Colette Phillips is a veteran schmoozer who knows just about everybody in town.

This was her schedule on a recent work day: breakfast at the Four Season, a fund-raiser at noon, back-to-back board meetings, a phone session with a client, the theater at 7 p.m.

Phillips, the 45-year-old founder of Colette Phillips Communications in Needham, is definitely not among the networked-challenged. She rarely misses a party of social engagement, and has been known to stop at three or more in a single evening. She sends out dozens of thank you notes monthly, never forgets birthdays, and is constantly adding to or updating her Rolodex.

“When I started my company in 1986, I was out every single night in any given week,” recalled Phillips. “That hasn’t slowed down that much. Why? Because people do business with people they know and socialize with. They’re much more likely to feel at ease with someone they’ve broken bread with, had a drink with, or talked to at a party than a complete stranger.”

Entrepreneurs are not the only ones who can gain from networking. Employees who master the art of social engagement, or schmooze, make more money, receive more stellar evaluations, and are apt to scale the corporate ladder faster than those who speak their minds or adhere to a particular set of values no matter what the situation, say researchers.

Back when the rugged individualist was more likely to win points for aggressive single-mindedness and a hard-driving competitive spirit, schmooze was a dirty word. Schmoozers were “Apple polishers” and “brown-nosers”—men and women who “sucked up to” the boss.

Today, however, the socially gifted (about 40 percent of the general population) tend to be highly successful in a new economy where teamwork, affability, mobility, and having valued, says Martin Kilduff, a management professor at Penn State University.

Not everyone finds schmoozing easy, however. Ken Morse, an MIT professor who directs its Entrepreneurship Center, has developed a formula called “cocktail calculus: to help those who have a hard time connecting. Morse uses the formula to teach students how to get the most out of an event or cocktail party. An admitted schoomzer, he maintains that with some efforts and a healthy dose of sincerity most of use can become effective networking pros.

When attending formal networking events with potential employers, Morse said, “You must know your distinctive competence, what you’re good at and what you like to do. You must do your homework. If there is a company at the event that you would like to work for, you should know the business and learn something about the people who run it before you make contact”

Morse advises students not to drink and to avoid congregating at the bar. Instead, he tells them to strike up a conversation while at the banquet table because people waiting to be served are not in a hurry. A simple hello will do, he said, adding that one should never, never begin in a conversation with “I.”

“The best way to approach your target is to be introduced by someone he or she respects,” said Morse. “This means doing the homework beforehand. Know who is going to be at the event so you can immediately establish rapport.”

Kilduff is among three researchers who studied the work lives of 102 employees and managers at a high-tech firm in New England in order to better understand the importance of social interaction in a corporate setting.

What they found is that some of the best schmoozers just can’t help it: They’re born that way. Kilduff said these schoomers have a personality trait called “high self-monitoring.” Not all high self monitors are charismatic, but two of the best known are: Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan.

“High self-monitoring often shows up among successful politicians and actors,” noted Kilduff. “These are people who change their behavior, their attitudes, and expressions to suit the demands of a particular situation. We call them chameleons.”

By contrast, “low self-monitors,” Who represents 60 percent of the overall population, tend to have strong beliefs, traits and opinions. They are also less likely to change their points of view. These are people who know what they want and are less likely to change or “go along to get along.”

“They tend, however, not to pay much attention to what others want or what the demands of a situation are,” said Kilduff. “They may speak up inappropriately, and they can be a pain in the neck. The chameleons listen more carefully, and they are more apt to adjust their own views and behaviors so as to get along. They are less likely to quarrel with supervisors, for example. Both are good performers, but high self-monitors tend to take on far more than average…In the workplace, that approach tends to be fairly valuable.“

The workplace friends of high self-monitors come from many different departments and from many different points of power within a company, say researchers.  One drawback: high self-monitors are less likely to stay in a particular city or with a particular company simply because of strong relationships or social ties.

Love self-monitors tend to gravitate toward like-minded people and their commitments and ties run deep. They are less likely to dive up relationships in order to more up and, if necessary, out to bigger and better things.

Management consultants have another name for the way people interact in and out of the workplace. They call it social capital. They maintain that the ability to build networks and friendships is a form of capital that can boost a firm’s bottom line, especially if the schmoozing occurs after hours.

Jim McHugh, a natural schmoozer who is director of business development at Salary.com, has a lot of social capital, his colleagues say.

Mchugh is the type of person whom clients, colleagues, and friends can tap for hard-to-find tickets to concerts, and sporting events. Can’t make a reservation at a popular restaurant? Contact McHugh, a schmoozer who knows everybody, from bus boys and waitresses to the maitre’d.

“A lot of people go to networking events, but you really have to naturally enjoy meeting people for it to be successful,” he said. “Successful networkers enjoy helping people. In fact, the giving aspect is the key: When you help others, it all comes back to you.”

Phillips, who was born and raised in Antigua but came to Boston more than 20 years ago to attend college, said networking goes beyond “breaking the ice with someone.”

“It’s not enough to go to an event and simply network,” she said. “You have to follow up, remember names. Also, when you meet someone, that person should be the most important person to you.