6. Take thinking or processing work to a meeting, seminar or conference.

7. Use different color or different style hats to indicate when you're changing roles. A small project team I worked on recently did this so everyone knew what "hat" (role) we were wearing (performing) at any given time during day.

8. Think, plan your day, etc. in shower, or if you take mass transit, on trolley or bus. I know this will sound compulsive to some of you, but I have an acrylic board in my shower & a grease pen available to jot down ideas when they come to me. (Why do best ideas seem to come when it's least convenient to capture them?)

9. Get co-workers to send you audio rather than written reports, and friends to send cassette "letters" so you can listen to them while driving. Many email programs now make it possible to record messages that you can download to digital recorders for replay later.

7. State comments in a positive way. Choosing positive and motivating words when speaking with a client will show you are a skilled communicator, and it will keep your client interested.

8. Surprise every client (in a good way!). Give your new or existing clients something of extra value at no charge that will increase your worth to them in their eyes.

9. Go extra mile. Always do more than client expects. While delivering a training program to a large telecommunications firm's customer service representatives, one of participants told me she had been having a problem getting hypertext links to open from her emails. I'd had same kind of problem before, so I took a look. An upgrade to company's email program had turned that feature off. I ran a quick executable from a Command Prompt window, and voila! problem was solved. That participant happened to be Manager of Technical Support. I now have a long-term contract to deliver a broad range of training for that company, plus I deliver several speeches at company's conventions and meetings every year.

10. Be on time! One of most aggravating things to a client is when you're late or don't show up. Avoid saying, "I'll be there between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m." Your client's time is as valuable as your own. If you are taking longer than expected on a call, notify client that you will be delayed and give them option to reschedule.

11. Be worthy of a referral. The next time you are working on a project for a client, remember, they are (usually) experts in their own fields and communicate with many other friends in similar businesses. Offer client a referral fee or a discount for referrals. Put a referral code on back of your business cards so you can track referrals as they come in.