Maybe that's a little extreme. How about this? Stop Being JUST a Friend.

Yes, I preach about the importance of making friends in this business.

"It's not who you know, it's who knows you," and all that jazz.

When we talk about networking, our mantra is "Make a friend ... get invited back."

But success in my business revolves around more than just making friends. Yes, it's about opening doors by being friendly. But, to turn a friend into a client, I have to get a little ugly. I have to get people upset.

If I'm not getting people upset, I'm not going to get business. Getting people upset is counter-intuitive to most of us. We want to be seen as the good friend, the confidant, the counselor, the guide, the coach, the "trusted advisor"

Asking people tough questions can stir up negative emotions.

Here's something else I talk about a lot: 80% necessity thinkers and 20% possibility thinkers. Necessity thinkers will only take action when they absolutely have to and 80% of my prospects are necessity-driven.

Those necessity thinkers need to be reminded of those negative emotions. Remember, they spend most of their time mired in their day to day treadmill of things they MUST do.

I have to remind them there's another way. I have to get them to verbalize, "Now why didn't I think of that?"

Making people feel like they should know better shouldn't make me seem cold, distant, heartless, or not-friend-like. It makes me seem like I care. And I want all of my prospects/clients to know that I care about:

• Them

• Their businesses

• Their lives

• Their results?

So, I'm not afraid to ask the questions that will get my prospects at least a little upset. Don't worry. They'll still want to be my friend.