Tony Bolazina

President, Northern Trust Bank

• "Do your homework, and always allow time in your day for follow-up."

Bolazina feels following the advice he received from a former boss 21 years ago has helped him increase his ability to close a business deal.

"The closure rate is going to be much higher if a person does their homework on the company and individual. By knowing the situation, they can bring that to the meeting," Bolazina said, "then follow up within two weeks."

"We helped a private family foundation write their investment policy. We did our homework by pulling examples from work we'd done for previous foundations and presenting them to the client. We wanted the foundation to see how they could do from an investment perspective."