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The Commodity Broker By Milton Laene Araujo
Chapter 3 -
Chapter 3 -
Chapter 3 –
The call to Mr. Jenkins was a mess! Sofia followed instructions
but the customer did not buy it! Meanwhile, Paul Jalil was walking all over the
place, trying to find a way to reprimand Sofia for not passing the call to
another broker.
During this call to Mr. Jenkins, the entire crew in the
office stopped working for a few minutes to hear the conversation Sofia had
with Mr. Jenkins. The speaker phone was on.
Jose Roberto Jalil, the owner of Stonegate Financial
Services wanted to interfere or even pass the call to a senior broker. He was
certain that Sofia would lose that prospect.
But when he approached her, during the call, he made many faces and
movements telling Sofia to place the client on hold, but she ignored him
completely.
“Sofia, I was right here by your side, asking you to place
the call on hold, why didn’t you do it?”
“I am sorry Jose Roberto, but when I am on the phone I
ignore everyone and everything.”
“That is not good Sofia. We work as a team here, and one
helps the other”
“I thought I had control of that call.” Sofia said. .
“But you didn’t! He is gone, isn’t he?”
“Please, take it easy Roberto. Mr. Jenkins was about to have
lunch. We didn’t finish our conversation because his wife was calling him. I
heard her on the background, besides he will call me back, and if he doesn’t,
he is not interested.”
“Sofia, no one calls anyone back”. Haven’t you learned your
rebuttals? I guess we need to place you on training. I am going to ask Chad to
supervise every call you make.
It was lunch hour. The secretary ordered Italian food for everyone.
The buffet was at the conference room. There were breads, Tortellini with white
and red sauce, Chicken-lettuce –and-tomatoes wraps, antipasto salad and garden
salad. Everyone got their customary seats. Sofia was on her desk checking the
NFA web site when Diva Arrived.
“Hi Sofi, let’s grab something to eat. The meeting is about
to start and you know how Paul gets when someone is missing”.
“I know. I am preparing myself to be chewed up again.”
“Don’t stress over it. Paul is sort of bi-polar, a good
looking one, so I don’t listen to him, I just look at him.”
“Then, let’s go.”
One thing human and good about Paul is that he provides food
to all employees during lunch and dinner. No one needs to go out of the office, and
lunch was limited to half an hour, which included a meeting while everyone ate
and a sermon from his Paul whenever he felt like talking his elbow off. His
reason is simple. Keep the entire force inside the office, for it is cheaper.
“Lunch has been served.”
Said Paul and went on and one while holding a microphone.
“You can eat a quick lunch between 12-12:30 pm. No eating at
any other time during working hours. Be positive at all times and always respect
your co-workers, clients and yourself. Maintain a high-energy level. Stand up!
Be passionate with your words, and don’t worry, we will have lots of Red Bull,
caffeine and Ephedra. Remember the program! We only sell energy options Long.
Make sure to complete your prospect sheet with all the information. Make sure
it is tied down, properly filled out with all necessary information. As far as closing a deal, do the first
attempt yourself. If you have questions transfer the call to a senior broker
for explanation. It is important to remind you that all clients are clients of
the company, if a broker leaves the clients stay with the company. All
information is property of the company. Don’t speak to people you know about
the company business. Information like this will eventually be used against you
and this will result in problems for you and potentially your co-workers. Don’t be the guy who messes things up for
everyone. We will always find out who is the “Gossip Queen”. Be advised, if you are not here, whether
excused or unexcused, brokers will trade your book and add their numbers to
YOUR ticket. If you are not working with a Senior Broker then the split will be
50/50. If you are working with a Senior Broker then the split goes to 25/25/50.
Don’t give your money away for been lazy!”
Paul took a zip of
his drink, made a signal to Chad to play a recorded audio. Sofia’s call to Mr.
Jenkins was all over the speakers for everyone to listen. By the time it was
half way, Paul was surprised by Sofia’s knowledge and how she had presented herself.
His signaled to Chad to stop the recording, and went on and on again.
“This is awesome. I have been in this business for a long
time, and it is the first time I hear a new broker with so much enthusiasm. Her
fronting was perfect!” But it is important to know that it was a waste of time
to try to do it all alone. Sofia”… He went on…”you know that we have the
complete script done for you, and what you have to do is to read it step by
step, and do not go all over the board, unless you know how to get back into
the basis. We do not need anyone here to try to reinvent the wheel. We have a
system and it works,”
The meeting was not so terrible after all thought Sofia. She
was glad that Paul did not hear her giving away web links. One hour and half
later Stonegate receive a call back from Mr. Jenkins, but Sofia was on another
call.
“It’s a call for Sofia, its Mr. Jenkins!” Said the secretary
while turning towards where Jose Roberto was seated, and observing everyone’s
reaction in the main room.
“Oh. Let me run over
there… Oh, I see that she is on another call.” Jose Roberto said to the
Secretary.
What to do? Shall I give the call to
another broker? Shall I get the number and tell him that Sofia is on another
call? I guess it’s better not interrupt her. Jose Roberto was
uncertain.
“Transfer the call to me”
“OK, Line One.”
“Hello? Ah. .. Hi...Mr. Jenkins, this is Jose Roberto…I see
from here that Sofia is on another call…”
“Just tell her to give me a ring. I will be here until 9 PM.
She has my number”
“Click.
“Wow, that was fast!”
“What happened?” The secretary asked
“He will be expecting a call back from Sofia”. Well, this is weird…Not, based on what Sofia said last...Maybe he is interested. ‘I am starting to like this dike!’
Meanwhile, Sofia was on a call and Chad was standing by his
side listening to the conversation through a speaker phone.
“It is just too good
to be true, I mean it sounds too good to be true.” The Client said to Sofia.
“That is right Mr. Smith. I think so, as well. You see, must
people are skeptical because they were taught to be. I believe and so do you
that proof comes in many forms. The Commodities Market is a business too good
to be true. Opinions in commodities are even better ‘too good to be true
story.’ Is it fair to say that you passed many opportunities before for that
very reason? Don’t let shallow thinking and fear keep you and your family from
a tremendous opportunity in the market. Be good and be true to yourself and
have courage to send me $ 5,000 and take advantage of this expected move.”
“Click.”
“Where do you get this stuff from? I mean, it was good,
freaking good… Just keep on going baby!” Said chad.
Sofia smiled and kept on dialing another number to reach
another prospect from her list.
“Hello Mr. Bowen? Hi, this is Sofia with ……”
“Thanks for the great explanation Sofia, but I am working
with a stock broker”
“I understand Mr. Bowen, but please, let’s get us all on
even ground here. Asking your stockbroker whether or not to do commodities
would create a conflict of interest. It would not benefit him to tell you to
diversify with another broker. I wonder why he never mentioned this type of
opportunity to you, but let’s say if it was him recommending this to you
instead, would you be more inclined?... I get it.”
“No, Wait.”
“I am here.”
“Well, let me think it over. I will call you back Sofia.”
“Mister Bowen? If I am on the phone when you call, just
leave your name and a time to call you back, I have your number.”
“Click.”
“Why didn’t you ask him to leave number? Well, never mind!”
chad said to Sofia
“Chad, I honestly prefer that they call me back and show
interest, so I can discuss with them from the point where they were left. I
keep track how far I have been with every call…see here, on this book? I have
their names and what was not discussed. At
least I can go back one day and remind them of the opportunity they’ve missed”.
“That is very cool. When I was a broker I only got calls
from existing clients. It is not easy to keep up with every call of prospects
along with all the information required to give to existing customers”
“I didn’t know you were a broker before. Where?”
“Futuretek Trading Corp., a while ago. It didn’t work. The
firm was closed down.”
“Oh, I heard it. That’s Paul’s old firm. Rickie told me”
“Rickie! He is a
great guy. I used to work with him. Actually Paul and I worked with him a long
time ago at Group Two Financial Services”.
“I’ve never heard of this firm. Actually, I heard of so many
firms, but they are all out of business. While I was checking for a job, every
place listed in the internet was no longer in existence!”
“Yeah… We cannot have any papers on top of our desk or your
bullets. You have to talk like you talk now. Nothing to read, but just what is
in your memory”
“So, why do I have these papers here? I don’t need them
anymore. I just need the outline of what I need to cover.”
“It’s what you suppose to have!”
“Good then.”
“I need something to drink” Sofia walks away from her desk
leaving Chad behind
“Hey. Sofia, I am glad you’re off the phone!” What Am I saying? “I have
two names, no numbers…For you to call…he, he, he, that fellow Jenkins called
you too.”
“Thanks Jose Roberto. I just hope he doesn’t procrastinate.”
“You can call me J.R.”
“OK, cool.”
Trim, Trim,
Trim… Trim, Trim, Trim… rings the telephone at Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins
residence. “Bob? Bob, can you get it?” Said Mrs. Jenkins while turning the knob
of the oven to 350F. She was not in any hurry; she had finished confectioning
the most perfect lasagna for dinner.
“No Sue, I can’t…I mean, I will be there in a second”
“Jenkins’ Residence, this is Susan”
“Hello Mrs. Jenkins, This is Sofia. I am returning Mr.
Jenkins call”
“I know Miss Keller, He is expecting your call, but he is…oh
good! … Here he is, Bob, it’s
for you.”
“Hey Sofia, thanks for holding.”
“Hi Mr. Jenkins, I promise not to take much of your time.
Did you have a chance to check on those web sites I gave to you? Uh hum… and do
you have the piece of paper where you took your notes?”
“Yes, the paper is here… I checked the sites. I saw your
name there… under Brokers. I also saw that your firm is under investigation, or
better saying, there is arbitration or something going on.”
“It’s possible Mr. Jenkins; you know this is a very
sensitive market. There is no room for errors. I will check the site today”
“I just hope you are not in trouble over there.”
“I hope so too! One thing I know Mr. Jenkins. The NFA’s job,
rightfully so, is to check on ever firm. Please grab that piece of paper…
“I have it right here.”
Good…when I told you if we could catch a 5 cent move in our
option…and we came to a total of $2100 per option, it is important to rephrase
that if we can catch a 5 cent increase on your option the calculation is
correct, but it is not easy to obtain the entire amount of the profit when you
catch $5 cents.” Gosh what am I saying? “What I mean is… January’s
price of a gallon of Heating Oil in the market is $2.84. Let’s say you want to
enter in the market right now, and all of your paper work has been approved
etc. I’ll send the ticket over to the floor. I know that your cost will be
around $2.93, $2.95. This will be the price written on your contract, and we
need to see a move from that point on to be on green. This is what they call speculation. We are
purchasing a contract from a speculator like you, and he wants to sell high. So
he goes as high as he can go from the today’s price because we are foreseeing a
price in the future. Do you understand this?
“Yes, I understand.”
“I am not quite sure you do Mr. Jenkins. It is even hard for
me to explain, and believe me, I have seen tickets when prices were$ 2.80 and
they were filled at $2.90 and the client did not like it very much. The reality
is… you cannot purchase a contract for the price tag because you are purchasing
it through the exchange, sold on the floor from another speculator. Behind this
Option contract, there is an underlined contract in the future market that
someone will take delivery. Not you! So, this person wants to sell it higher to
you.
“I got it Sofia!”
“Good, but there is more!”
“What else more?”
“Let’s assume we got you a ticket for January and your price
tag is $2.90. We will observe the computer and when the price of Heating Oil
reaches $3.00 you will maybe get $2.95 for that ticket. The floor is buying it
from you; therefore, the floor people want to buy it cheaper to sell it high.
Now when we are $.5 cents ahead, there is timing value as well. Option is a wasting asset. It deteriorates as
time passes. If the price becomes very volatile it makes harder to get the
value we want. In other words, we want the price to go up, and this is all
there is. For what I figure in here Mr. Jenkins, I want you to invest $10,000
and when I see an opportunity to make in your hands $35% of that value, I will
invite you to get out of the market.
“It makes sense Sofia.”
“I just want to make sure that my explanation from before,
the one that looks good on paper, is different from reality because it is.”
Are you in Mr. Jenkins?
“Yes I am, definitely.”
“Fantastic! What is your fax number? What is your email,
what is your Mailing Address?”
“You don’t need any of that Sofia. I visited your firm’s web
site and I filled an application for an account under your number. I printed
all the forms and I already got a FedEx authorization to send it to you
tomorrow. Your company has the best site. Very friendly and very easy to use. I
also printed all the other stuff I want to take a look at”
“Yey… I see it here on my screen Mr. Jenkins” Let me
see…Regulation 135 Risk Disclosure…Option Disclosure Statement…Individual
information form…Consent to Jurisdiction…Customer agreement… So far so Good,
Mr. Jenkins…Welcome letter…Additional Risk Disclosure….It is all signed and
completed…OK…Fees and commission page…Photo ID, Utility Bill…Form of
payment…Mr. Jenkins? It says here that you are going to purchase 40 contracts?”
“Yes… We decided to taste the waters with $40,000”.
“Good…Tomorrow around 11:00 I will give you a call to let
you know if we received it all.” If we do not see a good opportunity tomorrow,
we will stay on the sidelines waiting for a good opportunity. You have a Good
Evening Mr. Jenkins.”
“Thanks Sofia”
“You are welcome Mr. Jenkins”
“Click.”
Chapter 1 http://miltonlaenearaujo.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-commodity-broker-chapter-1.html
Chapter 2 http://miltonlaenearaujo.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-commodity-broker-chapter-2.html
Chapter 6 – 7 http://miltonlaenearaujo.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-commodity-broker-chapter-6-and-7.html
