But why would the forex sector need to employ sales personnel - after all, the ‘buyer' can go straight to market, right?
The truth is that investing in forex can be confusing and challenging for many, particularly first-time investors, and the introduction of sales agents is to help ‘grease the wheels' of a transaction, providing much-needed support to those a little unsure of what they are doing, despite knowing which currencies they wish to buy and sell.
So, what exactly does a successful forex sales agent do?
Connecting investors to the market
In addition to their in-depth knowledge of the industry - more on that shortly, one of the primary functions of a forex sales agent is to connect their client to the market.
Anyone can go to the shop and buy a newspaper or a new TV but investing in GBP or USD is an altogether different matter. These are digital assets of which there is no physical or tangible ownership, and that can be off-putting for those wishing to buy.
A forex sales agent acts as an intermediary, therefore bringing together the client and their demands to buy a particular currency pair and the market that can make that happen. Some customers don't have the technology to invest in forex at home, and others simply don't have the inclination to navigate the online markets - they don't need to when they have a sales agent on the end of a phone.
Expert guidance
Forex can be a challenging and unpredictable market to navigate.
The beauty of sales agents that operate in this field is that they have typically seen it all before, and therefore they can offer investment advice to their clients that is rational, balanced and without emotion.
So often we see it that forex investors make bad trading decisions based on an emotional response to a stimulus, or worse still when they have read something online or heard a ‘whisper' that actually turns out to be false.
Forex agents cut out this noise and instead ensure their clients are investing in the right currency pairs at the right time.
In-depth insight
When you instruct a forex sales agent to act on your behalf, you are tapping into a knowledge base that you simply cannot find anywhere else than on the ‘frontline' of forex trading.
You can watch YouTube videos, you can read blog posts and you can even follow live forex trading streams, but the truth is that these can only show you how you might trade within a certain set of conditions.
Forex is, by its very nature, complex and volatile, and while that volatility creates opportunities for savvy traders, it also brings with it threats to your bankroll. A forex agent will help you to navigate such choppy waters, because - after all - it is their job to know exactly what is going on in the financial world.
Political and economic activity will ultimately shape how a forex pair performs and using freely available information and ‘after timing' will typically see you investing in a currency after the value in it has been taken from its price.
But with a forex sales agent, you can be one step ahead of the game as their research and in-depth knowledge yields dividends.
Tech teacher
Most forex trading brokers enable their clients to access cutting-edge software, such as MetaTrader, via which they can access the forex market at home and on the move.
However, even tech-savvy individuals may find this software confusing at times, whether in executing trades or navigating the various analysis and charting tools that are available.
Some forex sales agents will even sit down remotely with their clients and guide them through the software in real time, executing trades in ‘demo' mode to give individuals a better understanding of what can be achieved.
What attributes does a successful forex sales agent have?
In sales, there are typically two types of agents - those who ‘cold call' and try to barter a transaction from nothing, and those who act on instruction of those who have shown an interest in a particular product or service.
Forex sales are made easier by the fact that clients have expressed a desire to invest in the market or in a specific currency pair, and so completing the ‘sale' is made all the more straightforward.
That's not to say that an agent won't need to call upon their intuition and sales training to get a deal over the line, so patience and determination are also required.
The forex market is an incredibly exciting sector, and while it's not for the faint-hearted at times there are clearly exceptional rewards available - sales agents who are able to harness these, both personally and in the education of others, stand an excellent chance of being a success in their chosen profession.
