Prices for executive protection vary. A single bodyguard typically costs $500 to $1,000 aper 12-hour shift, but a round-the-clock executive-protection team might cost a company between $200,000 and more than $1 million a year. Close protection in foreign hot zones can run much higher, from $100,000 to $250,000 per week, given the increased overhead of logistics, armored vehicles, possible air support, and intelligence operations.

Choosing the team with the right skills and experience for a given job is essential. While basic security personnel can be found through trade associations like ASIS International, if there’s a specific threat or an executive has to travel to a volatile region of the world, you’ll need someone who can build a team with specific skill sets.

“There are only a few top-caliber firms that can do this,” Taylor says. “A good sign is if they have Commonwealth of Virginia accreditation.” Virginia has the nation’s most stringent requirements for protection specialists. To become a personal-protection specialist who is licensed to carry a gun, Virginia requires 98 hours of advanced security, firearms, and CPR and first-aid training; 18 hours a year of continuing education for annual requalification; and a background check and fingerprinting. Running a private-security company requires another set of licenses as well as proof of business liability insurance.

The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services lists state-accredited protection services, while the Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive’s site contains executive travel tips and links to annual reports on espionage against American companies.

Other states’ requirements are far less stringent than Virginia’s, and many security firms fall short in terms of training and professionalism.
 
“There are a lot of yahoos and cowboys in this business,” R.D.P. Worldwide’s Fisher says. “When I’m interviewing potential employees, I know 20 percent of what they tell me about themselves is pure fiction. So everything they do, from what they’re wearing to punctuality to the interview is like an interrogation. I want to see how well they handle stress and think on their feet.”

According to Elijah Shaw, whose St. Paul, Minnesota, firm Icon Services has guarded many corporate and celebrity clients, most security personnel come from military or police backgrounds, but that experience doesn’t fully translate to an executive-security job without going through special training.

“Sharpshooting or arrest experience may come in handy, but it’s not the main focus, which is to keep your client out of harm’s way and make his day go as smoothly as possible,” Shaw explains. Shaw says that top schools for executive-protection training include Executive Security International, Trojan Securities International, and R.L. Oatman & Associates, so it’s a good sign if an agent has attended one of these programs.

“Some firms can spend a lot of money on marketing and hype, like recruiting a couple of pedigreed security figures as marketing tools but assign the executive a person with less experience,” Shaw adds. “So you should check out the credentials and chemistry of the specific person assigned to guard you. After all, this could be someone who might one day have to put his life on the line for you.”

“Usually the client tells us only 75 percent of the story,” Fisher says. “The other 25 percent is the real meat and potatoes. It’s up to us to figure it out as we go along. A true protection agent protects and listens, then figures out what is the real situation.”

Also on Portfolio.com:

How to Choose an Executive-Protection Firm
Homeland Security, Corporate America-Style
Risky Business
Safety Measures