The next few weeks can be a great time to build relationships and keep in touch with your best clients. The rewards can be very real as one client shared with me:

In early January, I got a call from a COO of a major client I hadn't spoken to in about 4 months. He started out by saying he was so touched that I had taken the time to write a personal note on my Christmas card-- especially because he knows how busy we all are.

Then he asked us to work on a really high-profile project that's worth approximately $750,000 in legal fees. Maybe we would have gotten the work anyway, but that note obviously helped ensure that we were "front of mind" when he decided to pick up the phone.

I'd say that's a pretty good return for a 41 cent stamp, a $2 holiday card and about 10 minutes of effort, wouldn't you?

If you'd like to make an impression on your best clients this year, here are some tips for making the most of your holiday contacts:

Holiday Cards:
1. If you're sending holiday cards, add a handwritten note of at least two to three sentences. It takes only a few minutes to add a personal sentiment, but it goes a long way in making your card stand out and letting the client know that you really value the relationship. If you aren't going to write a personal note, skip the card altogether. Do you want to leave a good client with the impression that they aren't worth a few minutes of your time?

If you look at your holiday card list and you just can't imagine writing all those people a personal note, prioritize the list and whittle it down to a manageable size. Forget the rest.

2. Mail your cards either early or late. If your card arrives on December 22, it will be lost in the deluge of other cards. If you just can't get your cards in the mail by December 15 so they'll arrive ahead of the flood, mail out Happy New Year cards in the first few weeks of January instead.

3. Consider skipping using your firm's cards and buy a few dozen cards that are "you"--whether because of the charity they support, the whimsical nature of the card or the theme. It's a $30 investment that can make you stand out from the crowd. Nothing like receiving the same five cards from a law firm to reinforce the message that little thought went into holiday greetings.

Client Gifts:
1. For key clients, skip the generic gifts such as fruit baskets or gourmet brownies and select gifts that match the recipients' interests--whether that be cooking, gardening, traveling to exotic locales or '60s music. There is a book or magazine subscription out there for just about any interest (just check out Amazon). Or send them something that is personal to you--a favorite book or CD--and share why it's meaningful.

Don't know what your clients' interests are? Your first business development task for the New Year is to find out. Ask questions and keep track of the answers; then use that information next year to select thoughtful gifts.

2. For more ideas, turn your assistant loose for an hour with The GIFTionary: An A-Z Reference Guide for Solving Your Gift-Giving Dilemmas...Forever! by Robyn Freedman Spizman.

3. So your firm doesn't reimburse you for client gifts? Don't let that get in the way of investing in important relationships. If you have 10 good clients and you send each of them a $25 gift (the gift limit at many companies), that's a total investment of $250. That seems like a pretty small sum to spend on clients who pay you thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of dollars in fees each year.

Holiday Entertaining:
1. Consider planning an outing with clients to a holiday concert or play. One of my clients takes her own clients to see The Nutcracker and invites them to bring along their children. If you're not a fan of these kinds of events, consider giving your clients tickets to go to an event without you.

2. If the last week of December is a slow time for you, consider inviting a good client or referral source to share a leisurely lunch. If your client lives in a distant city, get a gift certificate to a restaurant that is local to them (Zagats.com can help you find one) and invite them to enjoy a lunch on you.

New Year's Resolutions:
1. If you've been looking for an excuse to get in touch with someone you haven't talked to in a while, use your New Year's resolution. You can start the conversation with something flattering like:

"My New Year's resolution is to get back in touch with some of my favorite former clients. You're at the top of my list. How are things going?"

Don't let the holidays slip by without taking advantage of the special opportunities they present for deepening those personal relationships that are at the core of successful business development.