I’m betting everyone reading this has “Make More Money” on their goal list. But the question above is key to getting your wish: Do you really know how much money you make now?

I’d bet 80% of the people reading this can’t write down their actual ‘current’ average monthly income and 80% don’t know how much they’re on track to earn in the next 12 months. Slow down. I did not say ‘this year,’ I said in the next 12 months. What’s the difference? I’ve watched salespeople who didn’t understand controlled growth quit selling cars, even as they were doubling their income. This is critical to understand and may save you a trip out of the highest paying profession in the country.

Somebody asked me a long time ago, “Aren’t you afraid you won’t make any money some months?” My answer then and now is, “No way!” It’s math! If you average $5,000 per month because you do (x) number of activities, with (x) skills, and spend (x) amount of time doing it, as long as you do the activities, maintain the skills and spend the time, you get the money. That’s how averaging works.

Sure, some months will be $5,000, some higher ($6,000) and some lower ($4,000). That’s why the average is $5,000.

If you don’t track, you may actually be averaging $5,000 now (tracking $60,000 per year) but ready to quit because you only made $3,000 last month and you’re ready to take a steady job that only pays $36,000 ($3,000 per month). If you’re averaging $5,000 now, you’d really have to waste most days to drop that far on average, so ditch the fear thing and focus on being consistent.

Look Forward, Not Backward!

Success is up ahead, so stop looking at the past. Your future isn’t based on what you did last month or five years ago. Your future in sales is determined by what you do from this minute forward.

So many people get so bummed because they didn’t earn more yesterday, they’re practically guaranteed to fail again today because of their attitude.

You track your sales activities and results (units & income), then find your current average in each area to set your goals. Take your income; let’s say you started selling cars 12 months ago and only made $36,000 in that time. You could be thinking, “This isn’t for me.” But if you look at your $5,000 current average instead, averaging $5,000 per month means if you just keep doing what you’re doing now, you’ll earn $60,000 in the next 12 months. $24,000 is a huge increase in the next 12 months. Plus, if you only increased your average income by $1,000 per month — six months from now to $6,000 — that means one year from then you’ll earn $72,000 — another big deal! And if you only increased your income by $1,000 per month on average, ($5,000 this year, $6,000 the next year, $7,000 the third year) in just three years you’re up to earning $84,000 a year.

Just start tracking so you can find your current averages in everything you do. When you do, we both know you can figure out how to improve your income by just $83 per month on average, and that’s all it takes to raise your average income $1,000 each year.

Success is a step-by-step process. Step one is to track, step two is to set goals, and step three — make it happen!