At the corporate sales meetings where I give presentations, I am often asked to participate in giving out sales awards. The customer is elated when I say OK. Little do they know it's one of my favorite things to do, and one of the most important parts—if not the most important part—of their meeting.

Please note: These are not contests; they're sales-achievement awards.

People's names are called for one achievement or another, and their name and photo are shown on big screens in front of their peers. They walk to the stage to accept their award, smiling, beaming, and full of pride.

Photos are taken, hands are shaken, plaques are awarded, inscriptions are read aloud, and prizes are given to the people who won—nay, earned—the award. All their hard work is recognized, in public.

What's the value of this? It can't be measured. To quote MasterCard, it's "priceless."

You can measure performance, but you can't measure pride of achievement. Nor can you measure the motivation and inspiration to continue to achieve. The stimulus for the people who receive the awards isn't measured in some government bailout; it's internal stimulus created from personal pride and accomplishment—winning, selling. When someone wins an award there are several unspoken benefits.

There is the incentive for that person to maintain or improve his or her performance to stay at the top, and there is huge stimulus for others in the audience to try to win an award next year.

It's important to award achievement in public—not just at the meeting, but also on your blog, in your e-zine, and posted on your Web site.

Sales incentives and awards are economic stimulus of the first degree. In challenging economic times, sales are what will make a company recover. You must sell your way to profit and success.

How many of the bailout billions GM received is the company using to teach car salespeople how to sell in a way that doesn't breed customer anger and disrespect? My bet is not one penny.

One of the reasons GM is on shaky ground is that it couldn't sell as many cars as its competition. This stems from a lack of respect for car salespeople and "iffy" advertising like "a dollar over invoice."

Car sales were down last year and continue to slide this year. The reality is, 7.8 million new cars were sold last year. What percentage went to GM? The answer is, not enough. Maybe a better answer lies in salespeople and their incentive to perform honorably, and to be rewarded for their achievement. Just a thought.

Maybe if auto dealers rewarded their salespeople on the number of customers who were repeat buyers, or the percentage of customers who also use the service department, rather than "number of units sold," they would be in less of a mess.

Our new president doesn't seem to understand the power of rewarding the performance of salespeople. Too bad.

Recognize salespeople for a job well done, and they will recognize you. Praise salespeople for a job well done, and they will praise you. Reward salespeople for a job well done, and they will continue to reward you.

Why don't you take a look at your company, your salespeople, and your awards and rewards. Maybe some recognition reorganization is in order. Maybe instead of "cutting," you might try "investing"—especially in salespeople. They are your bailout.

Here's a note to management: Instead of strategizing how to trim compensation plans as a disincentive and morale breaker to all, why not invest in a sales meeting and a celebration to reward those who have achieved at the highest level? Why not challenge those in the audience to believe that they, too, can win these awards next year if they decide to dedicate the time and effort to do so?

Want the secrets to winning the sales award in your company? Those secrets include your "Yes!" attitude with everyone you come in contact with, creating a value proposition in terms of the customer, your dedication to helping and serving others, creating a buying atmosphere when you meet customers, and hard work.