Seven Great Ways to Recognize Your Best Sales Staff
Whatever your product or service, sales drive your bottom line and build organization success. You can’t ignore the importance of good sales strategies, and you can’t ignore the accomplishments of your best sales staff either. After all, the exceptional sales people you fail to recognize now could easily abandon your organization and join your biggest competitor in the near future. That’s why it’s essential to recognize your sales staff with a variety of praise, rewards and employee incentives. Don’t know how to do that? Here are seven ways to start.
1. Bring in a Personal Assistant
No doubt your best sales performers have a lot on their plates. Recognize their achievements and give them a break by hiring a temporary personal assistant. Whether it’s for a few days or a week, assign the assistant to help the employee with whatever is needed. This is a great way to recognize a busy employee who could use a little extra help answering the phones, catching up on filing or putting the finishing touches on a big project.
2. Ride in Style for the Week
Everyone loves driving a luxury vehicle, so why not award your top sales staff with that honor? Have your company rent an upscale vehicle for a week, and then allow your top sales performer to use the car for that week. You can award this honor every month, every quarter or every year depending on your recognition budget.
3. Put Your Best Employees in Your Shoes
There’s no doubt that your best sales employees want your job, and that’s not a bad thing. Reward them for their hard work by letting them take over your job for a few days. Station a stellar employee in your office, show them the ropes and mentor them as they tackle your job duties. This reward serves the dual purpose of recognizing accomplishment and grooming future leaders for your company.
4. Reward with a Class of the Employee’s Choosing
When it comes to recognizing your best sales staff, it’s important to remember that they have rich lives and identities outside of your company. That means one of the best ways to reward exceptional employees is to offer to pay for an education class of their choosing. Cooking classes, art classes or outdoor recreation classes are all great ideas. Gather brochures from local businesses that offer such classes and let employees pick the one that they’d like to attend.
5. Create Stunning Sales Awards & Give Them Away at a Big Gala
Whether it’s a crystal statuette or a sleek plaque, everyone loves receiving an award. At the end of the year, have sales awards professionally designed. Make sure that each award is personalized to speak to the accomplishments and talents of individual staff members, and then hand out the awards at a big gala dinner. Make it a red-carpet affair to truly impress your sales staff, and to let them know how important they are to your enterprise.
6. Present a Signed Letter from the Company’s President
Everybody would love to get a presidential seal of approval, so why not give it to your top sales staff? Ask the president or CEO of your organization to write a personalized letter to a sales person who has put in a truly impressive performance. Print the letter on company stationery, emboss it with a special seal and have the president sign it. To make an even bigger impression, frame the letter and present it to the employee at an upcoming staff meeting.
7. Cater to Your Staff—Literally
Breakfast on the boss might not be a new thing, but breakfast served by the boss certainly is. When your sales team as a whole has a great month or quarter, arrange a catered breakfast and have company leaders act as waitstaff to your best employees. This is a great way to show that you care while fueling your employees for another hard day’s work.
Need more inspiration? Check out these tips for sales team motivation.