When you create a document, do you include a cover page? Formal header and footer? Appendices? This sounds pretty standard, right? However, do you actually need to include all of these things in EVERY document? Probably not.

I’m not advocating lowering the standards of your work products. The point I’m trying to make is that before you create a document, you should determine what you need to include based on what you are trying to accomplish. Why does it matter? What harm could a few extra pages do? Here are some of the possible consequences:

• Miss your deadline - If you get caught up too much in extra sections when you don’t need to, it is easy to miss your deadline. Before you know it, your work is due and all you have is a table of contents and a cover page.

• Your point is missed - By including unnecessary sections in your document, you may make your main point unclear to your audience. This basically defeats the purpose of writing the document in the first place.

• Forget important content - This is another pitfall; You might forget important content that you didn’t have time to focus on because of these unnecessary additions. You need to make sure all of your base content is there and then worry about the extras.

Now that we’ve established the consequences, how do you go about avoiding them? This is a tough question as the answer is very dependent on your situation. However, here are some questions to ask yourself when creating your document:

• Who is your audience? - This can be the deal breaker. Are you writing for a co-worker or for a client? In general, you want to keep it very formal when writing for a client. If it’s a co-worker, you might not have to get so formal. This isn’t always the case, but it’s definitely something to consider.

• Is it really necessary? - This is a question you should ask yourself before you include a section (such as an appendix). A good example of this would be a table of contents. If you’re writing a two page document, do you really need a table of contents? Most likely not. If you can’t answer a definitive “Yes” to this question, you’re probably better off leaving this section out.

• Does it make your point clearer? - Another big concern of yours should be to make sure that everything that you add to your document makes your point clearer. Using the table of contents example above, if you add it, will it make your document easier to navigate? If you add an appendix, does it make your information easier to understand? These are the questions you should be asking.

Remember this: How much you should have in your documents is highly situational. Sometimes you may need to put in what you think are unnecessary sections just because that’s how your company does it (if you disagree, you should suggest a change). However, when you have a choice, try to keep the above tips in mind.

Ladies, I’m not sure if this happens to you, but I’ve definitely seen and heard it in the Men’s Room. This event I’m referencing is talking on your cell phone in the bathroom. I can’t even begin to imagine how someone would think that this is ok. The amazing part is that I’ve heard people have entire conversations with their boss or client WHILE IN THE BATHROOM! How rude is that, not to mention a tad gross. I think you can see where this tip is going: If you get a phone call in the bathroom, for the love of god, WAIT until you get outside of the bathroom to answer. If they have to wait a minute for you to call them back, I’m sure the world won’t end.

If you have multiple clients, it’s very easy to lose track of their phone numbers (if you even had them to begin with). That’s why every time that a client calls me and I don’t have their phone number on file, I add it to my cell phone (if they called on that) or my Microsoft Outlook Contacts section. Even if you have almost no interaction with this client, you never know when you might need to get a hold of them in a hurry. It takes only a few minutes, and yet it may save you from coming up short in a crunch situation.

The Business Card can be seen as the hallmark of taking your first step on the corporate ladder. Getting your first business card is a major milestone in any young professional’s career, however once you get it, who do you give it to? Relatives? Neighbors? Small pets? Your goldfish? The possibilities seem endless.

Usually when you’re on the bottom rung, you only get a limited amount of cards to work with. It might seem like a lot at first, but you would be surprised how quickly they can go (especially if you hand them out to your goldfish, they always need a couple). So how do you decide who takes priority? I’ve listed three groups below that you will usually need to hand out your business cards to, so you should always reserve some for them.

• Clients - Obviously, this is the big one. More often than not, your clients will want your contact information, and the easiest way to do this is with your business card. Also, you can get theirs in return, which gives you access to their contact information. Handing out your business cards to your client is also a long standing business practice that reflects well on the professionalism of both you and your company. Unless they specifically request otherwise, you really can’t go wrong handing out your business card to your clients.

• Senior Executives in your company - You need to be tactful when doing this, but if done properly this can be a powerful networking tool for you. Don’t just run up to your CEO and shove a card in their face, but if you are introduced it can’t hurt to throw a business card their way. Also, if you have a speaker who is a senior executive and you stay to meet them afterwards, you can offer them a business card as well. If you make a good impression, it might lead to excellent opportunities in your company that you might not have been considered for before (this is especially true in large companies). Also remember that “Senior Executive” does not have to be a CEO, it can be your boss’s boss or even your boss. As long as you are tactful, this kind of PR (Public Relations) can only help your career.

• Your Co-Workers - What? Does this sound like a waste of a good business card? Actually, it’s not as long as you don’t get carried away. A great way to use this is if you are at a conference or training event where you meet people from your company that might work in a different location (even a different country). You never know when these kinds of contacts can come in handy, and it’s much easier to keep in contact with someone across the country when you have their phone number or email in your hand.

This is not to say that you can’t give some away to your family, friends, and neighbors. It’s an exciting thing to do and you should take full advantage of it. However, the point that I want to make is this: You should always have some reserve business cards for the groups that I have mentioned above. Other than that, you can distribute the rest of your stock however you want.

Since the rise of cell phone use in the workplace, this question has plagued people at all levels of management: Should you give your cell phone number out to your client? The quick answer seems like “Sure, why not?”. However, I urge you to think about this before you go ahead and give it out.

Here are five questions to ask yourself before you make this decision:

• Are you the sole owner of the cell phone? - Sometimes couples will share a common cell phone. If you’re not the only person who uses your cell phone I would strongly advise that you don’t give this number out. This is because you can’t be sure what kind of reception your client will receive when they call. For example, what if the person you share it with thinks it’s a telemarketer and is rude? Or what if they accidentally erase a message or hang up? Because of this, you need to make sure you are the only person with access to this phone if you decided to give the number out.

• Do you check your messages/answer it regularly? - This is another important point. If you don’t check your cell phone messages regularly or you don’t have it on most of the time, then you shouldn’t give your number out. Most likely, if your client is trying to reach you on your cell phone then it is an urgent matter (at least to them, which means it is to you too). You have to make sure that you answer it, or that you get back to them in a timely manner.

• Do you get good cell phone service at your office? - If your clients can’t reach you, then that number is no good to them. It also will just frustrate them to have a number that they can never reach you at during normal business hours. Make sure you have a strong signal during the business day, otherwise don’t bother giving them your number.

• Are you willing to be on call 24X7? - Once your client gets a hold of your cell phone number, I can guarantee that they will call you regardless of the hour or day of the week. Weekends, nights, you will get a call if they feel they need to contact you. You need to think about what this will mean to not only you, but to your family as well. This is a significant intrusion into their personal lives, and you should see what they think before making a decision.

• Does your company allow it? - This is the most important question of all. You must make sure that your company allows you to give your cell phone number to your clients. 99% of the time, this is no problem, but some companies do have a problem with this. Even if your company doesn’t, clear it with your boss first.

These are just five of the more common questions you could ask yourself, make sure to brainstorm for anything specific to your situation. The main thing to remember is this: This is a very important decision to make and it should not be made without a good amount of thought put into it.

Depending on your business and your job role, you may or may not have much direct client interaction.  This article is aimed at people who have significant amounts of client interaction already or who have the possibility of having client interaction.

The Client.  This simple phrase can turn some people’s insides to jelly.  Their knees begin to shake, and they start to get cold sweats.  To some, it feels like the nice warm safety blanket has just been ripped away from them and now they are completely exposed.  Client interactions can be nerve wracking, but it doesn’t have to be so.  In fact, you should look at it this way:  every client experience is a new chance to further strengthen your relationship with the client. 

There are many ways to build a strong client relationship.  A good starting point is to work on the little things.  For example, be punctual.  If you have a meeting with your client at 10:00, be there at 9:55.  It never hurts to be a little early, and although it doesn’t seem like it, this is one of those little things that will really stick out in the clients mind.  This is especially true if your client is usually a busy person, as their time will be at a premium.  Busy people appreciate contacts who they can count on to be on time, as they probably have a tight schedule for the rest of the day.

Another good idea is to dress to either the clients standards, or your company’s standards, whichever one is more formal.  If you work in a business casual workplace (which more and more people do), and your client is business formal, dress business formal when you have meetings with them, regardless of the location of the meeting (either at your office or theirs).  If you are going to be doing professional work for your client, for which they are probably paying a good amount of money, you have to look the part.  This will make the client feel more confident that you can get the job done for them, and get it done right.  With the number of businesses who operate a casual work environment growing, standing out as well dressed can be a big bonus for you. 

Furthermore, having informal meetings outside of your formal meetings with the client can really help your status as their trusted advisor.  For example, say you are in their office for something else, if you can, stop by their cube or office and see how they are doing.  Even if it ends up being just 5 minutes of small talk, it goes a long way for your standing in the clients eyes.  Better yet, you might get some information that was not shared in the formal meeting that can even further help you serve their business needs.  It also might help you to learn more details about their business, which also helps you to provide service to them better, and possibly explore new areas that you can help them with. 

One word of caution: be careful that you don’t become too casual with client, remember they are still the client.  I’ll say it again, at the end of the day, they are still the client.  It is very easy to slip across that line if your not careful.  This can lead to disaster, so make sure that you always keep in the back of your mind that THEY ARE THE CLIENT.