One time I was out on the field with one of my sales reps and we needed to stop by his house so I could file a periodic inventory of his product samples and supplies.

In the house, he led me to a modest home office. The plaques and various awards on display immediately got my attention, neatly lined up on the shelves attached to the wall on one side of the room. I recognized one of the cards on display—an award I gave to him three months ago to acknowledge his great sales performance. My sales rep turned to me and said, “It’s one of the most meaningful tokens of appreciation I’ve received in my entire life.” He told me he values it more than anything on those shelves.

Then he went on to tell me how that award had helped him push through one of the most difficult period of transition he’d had to face in his professional and personal life.

That’s when I realized the incredible power of recognition. The mark of an outstanding leader isn’t great pep talk or the occasional breakthrough sales performance. What makes a great leader is the ability to make his or her salespeople feel good about themselves so they could achieve that level of success, on a consistent basis.

The question is, how does one deliver masterful praising? Words of encouragement that stick? Here are some tips.

1. Look them in the eyes. It’s that simple. If you’re on the phone, emphasize your words clearly and distinctly. Be specific and tell them exactly what they did to earn your recognition.
2. Pause for effect.
3. Be specific.
4. Find the right timing to deliver your praise. Let it be a mystery when you’ll be praising them again for a job well done. Keep them guessing!
5. Don’t wait for your sales reps to do something correctly before praising them. Provide words of encouragement every step of the way—that’s the secret of extraordinary sales managers.
6. Be specific!

It always leaves a good feeling to hear something nice being said about you. Apply this notion in managing your sales team. The importance of recognizing the efforts and contributions of your sales reps – it is no longer a matter of why

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