The FinanceFeeds Podcast is back this week with Episode #8, featuring FX industry thought leader Chris Rowe, Director of Financial Technology Consultancy Service Ltd.
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Chris Rowe, who has recently published two editorials with us – on main challenges for brokers in KYC and on how to offer iOS compliant trading apps – spoke with FinanceFeeds Editor-in-Chief Nikolai Isayev about FX expos, his consultancy firm and what he can do for FX and CFD brokers, as well as how he managed to enter the FX industry.
After university, Chris Rowe went into the property industry focusing on commercial property management and contract law, but quickly found he had a knack for sales, thus switching to auto sales, where he discovered b2b sales to be more fulfilling than retail. Then he moved to voice and data, where he worked in a number of B2B sales jobs that directly got him in touch with the importance of low latency and networks and “where the crossover into the FX trading world comes in”.
“Very short lifespan in this industry if you mis-sale”
Having met Gold-i chief executive Tom Higgins, he quickly joined the MT4/MT5 technology firm’s heading up the sales team and attended the iFX EXPO in London on his second day on the job, “not really understanding FX at all”.
He spent nearly six years at Gold-i, where he learned the holy grail of sales philosophies: If anyone approaches you with a question you can’t answer, find someone who can.
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“That philosophy always stuck with me […] Always try to find the right solution for people”, he said during the interview as he explained his approach to work and sales. “Put yourself in your client’s shoes, listen and then provide them with the solutions that they need.”
Chris Rowe noted that the FX industry is a global village and, as such, everybody knows everybody. If one sells something a client doesn’t want or need, they won’t come back and will share that experience with their network. “Very short lifespan in this industry if you mis-sale”, he added.
Chris Rowe helps FX/CFD brokers with sales, compliance, platforms, payments, banking
Chris Rowe started his consultancy business in 2020 after a first experience working for an innovative Canada-based firm who offered a sophisticated deliverable FX platform.The eureka moment: “how many fintech companies are out there that don’t have a sales person, that probably cannot afford someone like myself full time?”
His FX business started out as an outsource sales team for various different companies, but developed into a consultancy firm for brokers, solving their pressing issues and projects.
Offering FX consultancy services for brokers free of charge, Chris Rowe gets paid from introducer deals with technology vendors.
“It works very well. It allows me to be a bit more educated in various different areas that previously I wasn’t an expert in. I partnered up with people who really know their individual areas. Compliance is an example. It is something you can’t pick up on a whim”, he said, adding that his services for brokers evolved to compliance, trading platforms, as well as payments and banking as he realized how difficult it was for some FX firms to get this kind of services.
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The FX industry specialist also spoke about Brexit and its effect on the FX industry, his volunteer work in the UK, coaching rugby, cycling, and music.
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FinanceFeeds is the premier independent real-time news source for the FX and CFD trading industry, fintech, and the wider finance community. The launch of the podcast series opens up new sponsorship opportunities for companies looking to tap into our niche audience. For more information, please email us at [email protected].
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All previous episodes of the FinanceFeeds Podcast are available on all popular streaming audio platforms.
