Trendy Electronics
The latest and greatest gadgets often have the longest-lasting motivational effect, says Brooke Bryand, senior events manager for The Castle Group, a Boston–based company that customizes sales incentive programs. These types of incentives are especially motivating to younger tech-savvy employees. Bryand cites products like Apple's iPod MP3 player and digital cameras.

Gift Cards
To make gift cards even more motivating, have them reflect personal tastes and market them as an experience. For instance, one of the popular gift cards in Bryand's programs is the $500 Home Depot card, marketed as an opportunity to renovate the home.

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Games Companies Play Sure, the big annual incentive trip is a great reward for top performers. But, does it effectively motivate all employees? Here's how companies use fun and frequent spot rewards to keep their whole work force revved up year-round. Spiffy Products The prospect of winning a new stereo system or a gift card to a favorite store can be just as motivating—and can deliver similar results—as holding out for the luxury cruise. Here are some top products that managers and experts say are popular spiff rewards.

Experiential Rewards
Mini vacations, spa treatments and sports tickets, for instance, are highly popular incentives that also let family members get involved. "Sporting events are nice because the person comes back on Monday and is still talking about it," says Tom Morrill, lead principal for the marketing and sales practice at PRTM, a consulting firm based in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Humorous Rewards
Sometimes it's not about the prize so much as what the prize symbolizes. One popular contest at Canvas Systems, a used IT equipment provider in Norcross, Georgia, recognized sales managers who completed paperwork on the status of older inventory by awarding them a singing fish to display on their desks. (Managers chose a fish for their Canvas Return-to-Manufacturer and Product Inventory Efficiency contest, dubbed CRAPPIE, which is a type of fish.) "It let everyone know that you were winning the CRAPPIE contest," says Ed Flachbarth, a vice president of sales at Canvas

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