Who Is Most Marketable To Be Next Prime Minister?
Published: June 05, 2019

It’s not always the best qualified person that becomes leader. It’s regularly who is the most marketable that can be selected by the public.

After the battering the Conservatives have received recently, mainly because of their poor handling of Brexit. Leading to Theresa May’s resignation.

If the party is going to stand any chance of rehabilitating their tarnished image. They are going to have to select someone, who can appeal to the pubic.

But who is the most marketable?

Many politicians have thrown their hat in the ring. On the surface, it looks like Boris Johnson is the overwhelming favourite. After all, he is the most recognised of all the candidates.

However, I am of the opinion, Dominic Raab is the dark horse who is going to give him a run for his money. The other candidates, I don’t believe have the overall marketable appeal to reach the end.

While the first challenge is to get Brexit out of the way, and it is a big challenge. The overall objective is to have a candidate who has the potential to win the next General Election. So those selecting the next candidate need to recognise this…and fast.

It is a two horse race

Both have their pros and cons, Although Boris is the front runner, I am not sure if it is a certainty. He and his team could have done more to repackage him more effectively to secure the position. Dominic Raab, however, is a fresher face in the scheme of things.

Over the next two articles, we will undertake two assessments using two unique tools to determine which of the two has the greater marketable appeal to become the next Leader.

Marketability Characteristics

This article focuses on a superficial assessment based on the Marketability Characteristics model designed by Andy T Cumming.

It measures who has the most market appeal to be the preferred choice to become the recognised authority and the next Prime Minister.

If you are a betting person, then Dominic Raab is certainly worth a flutter at this stage.

Presence

Boris Johnson is more recognised in the market. He has received overwhelming exposure. As Mayor of London, he was consistently in the public eye. He is a media favourite but more so for saying and doing the wrong things. He also has a much stronger online presence than his counterpart.

Dominic Raab does not nearly have the same amount of presence in the market and is less known. This will stand against him. He will have to significantly have to increase his exposure in the coming weeks.

Perception

Boris is often seen as a bit of buffoon; he is overweight, his hair is a mess and looks somewhat dishevelled and unorganised, not characteristics to inspire confidence as a Head of State. He does have his followers who consider him charming and charismatic. However, he is similarly disliked, by those who find him unpredictable and untrustworthy. No doubt he’s an intelligent man but that doesn’t matter if people don’t see it.

Dominic, on the other hand, is a direct contrast. He is tall, well-groomed, good looking, with a strong posture and demeanour. This makes him look more in control and inspires confidence. He has far more market appeal to be perceived as a leader.

Performance

Boris often suffers from saying things that are at times inappropriate. But he is an accomplished and strong debater who is very good at driving his message forward. Put him up against the likes of Jeremy Corbyn and he would most likely wipe the floor with him.

Dominic has not been fully tested yet in a public domain. Although we suspect that behind closed doors he could be a tough negotiator. This is what possibly made him unpopular with his EU counterparts. He is polished and articulate. He could do with a bit of voice coaching to deepen his voice giving additional assertiveness, although we have yet to see him in full throttle.

Productivity

Boris has a mixed track record and while he has some followers there are plenty of people who don’t trust or like him. Particularly some within his own party. He had some success as Mayor of London which is in his favour. Having held this position of authority, it could be evidence enough that he has enough leadership capabilities.

Dominic does have an impressive resume. As a lawyer turned politician he ticks many boxes. He is thought of highly in party circles and has been entrusted with senior responsibilities. While that may be an indication that he has what it takes, is it enough for the top position.

Marketable Summary

Boris has a mixed record and is not considered trustworthy if you consider his ill-thought-out Tweets. He has more political capital, but in the context of the current political landscape, he can be perceived as part of the conservative establishment.

Dominic does not have much political baggage, yet he is an unknown in areas where he could take advantage. He brings a fresh face and has not accumulated enough negative publicity.

At this early stage, they are both fairly evenly matched.

Just to clarify, this particular assessment does not measure whether they can deliver. It merely measures the marketable appeal needed to be selected as the preferred choice. It has been amended for the political arena as the criteria for business people and professionals are different.

The Marketability Builder was designed by Andy T Cumming for the purpose of identifying the external characteristics of your position in the market to become a recognised authority in your industry.

Download this free marketability cheat sheet.

In the next article, we will be be covering the Impact Characteristics. Where we break down the internal factors to assess whether they could be the next Prime Minister.

Andy T Cumming
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