Max Bowie: Perfect Pitch: The Rise of Fintech’s Not-So-Secret Agents
Increasingly sophisticated data products need sales experts with a wide range of experience, which sometimes means going "out of house."
![max-bowie max-bowie](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_750_463/public/import/IMG/807/101807/max-bowie-incisivemedia-color.jpg.webp?h=ee12d8fd&itok=FIjEj0Li)
Third-party sales agents are nothing new: The practice of using a partner with local knowledge to penetrate a new market is well established, especially in international markets, such as Brazil, says Luis Boldizsar, São Paulo-based founder of LatVance Assessoria Comercial, which provides local market and intelligence and strategic consulting for companies seeking to enter the Brazilian market.
“Often, global firms recognize the benefits of having agents with local expertise. And these agents can sometimes be less expensive than importing existing company sales people,” Boldizsar says. “In addition to the local expertise and potential lower costs, outsourcing some elements of the sales function can be attractive as a ‘try it before you buy it’ approach.”
It’s also true in international markets where solutions need customization for the needs of the local client base, says Jim Davies, co-founder and managing partner of Collaborative Financial Services Inc., a Canadian advisory firm.
But this need equally applies to new products in established markets. Philip Winstone, executive director of consulting firm Cordatum Associates, says more companies are seeking this type of “out-of-house” service since the demands of new technologies and content require “a broad range of expertise not always to be found internally.”
What is new, however, is the availability of expertise. The economic environment of recent years has led many firms to lay off experienced staff, who spotted an opportunity to tap into that talent pool, realizing that vendors of all sizes would need their expertise again.
“Traditional sales is a dying style. People want to work with people who understand their problems because they’ve been there and done that.” Adam Honore, MarketsTech
Adam Honore, CEO of MarketsTech LLC, a “business development accelerator” that provides strategic consulting to financial technology firms, was previously a managing director in Nasdaq’s FinQloud managed cloud services unit. “There are fantastic technologies looking for exposure to financial services, and people in financial services hungry for new technology. Sales agents are the facilitators connecting these groups together,” Honore says. “Traditional sales is a dying style. People want to work with people who understand their problems because they’ve been there and done that.”
Drawbacks
There are some drawbacks to using, and being, an independent agent. One of these, Winstone says, is getting buy-in from staff who feel threatened by the agent’s involvement. Boldizsar says independent agents “rarely have the product and proposition expertise, let alone company loyalty,” of dedicated staff.
Feargal O’Sullivan, CEO of USAM Group says independent agents lack the “brand-name business card,” which can make it harder to get a foot in the door, while Honore warns that being “always on” can be exhausting—not just from working all hours to meet clients’ demands, but also from simultaneously networking to find the next engagement.
And the next engagement is key, because generally speaking, a sales agent can’t subsist representing only one client. Indeed, a large part of those clients’ rationale for hiring an external agent is that they are more practical and affordable than full-time employees. But while representing multiple clients can open up potential cross-selling opportunities between different companies’ solutions, it can also risk conflicts if clients’ businesses are too similar to one another.
“Only an idiot would represent competing companies. That’s a recipe for credibility disaster,” Honore says. “That said, I do try to take clients with the same target market so I can accomplish more with each conversation,” he adds, whereas CFSI actively seeks out vendors with overlapping solutions so the firm can offer clients a more rounded proposition.
Ultimately, the transparency that comes from constant contact is key to maintaining the confidence of multiple clients—especially in the case of USAM, which aims to be a seamless extension of an internal sales team. “Constant interaction ensures complete transparency, forcing us to stay on top of all our vendors’ solutions or risk a black-and-white exposé of our failings. Remember, vendors can cancel a consulting agreement much more readily than they can lay off full-time employees,” O’Sullivan says.
Only users who have a paid subscription or are part of a corporate subscription are able to print or copy content.
To access these options, along with all other subscription benefits, please contact info@waterstechnology.com or view our subscription options here: http://subscriptions.waterstechnology.com/subscribe
You are currently unable to print this content. Please contact info@waterstechnology.com to find out more.
You are currently unable to copy this content. Please contact info@waterstechnology.com to find out more.
Copyright Infopro Digital Limited. All rights reserved.
As outlined in our terms and conditions, https://www.infopro-digital.com/terms-and-conditions/subscriptions/ (point 2.4), printing is limited to a single copy.
If you would like to purchase additional rights please email info@waterstechnology.com
Copyright Infopro Digital Limited. All rights reserved.
You may share this content using our article tools. As outlined in our terms and conditions, https://www.infopro-digital.com/terms-and-conditions/subscriptions/ (clause 2.4), an Authorised User may only make one copy of the materials for their own personal use. You must also comply with the restrictions in clause 2.5.
If you would like to purchase additional rights please email info@waterstechnology.com
More on Emerging Technologies
This Week: Startup Skyfire launches payment network for AI agents; State Street; SteelEye and more
A summary of the latest financial technology news.
Waters Wavelength Podcast: Standard Chartered’s Brian O’Neill
Brian O’Neill from Standard Chartered joins the podcast to discuss cloud strategy, costs, and resiliency.
SS&C builds data mesh to unite acquired platforms
The vendor is using GenAI and APIs as part of the ongoing project.
Chevron’s absence leaves questions for elusive AI regulation in US
The US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the Chevron deference presents unique considerations for potential AI rules.
Reading the bones: Citi, BNY, Morgan Stanley invest in AI, alt data, & private markets
Investment arms at large US banks are taken with emerging technologies such as generative AI, alternative and unstructured data, and private markets as they look to partner with, acquire, and invest in leading startups.
Startup helps buy-side firms retain ‘control’ over analytics
ExeQution Analytics provides a structured and flexible analytics framework based on the q programming language that can be integrated with kdb+ platforms.
The IMD Wrap: With Bloomberg’s headset app, you’ll never look at data the same way again
Max recently wrote about new developments being added to Bloomberg Pro for Vision. Today he gives a more personal perspective on the new technology.
LSEG unveils Workspace Teams, other products of Microsoft deal
The exchange revealed new developments in the ongoing Workspace/Teams collaboration as it works with Big Tech to improve trader workflows.