At least demand a copy of Mom's confirmation slip. Have realistic expectations. With the 30-year Treasury bond yielding less than 6.7 percent, you cannot expect to earn 10 percent returns easily. Don't repeat the same bond mistakes you made in the past, such as buying bond issues you really didn't understand. Read, read, read.
Information is plentiful, so use it.
Do business with more than one broker. Often by shopping around for the best bonds you can increase your portfolio yield. Don't buy what you don't understand. Baby Bells got clobbered in 1996 because of deregulation concerns. Now they're cheap with prospective earnings growth of 8 to 12 percent vs. less than 5 percent for overall corporate profits.