In today’s episode of Mind Your Own Business, host Jonathan Dawson breaks down his concept of Mission 22—a game-changing strategy designed to maximize dealership sales performance.
The core principle of Mission 22 is simple: if a dealership’s sales team isn’t averaging 22 cars per salesperson per month, the sales floor is fundamentally broken.
To determine a dealership’s monthly target, multiply the number of salespeople by 22. This results represents the volume needed to achieve peak efficiency and profitability. Dawson underscores that, according to data from the NADA, the national average sits at 10 to 12 cars per salesperson per month—far below what he believes is truly possible.
The average days sales people work per month is 22 days. Mission 22 challenges sellers to move at least one car per day.
Achieving this level of performance requires three critical components:
Establishing the right beliefs
Success starts with mindset. Sales professionals must genuinely believe that selling 22 cars per month is genuinely achievable.
Here are some key questions that dealers should ask themselves:
- Do I believe it’s possible?
- Do I believe my people deserve a deal a day?
- Do I truly want a highly productive, highly profitable, and effective team?
For Mission 22 to be successful, dealership leadership must buy in first. They must believe in the potential of their team, cultivate a high-performance culture, and remove any limiting beliefs that cap success.
Create a clear, detailed blueprint
A vision without a plan is just wishful thinking. Mission 22 requires a structured strategy that brings clarity from the top down, ensuring that everyone is aligned and working toward the same goal.
Dawson suggests that dealers take the time to create two different blueprints.
- Corporate blueprint: A dealership-wide blue print, or plan, that defines success on a store-wide level. This top-down approach ensures that leadership, management, and sales professionals share the same vision and objectives.
- Individual blueprint: A tailored personal strategy for each salesperson, considering their experience, strengths, and current performance.
To execute this effectively, Dawson stresses the importance of “mapping for the math”—breaking down sales targets into daily and weekly action steps that make 22 cars per month an achievable outcome.
Evaluate and realign talent
For many dealerships, reaching Mission 22 may require trimming the team. Dawson acknowledges a hard truth: not every salesperson will make the cut.
While some may struggle due to skill gaps, more often than not, the issue is a will gap—a lack of drive, discipline, or commitment.
If a dealership chooses to retain salespeople moving only 8 or 9 cars per month, they must ensure they have high performers who can balance the average. Otherwise, underperformance will drag the entire store down.
By setting a clear standard and holding the team accountable, dealerships can shift toward a high-performance sales culture where 22 cars per month isn’t the exception—it’s the norm.
"One of the things to pay attention to is are your people productive every day they walk in the door? If they're not, I challenge you to get on Mission 22 to develop a culture and environment where people thrive instead of just survive." – Jonathan Dawson
