Forex Call Centre; A must have tool in our arsenal or…not…

The forex industry receives daily harsh critiques from investors, economists, regulators, any professional (academic or not) relative to the intentions, practices and professional conduct of forex brokerages. The disappointment continues with the uncanny practices of random/generic/so called forex call centres, proving once more that things are not getting any better.

Back in 2006 when we first joined the industry, our Sales tactics were limited to an introductory script and our willingness to learn, a much needed tool to help close a sale. You see competition was not as fierce as it is today, products were limited to simple structures and the idea of trading in foreign currencies was as simple as 1,2,3.

Today though, with the number of brokers increasing rapidly, the lack of systems/product diversification, and with personnel being recycled like beer bottles we resulted in practices that make no one proud, conduct far from professional and continuous loss of the potential customers the industry could benefit from tomorrow.

Note: That being said, not all call centres that sell forex services are like that – we’ve met and trained a few and some of them operate better than in-house sales teams. A much needed sales training provided by allFX-Consult was the final piece of the puzzle. To each their own…

Call centres / forex call centre in a nutshell

The latest trend in outsourcing, are generic call centres that among other things (like telecommunication, pizzas, appliances, souvlaki) also sell forex services and brand themselves as a “forex call centre”; in essence boiler rooms with hundreds of uneducated people (uneducated relative to the market), following scripts and lists of unaware “potential leads” that are being funnelled like dirty laundry.

Using high pressure sales tactics, uneducated scripts, begging if nothing else works and inappropriate follow up methods, maybe brokers should open their eyes and handle their sales proactively and in the right way. There is nothing wrong with a call centre selling your product as long as the sales reps receive proper training and support. Whatever their practices, they are now your practices, for which you have absolutely no control.

Looking to support your sales team with proper training? Contact us to look into the details

So if call centres are not an option, what do we do?

No one said that call centres are not an option. With correctly trained sales reps, they are not a bad solution at all. We can’t argue with the efficiency that numbers can produce as long as there is a process associated with the function, an educated methodology in line with current standards and a culture within the operation derived and cultivated by our own values.

As mentioned above, we’ve trained a few and some of them operate like a Swiss watch. State of the art technology, high end processes, now combined with a solid sales training directly provided by allFX-Consult.

If that’s not the case with your partnered call centre, either refer them to allFX-Consult to discuss complete training sessions for the sales reps, or you should look into an in-house structure developed by the broker, for the broker. How can a faraway country, with uneducated personnel that is used to sell anything other than financial services, take the role of the income generator of a wannabe leader broker. In an ever demanding role, like the sales role, where our own educated people find it hard to sell (although they’re doing a great job), how can we expect that outsourcing the function can be successful without false promises, aggressive sales tactics and offering investment advice (when in many instances the reps can’t explain the connection between contract, leverage and margin)?

Are you a call centre operator looking to support your team with proper training? Contact us to look into the details

How does a broker setup a forex call centre?

As with any sales team, same training principles apply. Whether we will completely automate our systems/processes or not, whether we will have 5 or 500 sales reps, FX Sales is a lot more than a cheap chop-shop. At the same time, we need to recognise the importance of placing and reaching targets for the broker, hence then pressure to perform. The two can in fact align!

About allFX-Consult:

allFX-Consult is a boutique forex consulting agency, catering to quality rather than quantity. For over a decade, over and above our Sales Training, our Directors have been connecting with some of the best individuals/professionals, service providers and brokers the industry has to offer so that we can meet any corporate forex challenge.

allFX-Consult always has a counterpart/partner for any corporate structure. Before introductions/connections take place, we thoroughly examine all possibilities.

Contact us for a private conversation to discuss any forex related topic through the contact form or one of our emails at info@allfx–consult.com, partners@allfx-consult.com. We specialise in training sales teams and forex corporate structures for individuals that want to Start a Forex Brokerage.

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Mar 2016

By adminBusinessComments Off

SPREAD THE WORD; Fight Unemployment in Cyprus

An initiative of allFX-Consult

If you look up definitions relating to unemployment you will see terms like voluntary, involuntary, cyclical, Keynesian, frictional, structural, classical, seasonal, hardcore and hidden unemployment.

So many “names” for a very straight forward issue. Do they really matter?

As of June 2015, cystat published that the unemployment in Cyprus is 40,876 persons, up from 39,672 persons, according to the previous month report. You can click here to see the reports.

The recent crisis in Cyprus as well as the current economic situation in Greece, has left us to ponder on whether or not it is logical to expect a better, stable and more promising tomorrow. That is not only for our own personal finances but also for our community. With financial statistics and economic speculations bombarding us every day through the media as well as informal discussions, some of us raise the stakes and wonder “what are WE really doing to help with the situation”?

About allFX-Consult

allFX-Consult is an FX Sales and Operations consultancy; we train the non-experienced and give equal opportunities irrespective of one’s background or if they have a client base and/or portfolio. Since before its inception, allFX-Consult has always favored motivation, hard work and individuality, three very important characteristics one would require, in order to become successful in such a competitive environment.

The forex industry in Cyprus, has over the years supported the Cypriot economy by becoming a hub, for international entities that choose the island as a destination to establish their operations. Whether or not it’s due to Cyprus tax benefits or strong regulatory environments, the point is that these organizations choose Cyprus to carry on with their business. And yet, the majority of these entities still look for experienced candidates to fill their positions.

Decisions like this are what we at allFX-Consult consider a gamble. Why? Because it is an unfortunate fact that the greater percentage of experienced candidates, come with attitudes and needs that most of these organizations, especially start -ups cannot handle. This costly recruitment decision adds up to the constant recycling of personnel, moving from one organization to the next, hoping to find what might never be found.

SPREAD THE WORD; ight Unemployment in Cyprus

Within the 9 plus years, in which the consultants of allFX-Consult have been training candidates to fill sales related roles of forex brokers, we have come to the conclusion that if you give non-experienced individuals the necessary tools and knowledge, they can be as effective and productive, as the experienced ones, if not more.

allFX-Consult initiated the program “SPREAD THE WORD; Fight Unemployment in Cyprus”, a program that will give equal opportunities to hard workers, motivated individuals with no previous experience to join this ever increasing market.

All CV’s are welcome, from any background and any nationality, so be a part of this fight against unemployment in Cyprus and SPREAD THE WORD that allFX-Consult is ready to help build a stronger, financially stable community for all and crush the statistical numbers that plague our community in the recent years.

Sep 2015

By adminBusiness, Company NewsComments Off

Opening a brokerage; achievable goal or far-fetched dream?

Published on iGB Affiliate magazine, issue 51 June/July 2015, page 50

If you are an affiliate and currently working with an FX or Binary Options broker, have you ever been frustrated at low conversion rates on your traffic? Have you ever asked yourself whether or not you could run the operation on the other side of the affiliate program you are signed up to? Opening a forex brokerage is not as big a stretch as you may think, although few are aware of what comes with it.

According to the Bank of International Settlements, trading in foreign exchange markets in April of 2013 averaged $5.3 trillion in daily turnover, up from $4 trillion in April of 2010. With estimates of nearly $8 trillion by 2019, there are no signs of slowing down. And still, recent years have left the forex industry with more challenges than solutions, more questions than answers and a lot of money and time wasted in advertising and selling the non-salable. Not only is the competition constantly growing, the regulators are placing more and more obstacles in the path of brokerages, thus making client acquisition harder, but the client base has also transformed into network and individual trading abusers resulting in low income generation.

How can a forex brokerage survive today’s climate of ever-increasing costs over income? How can business development be guaranteed in this unstable environment and how can wasted time/money be avoided in order to allow the establishment of a solid foundation and infrastructure to support future growth?

Forex Brokerages start out with set plans and proactive methodologies, but over time, they allow themselves to become reactive, a systemic approach towards operations that will eventually kill the running system and require refreshing and starting over, if not a complete shutdown. So it is imperative to build strong foundations that will work as a base for tomorrow’s activities.

Do you have the data to kick-start your forex brokerage?

It is a fact that the more data you have, the better your chances to acquire sufficient market share, expand your operations and grow. With targets hovering above every decision you make and every day costing more than the previous one, income generation is imperative, if not vital, to your rise or fall. Given the importance of data, this is an area where affiliates and participants in the gaming industry would have a clean head start should they ever decide to branch out and utilize their resources to start a forex brokerage.

Spend

Spending money to acquire data does by no means guarantee income. It is however among the first of steps required to get you where you need to be. Questions such as “should I spend?”, or “How much and when should I start spending?”, will puzzle you in the beginning, while over time, you will grapple with questions such as “is my spending enough?” and “should I spend more or stop spending completely?”. Marketing spend always played a big role in brand awareness although with today’s social media and free educational material, this has become a little easier for start-ups, because as prospects strive for quality in their decision making, they will need information.

Educate

Education will be imparted by your team which needs to either have acquired this from past experience or from you. Hiring experienced people can reduce training costs and the time it takes them to get up and running but they can bring with them bad habits and divergent ways of working that you may need to control. Are you capable of training newcomers and developing fresh ideas to push your business forward as fast as possible?

Putting the right team together is among the most important things you will do. The time when we could give our sales team one page with reading material, send them off to call prospects and generate income has passed. Not having enough knowledge to promote themselves and their organizations will result in a complete alienation of your lead database. The prospect will immediately see through the weak sales rep, the conversation will be over, and it’s then very hard for any future positive interaction to take place.

The above is but a short introduction to the back-end of running a forex brokerage. There are various solutions when it comes to deciding how to start, and these can be discussed with any broker directly, or a licensing agency that can set you on the right path. It is imperative that you pay close attention to the overall operations and correctly structure your strategies towards income generation, from the very early stages. While the level of competition and the challenges have increased in recent years, the overall market is only growing stronger, offering plenty of opportunities for a newly formed forex brokerage.

Jun 2015

By adminBusinessComments Off