Jayne's phone rang at 9:30 pm. It was a long time client, Mr. Cherry, calling to let her know a tree had fallen on his home. Jayne was his insurance agent. The tree had not gone through the structure but there was obvious concern. Mr. Cherry had called the fire department but they were not able to help. Given the time of night, there was no one who could come out to help. They'd have to wait until the morning. Jayne had planned on calling Mr. Cherry when she got to the office the next day. However, on here way, she decided to stop by instead. She of course asked how he was doing and took some pictures. As she was leaving, Mr. Cherry told her how impressed he was that Jayne would take the time to personally check on him.

Though Mr. Cherry had been a long time client, Jayne did not know he was a mortgage broker. Not only did Jayne end up with several of Mr. Cherry's family members as clients that year, he was personally responsible for over 10 other referrals.

How do you tap into others' networks?

• Always serve others first. If you take care of your network, they will take care of you.
• Consistently build on and deepen the relationships you have with your contacts and clients
• Go the extra mile. Send birthday cards, call occasionally just to say hello, send e-mails thanking them for their business
• Be very careful about dismissing anyone, you never know who they know!

As the famous poet, Maya Angelou wrote, "People will forget what you said, they'll forget what you did, but they'll Never forget how you made them feel".