In business, extremes are dangerous. We should all keep that in mind when nurturing business relationships.

A frosty, all-business attitude ultimately leaves your business partners cold. When a better deal comes along, partners will be quick to leave you in the cold.

Business is no place for soap opera, either. Get too familiar with your business partners, and you risk the worst of consequences.

Great relationship builders take the middle road between the technician and the drama queen. They get to know people personally, but don’t make friendship the linchpin of their relationship. Why? Because they don’t want to get themselves in a position where personal considerations influence them to make decisions contrary to their business interests.

This is why purchasing departments rotate buying assignments. It’s why sales managers should never become best buds with the newest sales trainee.

Knowing where to draw the line on familiarity takes judgment, a clear understanding of your priorities, and a measure of experience dealing with people.

Most sales people and buyers learn their lessons the hard way. They don’t know how to respond when a customer crosses the line. They don’t even know when they’ve crossed the line.

You can’t learn how to balance friendship and business from a textbook. Every situation is different. There are many angles to consider, and many ways to go wrong. That’s why among my areas of concentration in sales coaching, this area is the most important and most conducive to a coaching approach.