marketing & sales: Are You the George Clooney of Your Market
So how do you become a bankable advisor who is sought after and earns high fees? Here are seven power questions you must ask and answer to move yourself toward bankability in the business world:
1. Do you offer clients utterly consistent quality, again and again? You must build a reputation for consistent delivery, year in and year out. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley lead the IPO market because they are perceived to have reliably procured capital, at the right price, for hundreds of newly listed companies. On the other hand, I've had clients with such a history of quality issues that they struggled to come up with reliable references when prospects asked for their names. As a result, their margins have been cut, and they face endless RFPs (Requests for Proposals). They are not bankable. I've heard this quality input from many top executives as they've talked about their most trusted advisors: "You have to deliver, deliver, deliver; and over time, my trust in you will build up."