Send handwritten notes. That applies whether you're a guy or a gal. It's not about being touchy-feely, it's about maintaining good business relationships with the people you know and the prospects you meet.

Think about this. When you get your mail, what's the first envelope that gets opened? For most people, it's the envelopes that are genuinely handwritten (not the direct mail "fake" stuff we all get).

Your contacts feel the same way too.

A hand written note sends a unique message to the receiver. Primarily that you cared enough to take a few minutes to sit down and write in this day and age of instant communication. An email just doesn't pack the same punch.

Quick survey -- how many of you have emails standing up on your bookshelves? Probably none. But I bet you have at least one personal note you've received from someone up there or saved in a file somewhere.

It only takes a few minutes each day to write a note, two or three sentences will do. Make it a habit and you'll be truly memorable to other people because so few do it. It's a great way for your business to stand above the crowd.

Denise O'Berry

With more than two decades of operational and management experience, Denise O'Berry has developed a sharp eye for how businesses get bloated with inefficiencies, cross-purposes and miscommunication -- and how they can retool for a sleeker, smoother, strategically focused organization.

An entrepreneur who quickly built her own successful consulting business, she helps other small business owners set priorities, take action to grow their business and create the balance they want between life and work. Her clients have ranged from telecommunications giants like Verizon to Mom-and-Pop retail shops with a primary focus on those having 10 or fewer employees and up to $2.5 million in annual sales.

Denise frequently speaks to professional organizations, is the author of three booklets, and several "how-to" manuals. She writes a weekly small business column, hosts an online small business owners forum and is called upon regularly by publications such as Entrepreneur, Bank Rate Small Business, Florida Trend, Inc., various newspapers, radio and television to provide expert comments on small business issues.