver of Production

Effort isn’t about being busy; it’s about being productive. We’re not talking about walking laps or killing time on your phone.

EFFORT means doing the right things all day, every day. It’s not just showing up to work—it’s showing up with intention. It’s committing to practicing your phone scripts, role-playing your objections, sending follow-up videos, and asking for referrals.

True effort is about consistency and focus. Like using your CRM, not avoiding it. It’s making that extra call, even when you’re tired. It’s staying late for a walk-in or coming in early to set appointments. The secret to effort? Treat each day like it’s the last day of the month.

The pros know this: every minute either makes you money or costs you money. If you’re not putting in the reps, don’t expect the rewards.

🔥 Pro Tip: Ask yourself at the end of each day:
“Did I earn my paycheck today?”
If the answer isn’t “Hell yes,” tomorrow starts now.

3. ENTHUSIASM: The Spark That Sells

If you want to be magnetic in this business, you need ENTHUSIASM. It’s contagious, it’s authentic, and it sells.

Genuine excitement can significantly influence customer decisions—people who light up when they talk about vehicles, who listen actively, and who genuinely care about the customer’s experience. Drawing parallels from sports, DealerKnows highlights how a unified team with shared enthusiasm can achieve remarkable success.

Enthusiasm doesn’t just happen. It’s born from three things:

• Training like a champion
• Loving what you do
• Caring deeply about your customers

When you work on your craft, improve your skills, and remind yourself why you got into this business, enthusiasm becomes natural. It gives you the drive to bring your A-game to every interaction and helps you stand out in a world where average won’t cut it. A winning mindset in automotive sales separates all-star closers from transactional salespeople.

💬 Quick Fix: Not feeling fired up? Get on the lot. Talk to one happy service customer. Share a win with a teammate. Enthusiasm is built through motion—not waiting.

4. ENERGY: The Byproduct of Action

Too often, we see salespeople slumped in chairs, staring at their screens, waiting for an “up” to fall in their lap. But energy doesn’t come from waiting. It comes from doing.

Your ENERGY level is a direct reflection of your activity. When you walk the lot, greet service customers, check in on deliveries, or simply stand up and make your calls with purpose—you generate energy. You stay in motion. You stay sharp.

Energy fuels momentum, and momentum breeds top performance. The more active you are, the more alert, focused, and driven you become.
Don’t wait for motivation—move first, and the motivation will follow. These are the four factors of success for every car salesperson.

⚡ Energy Hack: Make 3 quick calls standing up. Walk the showroom before lunch. Reorganize your desk.
Action creates energy—don’t sit and rot.

Even with these factors mastered, the reality is harsh: most salespeople won’t follow through.

The Cold Truth: Most Salespeople Won’t Do This For Winning Car Sales Habits

They’ll read this and nod their heads. Then go right back to doing the bare minimum. But not you. If you’re still reading, you’re in that top percentile. You want to build a career that grows every month—not flatlines.

So ask yourself: Are you committed to the process, or just chasing the paycheck?

💡 Pro Tip: Want to build a high-performing sales team that consistently closes more deals? Learn how our hands-on workshops train your team in real-world skills. Explore Kintz Group Training →

Ready to Succeed at the Highest Level?

If you’re serious about mastering the fundamentals of high performance and building a career that grows month after month, you need more than motivation—you need a plan, a process, and a partner.

That’s where the Kintz Group comes in.

We specialize in helping sales professionals and leaders create real, measurable success through world-class training, coaching, and performance systems. Whether you’re a brand-new green pea or a seasoned veteran looking to break through your next plateau, we’ll help you sharpen your skills, build winning habits, and apply the Four Factors of Success for Every Car Salesperson to dominate your market.

Are you ready to stop surviving and start succeeding?

📌 Want Your Whole Team Dialed In?
Most dealerships don’t have a sales problem—they have a training problem. Let us fix that. Explore Kintz Group Training →

In this business, average is the enemy—and your best is still ahead of you.
Kintz Group – Train To Win.

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