1.  Hand written notes. Take time out of your day once a week to send out a few hand-written thank yous and follow up notes. I can’t tell you how much this means to people and REALLY makes you stand out in a crowd.   You can also have fun with it: personalize some of them to match your personality…my favorites are the Lu Lu note cards. If you know the person you just met with loves to golf, send a golf note card!
    
2. Quality vs. Quantity. Instead of trying to greet the whole room, set a goal of meeting 2 or 3 GREAT contacts. Do this for each and every networking meeting you attend. Try to connect with many people but prioritize 3 names. Pick people that can impact your business or individuals that you really connected with on a personal level. For example, you walk your dogs at the same city dog park.
    
3.  Commit to one fantastic group. Then get involved. There is only so much time in the day and it can be exhausting running from one networking group to another. Many times you are so busy planning and getting to these networking meetings you forget all about the group or industry focus. My favorite is PWCC -- Professional Women’s Club of Chicago (www.pwcc.org ) I can’t say enough about the group, the structure and the connections it has given me the past years. Also, when you focus on one group, you build a consistent message. The same people see you every month and this builds character, which you cannot do by just passing your business card to 5 people as you run to your next networking meeting.
    
4. Always GIVE before you receive! And the sooner the better. Really take time to listen to what others do, ask questions and ask for specific examples, such as “Who do you want to meet?” If we listen and give more, I promise the referrals will keep coming to you. It may not be from every individual you meet or even the person you made an introduction for, but it will come back to you. It's karma: your good deed will jump start the universal principal of cause and effect. If you are not sure how to help someone, just SMILE and ask, “How can I help you?”
    
5. USE YOUR NETWORK! So many times we forget to use our network. I pride myself on using my network and just before the holidays I found myself ordering gifts from a company in Connecticut, someone I did not know and from someone in a different state! I immediately stopped myself as I read a blog on my networking group PWCC’s website, and placed an order with someone in the group. It is so easy to lose track of time and contacts. Challenge yourself- pick 2 or 3 individuals, write their name on a post-it note in your planner or on your desk, and find them business!

Pam Flaherty is a Vice President with Schwartz Brothers Insurance in Chicago, IL. She is responsible for developing new business and ensuring a consistent flow of new revenue for the practice. Pam has served the insurance and risk management needs of clients for more than 16 years, specializing in the needs of the affluent and high-net worth individuals. The foundation of her practice is built on service, realizing that every individual and family has different needs. Pam Flaherty (#312-630-0858) pflaherty@schwartzbrothers.com.

A version of this article appeared in the January issue of Today’s Chicago Woman. Check it out at www.tcwmag.com/5-tips-to-b-a-ower-networker