Happy, satisfied, and motivated employees are the assets of any company. We all have those employees in our team who put in their 100% effort in their work and produce great results. When we come across such exceptional employees it is important that we recognize their performance and reward them for their good work. This helps in maintaining a healthy and sustainable work culture.

What are the Characteristics of Exceptional (excellently performing) sales employees?

Here are some common characteristics that all high performing sales reps possess:

1. Infectious dedication, energy, and motivation

They show high levels of enthusiasm and energy at work. They always complete their tasks on time. They constantly bring in new and innovative ideas to work. They always find ways to produce better results in any situation.

People who have these characteristics are highly infectious. They tend to spread their positivity, enthusiasm, and energy to their peers as well.

2. Combination of hard work and smart work

Hard work and smart work, when put together, make a deadly combination. We all remember Bill Gates famous quote– “I will always choose a lazy person to do a difficult job because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it.”

I’m sure you have people who are hard-working and persistent for sure, but they are also smart workers. They find innovative ways and shortcuts to complete complicated tasks which would otherwise consume a lot of time. These people are very valuable for your organizational success.

3. Learns and Adapts new things quickly

Markets, customer trends, sales techniques, and products– all these keep changing from time to time. So look for reps who are capable of learning and adapting to new things quickly.

4. Aims to exceed the targets

While all the employees aim to hit their targets, there would be a few courageous ones who aim to exceed their targets. Many of these people even succeed in doing so. Recognizing the dedication and efforts of these employees is extremely important.

5. An “On to the next” mentality

Thomas Edison, the inventor of the light bulb, made 1000 unsuccessful attempts before finally succeeding. Success and failure are a part of everyone’s journey and your exceptional sales reps know this well. So, they will be willing to

• Take risks

• Take on hindrances face to face

• Learn from their mistakes and move on with that experience and hope to succeed the next time

Now, if you have sales employees who tick all these boxes or the majority of them, then kudos to you for having a great team. But,

• How can you make these people realize that their hard work and efforts are appreciated?

• How can you thank them for their contributions towards your organizational success?

• How do you reward them the right way?

Best ways to Recognize and Reward Sales Excellence

1. Acknowledge Employee Achievements

Acknowledgment and appreciation for good work is something that all humans crave. When an employee feels his/her work is being recognized and talked about, it makes them feel delighted.

Even a small recognition makes them feel:

• Valued in the organization

• Self-motivated to work hard

• And driven to achieve goals

2. Use Leaderboards to Measure Sales Performance

Peer pressure is a real thing at the workplace. But if you’re a manager handling a team then you can turn this peer pressure into a healthy and positive competition.

This makes even the bottom performers strive toward achieving their goals and compete with the high scorers. The high scorers on the other hand will compete with each other to prove their worth as excellent employees

3. Recognize the personal best

If you’re a manager, handling a team of 20 sales reps, you would understand that not all 20 of them work and perform in the same way. As a manager, it’s your responsibility to recognize everyone’s personal achievements and encourage everybody to improve their performance consistently

This not only motivates your team members to give their best but also lifts the burden of performance pressure from them and makes them feel valued.

4. Present a Team Trophy/ Reward High Scorers

Developing a reward system and creating symbols of achievement for your reps is really important. Presenting a trophy or any reward/symbol recognizing your reps’ hard work and success will naturally instigate them to give their best at work.

Develop a good rewarding strategy. Keep a record of what fits best for each team member. This helps in making your sales reps happy and results in effective behavioral change.

5. Give Timely Promotions

Promotions are one of the most effective ways to reward the best-performing individuals. Promotion of an individual’s designation motivates that individual much better than any monetary reward.

Employees in today’s day are more concerned about their growth. When they realize that they’re growing in their organization and getting new responsibilities, it helps in doubling their motivation.

Learn how to design a best sales incentive plan for your organization

Read: Best Practices for Designing Your Sales Incentive Plan

Learn the best practices to implement the sales incentive plan at your organization

Read: Implementing A Sales Incentive Plan

Learn how gamification helps in taking your incentive plan to a whole new level?

Read: Take Your Incentive Plan to The Next Level Through Gamification

Want some creative ideas to present awards to your top performers? Get ideas from the blog below

Read: Creative Employee Recognition Award Names