ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. -

Why did you decide to enter the car business? Why did you go into that first dealership looking for a job?

Joe Verde Sales & Management Training Inc. tackled questions such as these and found the majority of car salespeople chose the position because of the income potential.

According to an online survey of auto salespeople conducted throughout last year, 28 percent of the 294 respondents highlighted income potential as the reason they started working in car sales.

The informal survey posted on joeverde.com asked the following: “What made you decide to become a car salesperson?”

Ever heard a salesperson say, “I got into the business because I’m a people person”?

Turns out it’s true. Right behind income potential, 20 percent of survey respondents said they joined the biz because they love talking to people.

Interestingly, referrals to the car business was sited as the No. 3 (16 percent) reason for car salespeople to take on the position.

And it doesn’t seem like loving cars is a prerequisite.

Only 14 percent of survey respondents cited love of cars as the reason they started selling cars.

Next up, 12 percent of respondents said they turned to the car-sales business because they “could start working right away.”

Lastly, being laid off from another industry was cited 10 percent of the time by survey respondents.

In 2012, the same survey question was posted on the site and returned very similar results, the company said. Of the 323 people that responded in 2012, again, the top response at 28 percent was “income potential.”