Most VPs and Directors already know the uncomfortable truth. Your future will not be decided by one more perfect model, one more flawless deck, or one more process where nothing falls through the cracks.

Those things still matter. But at some point, the question changes. It becomes less about whether you can execute the work and more about whether you can help create it.

As Sher Hafeez, Senior MD at JLL Securities, put it:

“Generating revenue is a skill that you build years in advance of the MD role.”

That is why this clinic matters.

Most bankers are not trained for origination. For 10 or 12 years, you are rewarded for responsiveness, precision, and control. Then, often without much warning, you are expected to build relationships, develop ideas, create opportunities, and show early signs of revenue ownership.

This newsletter is a practical clinic for that transition. Ten real problems VPs and Directors face when trying to originate. And ten fixes you can start using this week.

You will rarely find spare time for origination. You have to protect it.

Marcel Brix, Managing Partner at Blok Management, said it clearly:

“You need to block your calendar with origination weekly.”

The Fix:

Create two recurring BD blocks each week. One deep block for angle development and outreach, and one shorter block for follow-ups and relationship maintenance.

Treat them like client meetings.

Execution is not separate from origination.

It is the platform for it.

Matt Zimmer, Global Head of Investment Banking at William Blair, captured this well:

“Execution… is the best form of origination.”

The Fix:

Use live deals to build insight, access, and follow-up. Every deal should leave you with stronger client context, new relationships, and at least one future angle.

Many MDs are too busy to provide structured coaching.

So build your own coaching portfolio.

The Fix:

Identify two or three MDs and Directors you can learn from. After meetings, ask precise questions: “When you reframed that issue, what were you trying to achieve?” Specific questions produce better coaching than generic requests for feedback.

Generic sales advice often misses the reality of investment banking.

You are not selling a product. You are earning the right to advise.

The Fix:

Translate every framework into IB language. Who is the economic buyer? What is the real offer? What is the next step: a teach-in, market map, board discussion, or mandate conversation?

Find and learn from sources that are tailored to investment banking origination.

The issue is often not confidence. It is preparation.

Philip Ross, Vice Chairman at Jefferies, said:

“Taking a view is what is memorable.”

The Fix:

Use the 3–3–3 rule before every meeting: three things happening to the client, three relevant peer moves, and three questions worth debating.

That turns a market update into a point of view.

Many VPs contribute to origination but cannot explain how.

The Fix:

Define it clearly. Track situations where you created the first serious conversation, introduced a new counterparty, or moved a stalled opportunity forward with a new angle.

If you cannot describe your contribution, others may not remember it.

Your ultimate guide on what to track 👇👇

Activity is not momentum.

The Fix:

Is to ask one better question:

“If this were the right move, what would need to be true internally for you to act in the next 12–24 months?”

That reveals constraints, timing, board issues, leverage limits, and the real path to action.

Marc Jourlait, Operating Partner at The Riverside Company, gave the client-side version of this:

“Don’t just show up when we need you. Show up when we don’t know that we need you and bring value.”

That is what disciplined follow-up is designed to do.

Origination credit can be sensitive.

The Fix:

Is quiet credit plus generous public credit. Document your contribution factually. Publicly give credit to the MD, the team, and the platform.

In reviews, frame your contribution maturely: “The senior relationship rightly sits with the MD, but here are situations where my angle or follow-up helped create momentum.”

Low ego plus clear evidence is powerful.

Relationship building breaks down when it relies on memory. Between execution, internal calls, and live deal pressure, warm conversations fade. Follow-ups get missed. Relationships that could have compounded go quiet.

The Fix:

Create a simple relationship cadence. Track your top relationships in a simple spreadsheet: name, firm, role, last interaction, key topic, next action, and relationship strength.

If your firm has approved AI tools or CRM automation, use them to flag contacts you have not spoken to recently and summarise past interactions before reaching out.

Without numbers, BD progress becomes vibes.

The Fix:

Treat yourself like a small origination business.

Every quarter, review five things: qualified BD meetings, insight-led pitches, qualified opportunities created, mandates originated or co-originated, and forward pipeline sourced.

As we argued in the Origination Scorecard issue: Tracking is not admin. It is ownership.

You do not need 50 metrics.

Start with five:

That is enough to know whether your activity is becoming commercial momentum.

Origination is not magic. It is not reserved for natural rainmakers. And it does not require you to reinvent yourself overnight.

It is built through deliberate behaviours repeated over time: protected time, sharper angles, better questions, consistent follow-up, and a simple way to track whether effort is turning into opportunity.

The bankers who make the leap are often not the loudest or most charismatic. They are the ones who turn execution credibility into commercial trust.

So start small. Pick one problem from this clinic. Apply one fix this week. Then track it.

Because over time, this quarter’s behaviour becomes next cycle’s MD case.