Okay, let’s be serious. Sales reps want to make more money. At least that’s what they’ll tell you. But in their hearts – deep down – they want to get recognition for going the extra mile. That why the best incentive programs complement a well-designed compensation plan. Special rewards provide excitement and show that management recognizes and values excellent sales performance. This recognition can help build a high-performance sales culture over the long-term, even for reps who have already proven their worth. And non-cash incentives can motivate all the little steps that lead to sales success, even when dollar sales and dollar commissions are still on the distant horizon.

For example, Mark Sullivan, vice president of Carlson Marketing, reports that one insurance company uses incentives to motivate its agents to increase their prospecting activities. “They reward participants not only for their actual sales, but for using the specific prospecting tools they have built into their online incentive program,” Sullivan says.

Agents are given incentive points for sending out cold-call prospecting letters, prepared with both the company’s and agent’s logo. They also earn points for sending letters to existing customers to introduce new products and for using email templates that increase awareness of the insurer’s products, as well as other marketing materials.

“The company wants to motivate their agents to do the prospecting and cold-calling that eventually will lead to sales,” Sullivan says. By offering incentives for specific steps, the firm can also emphasize certain products it wants to push vigorously. For example, it may want to promote homeowners’ insurance in New England, while promoting flood insurance along the weather-beaten Gulf Coast.

Using Carlson’s online tool, Salesdriver.com, a firm can easily adjust its incentives to promote different products in different markets. Managers can tweak and customize the incentive design, awarding points by territory or by any geographical division. And Salesdriver allows an incentive program to be launched rapidly, including communicating it to the field, so that it reflects the dynamics of fast-changing markets.

All points earned can be redeemed at Carlson’s online catalog of prizes, a selection of more than a thousand items, including travel and merchandise lines for the home and garden, plus consumer electronics. “Apple’s iPod is a very hot item right now, as are all kinds of large-screen and plasma TVs,” Sullivan reports. “I guess it’s just a question of boys and their toys.”

Boys also love games and sports. Mike Byam, managing partner of the award experts at Terryberry, reports there are two very popular items for sales rewards. First, whenever there is a big sports championship, for instance the Superbowl or the National Basketball Association playoffs, competitive sales reps see multimillionaire sports stars thirsting for those championship rings. So Terryberry clients give their sales champions rings that say “you’re a winner too.”

The rings come in a wide variety of sizes, values and types. The first sales victory might be celebrated with a ring with a small diamond costing only a few hundred dollars. But Terryberry rings are designed to be upgraded, with more precious stones added if the winner repeats his performance in succeeding years. “We can continue adding as many diamonds as will fit on the ring,” Byam notes. One Terryberry client, a pure sales organization, gives its multiyear repeat winners a ring with a five-carat diamond right in the center. “That is a pretty good-sized stone,” Byam says.

Saleswomen seldom identify with Superbowl linebackers, so Terryberry offers women beautiful tennis bracelets. The bracelet, like the ring, is designed to be enhanced over time, with diamonds added to each link as further sales success is achieved.

The other popular reward is a points-based system for earning a choice of rewards, each emblazoned with company logos. Some rewards are traditional, such as clocks and watches. But Terryberry also offers what Byam calls “lifestyle items,” like fishing gear, tool kits, binoculars and global positioning satellite (GPS) equipment, all customized and stamped with company logos. “We are a soup-to-nuts incentive firm,” Byam emphasizes. “We help design reward programs, we manage them and then we handle fulfillment.”

Simple pleasures can reward hard sales work, too. Metromedia Restaurant Group offers table-service dining at more than 800 fine restaurants in 41 states and several countries around the world. Your hungry sales warriors can chomp down on award-winning baby back ribs at Bennigan’s, or work their way through the buffet spreads at Bonanza and Ponderosa. For hearty eaters, there are the signature herb-roasted prime ribs at Steak & Ale outlets and the tasty grilled pork chops at Plano Tavern restaurants.

Access to all these choices is provided by Metromedia’s gift card, which is good at any of the firm’s brands and more than 700 participating restaurants. And your firm gets a nice break on the tab as well. Discounts start at 5 percent for card purchases of $500 and run up to 15 percent for purchases of $10,000 or more.

Often a special prize is a common item that a sales rep uses every day, but one that is unique in its style and quality. For nearly a century the folks at Montblanc have been making just that kind of item, the finest in business accessories.

For example, Montblanc offers a line of fountain pens called Meisterstück. These have become a legend for their style and represent status and success, expressed in truly distinctive good taste. Meisterstück pens are not for everyone; they appeal strongly to conservative achievers who prefer classic and perfectly crafted products. The Montblanc emblem, a white star with three rings and a logo, says it’s a Meisterstück. For your top performers, the Meisterstück is available in gold, silver, precious lacquer and even one version covered with diamonds.

Montblanc carries this same approach over to its watches, including the famous Star collection. Star watches reflect the flawless tradition of Swiss watchmakers and the Swiss love of good craftsmanship. Star watches are now available with steel, platinum, carbon and gilt finishes. These masterpieces combine fine materials, pure design, high functionality and traditional watch-making.

If you choose Montblanc for your incentive program, you also receive exclusive product offerings, complimentary engraving and embossing and special corporate pricing when your total purchases reach $2,500.

Then there is Sharper Image, which offers the finest merchandise in personal care, electronics, toys, office, travel and home use at its 180 stores, or through Sharper’s print and online catalogs. For example, you can reward your sound buffs with the cutting-edge iPulse. Costing about $130, the iPulse hooks up easily to any iPod, MP3, portable CD or satellite radio, in fact any audio source with a headphone jack. Its dual aluminum-cone speakers deliver full-range stereo sound, while the iPulse puts on a brilliant lightshow, just like a jukebox, of red, blue and green lights pulsing on and off with the music.

For harried reps who are looking for something less exciting but more comforting, you might want to give them Sharper’s signature Robopet. For about a quarter of the price of a well-bred beagle, Robopet will walk, jump, sit, lie down, beg, roll over, sniff, crawl, run, even shake hands with you and scratch. Moreover, Robopet has a full canine personality, complete with puppy-like mood changes, from friendly to curious to occasionally stubborn.

And there is no leash on this hi-tech hound, just a wireless handset to provide positive or negative reinforcement. Flick on ‘guard mode’ and Robopet will bark if a stranger comes into his space. Robopet just might come in handy during those difficult sales calls.

There is always something rewarding at Lowe’s Home Improvement, which offers a full range of appliances, sinks and faucets, patio furniture, fencing and lumber, even the power tools you need to do it all yourself. If you want to let your winners select their own prizes, you can get a gift card in denominations from $5 to $5,000. Bulk orders get discounts, and Lowe’s cards are reloadable and never expire.

If your top performers seek a top-of-the-line gas grill to cook out, Lowe’s offers the truly special Jenn-Air, made of stainless steel with 60,000 BTUs of cooking energy. For $1,099, this beautiful grill has individual jet ignition burners, a cooking surface of 1,064 square inches and a 12,000-BTU side burner.

For a more modest price, but still a quality item, there is the Weber 26,000-BTU dual-burner gas grill. For less than $400, the Weber gives you a push-button igniter, a porcelain cooking surface that can fire up 24 burgers at once, plus porcelain-enamel flavorizer bars. In all, there are 528 square inches of cooking surface on the Weber.

Pier 1 Imports prides itself on unique rewards, such as hand-crafted cabinets and a wide variety of exotic home furnishings. Pier 1’s distinctive imported treasures could make nice runner-up prizes in an annual sales contest. You could send the top winners on a great vacation while consoling other high-achievers with gifts from the chosen destination – and maybe inspire them to compete in next year’s contest!

For the widest choices, Pier 1 Imports offers gift cards that come in virtually any denomination and can be redeemed at more than 1,100 stores in the U.S. and Canada. A trip to Pier 1 can be an adventure in itself, like a quick tour of a great market city.

If you are looking for something unusual, Hammacher Schlemmer could be the right place to find it. The 157-year-old retailer sells “the best, the only and the unexpected” for just about every taste.

For example, what large salesforce does not have some golf nuts? To please the true golf zealots, Hammacher Schlemmer offers its own special Never-Lose-Another-Golf-Ball Putter. At just $49.95, this regulation putter is attached to a fishing reel, so even duffers can wind the ball in after every shot. The reel’s fishing line runs through guides down the club shaft to a regulation-size golf ball, but is so light it does not impede the ball, so the putt runs smooth and true.

And, let’s face it, half the pleasure of golf comes not from your own score, but from watching the frustration and failure of your rivals. To sweeten this pleasure, Hammacher suggests a patented Remote Control Golf Ball. Just replace your opponent’s ball with this realistic-looking ringer, and you can make it zig and zag at the touch of your remote control. Your golf partner will see his brilliant putts unexplainably drift wide of the cup, all at your own fiendish command from anywhere within 100 feet. Where else can you get such sweet revenge on the links for just $39.95?

Swiss Army has been famous for equipping the most adventurous travelers for a long time. And who is more adventurous than your top-selling road warrior? Sales reps flying through airport concourses may not need compasses, knives with 15 different blades or mosquito nets. But they do need something to keep them fresh-looking at the other end of their flights, when they arrive at the prospect’s office.

For these modern explorers, Swiss offers the Sergeant, a full-featured garment bag that offers the best in carrying capacity and handling for just under $300 for business accounts. The Sergeant gives you luxurious style, plus cutting-edge packing and traveling functions.

The Sergeant’s main packing area has a zippered and ventilated area for dress shoes, felt-lined storage for keeping ties unwrinkled, more zippered pockets for storing small stuff, plus a removable J-hook for hanging the bag over a door or in a closet. For dress clothes, there is a “Wally” clamp that can secure several suits, shirts or dresses. Up to four or five suits fit into this garment section, which also has a foam cushion, more zippered pockets and a special spill-proof pocket for accessories.

What about all those little items that travelers pack at the last minute? The Sergeant is ready for duty here as well. There is a gusseted front pocket with a key fob, a zippered mesh pocket and two elastic mesh organizational pockets. Reps can put their last-minute travel documents and other items they want to grab quickly in the security line into a rear pocket. When everything is packed, two buckles keep Sergeant folded and compact for fast movement. A padded shoulder strap lets the traveler carry all the gear with ease.