Motivation Online (www.motivationonline.com) describes itself as being in the "behavior business." Its online performance improvement and rewards system, launched last January, was built from a foundation of behavioral principles, with the goal of driving sustained, long-term growth.

Here's how it works: Companies get customized home pages. Managers work with Motivation Online to determine specific milestones or behaviors that need to be achieved. Employees earn points for each "behavior," rather than for overall division or corporate goals. Individual employees' progress can be downloaded into reports that managers can use for performance analysis and reviews.

One client used Motivation Online to teach customer service repretives-- who were not trained in sales--to up-sell and cross-sell additional services. The result? A 20 percent increase in sales and a 40 percent increase in customer satisfaction in a three-month period, says Eric Webb, Motivation Online's vice president of marketing.

After an individual's goals are met, the reward delivery side of the site kicks in. Employees claim prizes for points earned, ranging from DVD players to cinema tickets, through Motivation Online's 40 redemption partners. A bonus: Winners click right through to the partners' actual Web sites (Sharper Image or Bose, for example), and can take advantage of the retailers' promotions.