So, you’ve decided to open a brokerage? Great! Now, let us give you a few tips that will help your business skyrocket and set you apart from the rest of the industry. We’re not going to be talking about regulation and legal requirements here, but about how to develop and retain a high quality sales force that will eventually make your brokerage profitable. Here we will discuss seemingly small things that will help your brokerage exceed client expectations, because as they say – the devil is in the details.
1. Invest in a welcoming design
When you build your trading company’s website, you essentially start with a “blank canvas” which you must design according to your own branding strategy in order to make it your own. You need to make sure that it is welcoming, clear, concise and that your traders can navigate through it smoothly.
2. Listen to sales calls
Listening to your sales force’s calls is a simple action that pays dividends. It’s one of the most beneficial things you can do because it confers three main advantages: First, it allows you to monitor the quality of your sales team and identify points of improvement. Second, it lets your employees know that you are not detached from what is happening on the sales floor, thus boosting their confidence in the brokerage’s management. And third, it allows you to monitor your staff’s level of motivation, enthusiasm and professionalism – and to take action accordingly.
3. Train your staff to know their business
Communication skills are not enough for a good Forex sales representative, and a thorough understanding of Forex trading is necessary. This holds true because most sales calls do not end after the initial pitch, but often include an extensive back-and-forth between the representative and the client, and trained salesmen that are equipped with the right knowledge, have been proven to bring more clients than storytellers with no real knowledge of the business. This does not mean that you need to send all of your sales representatives to university, although employees with an academic background have proven to give brokerages an added value. But be creative: arrange in-house classes, send promising employees to industry conferences and/or lectures or give them materials to study at home (maybe with some sort of prize bearing test at the end) – there are endless ways in which you can train your staff on a budget.
4. Give your employees an opportunity for upward mobility
Upward mobility is an employee’s ability to advance throughout the ranks and progress to higher positions within the company. While the allure of money is enough to attract new employees to the industry, it can only motivate them for so long before they begin to experience burnout and start looking for professional opportunities elsewhere.
Generally speaking, it is always good to give people hope, and the idea that one can advance to positions in marketing, IT, back-office and more, gives employees a reason to keep proving and improving themselves. It also helps them see a long-term future for themselves in your brokerage, thus increasing their loyalty to the company and the brand.
5. Be generous with your staff
Working as a sales representative for a Forex brokerage is a grinding job with little satisfaction beyond one’s paycheck. This is why brokerages often shower their sales force with gifts, bonuses, parties and more. This is also why sales agents often move from one brokerage to another at a pace that cannot be found in many other industries. If you want to retain your employees and gain their loyalty, you need to stand out by giving them more than a standard holiday bonus and a sushi platter on Thursdays. There are many ways to do this: from inviting top sales reps to attend trade shows – and kill two birds with one stone: reward employees with a free trip abroad while giving the company an extra set of helping hands – to giving meaningful gifts such as scholarships for employee’s children, longer maternity leaves, etc. At the end of the day, if you are more generous than the competition, employees will have a vested interest in your success.
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These are only a few examples of things that you can do as a broker in order to increase your brand’s success. Remember that as the owner you need to walk a fine line between maintaining discipline and standards, and creating a fun work environment. Never forget that you need to care about the company’s bottom line, but it’s the people under you who make it happen. With these points in mind – the sky is the limit.
