The Changing Role of e-FX Sales and Why Experience Matters – Part Two

Following Part One of his thoughts on the role of e-FX sales, in Part Two of his Voice of Experience article, Zach Felshman gets into the details over exactly what makes a good e-FX salesperson, and why there is no substitute for experience

A good e-FX salesperson should be able to discuss much more than platforms. They should understand how pricing, liquidity, credit, technology and distribution interact, as well as how the firm’s digital framework supports trading technology. In addition they need to understand what the bank is trying to achieve commercially, what trading needs to know about client behaviour, and where the bank is leaving money or client wallet on the table.

The best e-FX salespeople do not simply sell what the bank already has, they identify what the client needs that the bank could build, price, distribute or deliver better. Price is only part of the electronic value proposition, e-FX is often discussed as though the primary benefit is a better price. Price matters, but institutional clients may also value:

• Balance-sheet and capital efficiency
• Liquidity access
• Operational control and auditability
• Execution consistency
• Risk transfer
• Portfolio and treasury workflow

A client may not choose a bank solely because it shows the tightest spread on a small spot trade. It may choose the bank that provides the most efficient overall solution across credit, execution and pre/post-trade requirements.

The commercial question is therefore not simply, “Can we show a better price?” It is, “Can we help the client achieve the required outcome with less market impact, less balance-sheet consumption, less operational friction and in a more cost-effective way?”

That is a broader and more valuable conversation.

Large orders and algos can be where execution becomes balance-sheet management. Large block orders illustrate the point. A client may need to execute a substantial position, but the best solution is not always a single risk-transfer trade at a visible price. An algorithm may work the order over time, access multiple liquidity sources, manage market impact and adapt to changing conditions.

For the client, this can improve execution and reduce information leakage. For the bank, it can change the economics of the risk. Rather than warehousing the entire position immediately, the bank may manage exposure through staged execution, internalisation, hedging and multiple liquidity pools. The value is not simply a tighter spread. It may be a more efficient use of balance sheet and risk capacity.

The salesperson must also understand the client’s objective: Are they looking to minimise market impact? Execute quickly? Reduce information leakage? Obtain certainty of completion? Avoid consuming internal risk limits? Create a repeatable workflow for similar trades?

Each objective may require a different execution method. A salesperson focused only on platform access and headline pricing will miss the opportunity. One who understands the interaction between execution objectives, risk capacity and algorithmic tools can help design a solution valuable to both sides.

The value of experience is not knowing more platform names, it is knowing which questions to ask

Fixing orders present a similar opportunity. Clients may value certainty, process control, transparency and the ability to execute large orders without manually managing the market. The bank must manage expected flow, market impact, hedging and risk around the fixing window. Electronic workflows and algorithms can standardise the process, aggregate information, manage execution and provide a clearer record. They can also make recurring fixing activity more scalable than a purely manual process.

The benefit may not be the best visible price on every trade, it may be a reliable, operationally efficient solution that uses balance sheet and risk capacity intelligently. Experienced e-FX sales can identify that distinction and explain why the workflow may be strategically important even if its value is not captured by a simple spread calculation.

Connecting Client Needs to the Digital Roadmap

A bank’s digital framework should be organised around reusable capabilities rather than isolated products, and e-FX sales should understand how these capabilities fit together and where they create differentiation These may include:

• Pricing and liquidity engines
• Client-specific pricing logic
• APIs and streaming connectivity
• Algorithmic execution
• Smart order routing
• Pre-trade analytics
• Transaction cost analysis
• Credit and limit controls
• Workflow and order management
• Data and reporting
• Post-trade automation
• Digital onboarding
• Monitoring and governance

As an example, a client may ask for a new API. The superficial response is to treat that as a connectivity request, but the better response is to ask what the client is trying to achieve: automate a treasury workflow, improve liquidity access, reduce manual intervention, support algorithmic execution, integrate FX into portfolio management, improve financing decisions or create a more efficient fixing process? The answer determines what should be built.

This is where e-FX sales adds value beyond selecting platform names and mapping them. It helps prioritise the digital roadmap according to commercial value – a capability that solves one client’s problem may deserve limited investment, but one that improves execution or workflow efficiency for an entire segment may deserve significant resources.

e-FX Sales is More Than Platform Mapping

Platform knowledge matters, but mapping clients onto venues is increasingly table stakes. The more important question is, “What can eFX sales do, to change client behaviour?

Imagine a young e-FX franchise with a good pricing engine but limited penetration. The traditional response might be to connect to more venues and ask salespeople to introduce the product. An experienced salesperson would analyse where existing clients trade, identify the flow the bank is winning and losing, understand why, and work with trading, digital and technology teams to address the deficiencies.

Perhaps the issue is not connectivity. The bank may be strong in EUR/USD but weak in emerging markets, have good pricing but internal latency, perform well during liquid hours but poorly around fixings, or lack the workflow needed for certain order types. It may also have excellent liquidity but fail to communicate its strengths – or offer an algorithmic solution with limited benefits clients do not understand.

Those are commercial problems, not platform problems. Solving them can accelerate a fledgling business more effectively than adding another venue.

Why Hire an Experienced e-FX Salesperson?

The value of experience is not knowing more platform names. It is knowing which questions to ask. It is knowing when a client ask represents a genuine opportunity and when it is noise. It is knowing that $10 billion of volume can be worth less than $2 billion of the right flow, that a low-margin client can be a high-value prospect, and that the answer may be better pricing, technology, liquidity, distribution, credit or balance-sheet efficiency.

For a mature franchise, an experienced salesperson can protect and expand existing revenue. For a fledgling business, the impact can be greater: shortening the learning curve, identifying genuine differentiation, prioritizing target clients, exposing internal weaknesses and directing investment toward the highest-return opportunities.

They can also ensure that the digital framework remains connected to commercial reality rather than becoming a collection of disconnected technology initiatives.

That is why I would not hire an experienced e-FX salesperson simply to sell e-FX. I would hire one to help the organisation understand how e-FX should be sold, priced, built, measured and grown.

Technology, platforms, data and algorithms will continue to change. The cost of balance sheet and financing will remain commercially important. But the fundamental question will remain: “Do we understand what clients value – and can we turn that knowledge into better execution, more efficient use of capital and better economics?”

That is where good e-FX sales earns its place, and where experience becomes a competitive advantage.

Zach Felshman has worked in e-FX sales for almost 30 years, most recently at CIBC Capital Markets in New York