Brokerage red flags: 7 signs that mean it is time for a change

Humanity has never seen so many rapid and dramatic changes to all aspects of our lives as we see today. The way we live, communicate, work, eat - everything is evolving. Brokers are no strangers to fast-paced and ever-changing situations. Yet, even they can find themselves struggling and risk being left behind. We don’t want that to happen to anyone, so we have prepared a list of seven signs that might mean that a broker is too comfortable with their old ways.

1. You are late with new project releases due to the fault of a third-party provider.

Have you ever had a situation where your own plans had to be revised because of somebody else? It’s not a nice feeling in your personal life, and especially in the professional sphere. Now, nobody is perfect, and a rare force majeure should not be too much of an issue. However, if your technology provider is constantly slacking, failing to meet the deadlines, or provides you with solutions that do not function properly, then those are all signs that you need to make changes or move along to someone new.

2. When reporting an issue, you are redirected to the chat-bot support and unsure of if or when the support team will get back to you.

A good technology provider will ensure that both an automated support tool and a knowledge base are available to assist their clients regardless of the support team’s schedule and workload. However, if you find yourself in a situation where your only option is to chat with a bot, this needs to be revisited. The world of trading is far too sensitive. Major changes happen within minutes, if not seconds, so it is unacceptable to be stuck with a bot that cannot understand complicated queries.

3. Providers have limited knowledge and can’t keep up with endless questions.

It’s one thing to wait for support to help you. However, it is an entirely different situation when they get back to you with inefficient answers and cannot assist you. Unreliable technical support means missed opportunities and additional risks for your business.

4. Implementation of your requests was promised but never delivered.

Just like in any relationship, we like to be heard in our business partnerships. Different brokers have different needs, and when you work with a software provider, it is important that they pay attention to your requests. Some implementations are easier to build than others, and your provider might not be willing to prioritise them. Yet, it is a bad sign if you were promised something that has never seen the light of day.

5. The latest products are not supported.

A lot of the competition among brokerages is based on the technology that they provide. Surely, your loyal clients will stick with you no matter what, but most of them will at least consider moving to someone else if they see that you cannot support the latest trends. Look for technology partners who are up-to-date and eager to test out and implement new things. For example, TFB has recently launched over the weekend trading in partnership with LMAX to make sure our brokers can offer this service to their clients as soon as possible.

6. You have multiple software providers who are not compatible with one another.

A typical situation for brokers is to have multiple software vendors coexisting in a single environment, as it is widely accepted that sometimes certain third-party solutions just work better for specific tasks. However, such infrastructures tend to be higher maintenance and less flexible. Not only does a broker need to ensure compatibility when the products are introduced, but they also need to run tests in the demo lab once new versions come out, making sure they won’t crash the existing installations. If brokers are constantly overwhelmed with compatibility issues, it might be the right time to look into technology providers that offer a complete set of solutions that were originally designed to be fully compatible and, therefore, represent a lower risk.

7. You are losing clients because of delays in projects, downtime, and complaints.

If your business sees a steady decline in volumes and clients while simultaneously experiencing an increase in downtime, complaints and other issues, that is a sign that some things no longer work. There are countless possible reasons for the problems that brokers might be facing. At this point, we recommend running a strategic overview of past results, current practices and workflows. We believe in a periodic deep analysis of the business processes. Any system can and should be updated regularly. If you spend some time talking to your key employees, running reports and checking the general operations, you will likely see the areas for improvement. Whether it is technology-related or not.