Tips For Handling Cold Calls From Brokers
September 2, 2009 by Tisa Silver
Filed under Finance
Have you ever received an unsolicited call from a broker or financial advisor?
In the industry, these are referred to as “cold calls.” Somehow your name and contact information landed on a list that landed on the desk of a broker who is eager to get some new business.
Photo by meddy garnet, courtesy of flickr
Here are a few tips for handling cold calls:
Don’t let anyone rush you – If anyone ever tells you “there is no time to wait” or “tomorrow is too late,” then you should probably avoid whatever it is that they are selling.
If an investment is really good for you, then the pressure is unnecessary. The only party guaranteed to benefit from a rushed sale is the broker because they will be paid commission regardless of what happens to your money.
Ask them to put it in writing – A telephone sales pitch may sound perfect, so ask the broker to provide you with proof to back it up. Numbers can still be doctored, but a brochure or prospectus can provide you with greater (and perhaps more accurate) detail than the phone script.
Don’t believe the hype – If something sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. Be skeptical of any outlandish claims such as ”we always beat the market” or ”we’ll double your money.” All investments carry risk, and anytime risk is involved nothing is guaranteed!
As soon as they reveal themselves, I just hang up the phone. No way I’m going to give thousands of dollars to a stranger making unbelievable claims. Besides, if they were as good as they claim why would they be calling me to try to earn a commission? Like those people on TV hawking get rich quick schemes, if what they were selling really worked they’d keep their mouth’s shut and compounding their wealth and we’d see their names on the Forbes Richest People list.