What does a broker do in a typical working day certainly varies from company to company, but we’ll try and summarise a typical one, in order to give a few bits of advice to people interested in getting to know a bit more about junior broker jobs.
There is an incredible amount of nuance pending who and what you sell, so take it with a grain of sales. But I think there will be a number of account executives who recognise this pattern as having elements of a typical Broker and Junior Broker’s day.
Start 30mins early – Check your email and social channels over coffee. Provide quick responses on easy questions: don’t delay those you can answer right away. Delete spam better yet unsubscribe right away. Prioritise questions that need a researched answer.
–> What NOT to do: Don’t spend too much time on email and social media.
8 am (or 9 am, depending on your habits and requirements) Standup call with the team to go over what needs to happen that day. Establish 1-3 key priorities and agree to what can wait if needed.
8.30 am Social Selling BEFORE email Check views on your profile, quick research, respond to comments on your posts and send out thank you’s + personalised requests.
–>Tip: Set a 30 minute time “Siri set a 30-minute timer” and the alarm will snap you out of your “social media addiction”!
9 am Email + Research Research Research the people you intend to do business with that day, Google/LinkedIn/Youtube/T
9.45 am. 15 min first Break. Take a walk, grab a coffee with a colleague, chat about fun things: enjoy a few minutes and relax.
10 am Hit it HARD. Next 90 mins you are gonna hit hard, performing demo calls, deep dive calls with multiple stakeholders at the prospect, which may or may not include a deep demo customised to the customer needs.
–>Tip: Remember you are NOT selling. You are helping them make an educated decision! Be their “doctor”: do the research for them and do not prescribe before a diagnosis.
- Emails: Half as long twice as powerful, you want to provide value.
- Phone call: Pleasant, short and to the point, you want to provoke thought.
- Social media: provide customised/relevant insights
11.30 am Follow-up on leads, calls, emails. Don’t let it linger.
12-noon: Refuel! Do something fun with the team, better yet go active and run, then on the way back have the post workout lunch you earned!
–> What NOT to do: Do not eat at your desk.
1 pm: Stop by your manager to check-in with him/her to see if there are any pressing issues that need to be dealt with and if there is anything you can do. Not every day, but doing this every now and then makes a huge difference.
1.45pm: Check your email and social channels over coffee again. Same as before, deal with urgent issues right away, delete spam and mark what needs to be done later based on research. Get ready for the 2pm AWESOMENESS you are about to deliver.
2 pm: AWESOME hours. You are fueled, ready, and excited. Target each call to be made up of 15 minutes of preparation, 30 minutes call and 15 min follow-up. Anything less would make you spoil the opportunity due to lack of follow-up and preparation.
4 pm: Call customers/prospect/partne
–> What NOT to do: Do not write emails to check-in: I know it is tempting, but it is really unpleasant to get a “check-in” (or even worse, a “mass personalised check-in”!) email.
4.30 pm: Text your partner/loved one and let them know you are on your way home and that you killed it today. Play with the kids, do an exercise, have a social life.
Wait … your day is NOT done yet… as a junior broker, you have another important window…
9 pm: Brokers Comms Window while on the couch watching your favourite TV series, keep that phone handy. If you have earned it, several of the brokers you are working with are responding to your emails and you don’t want to let it wait till next morning as you’d enter their mass mail sequence.
There are some special days to be taken into consideration when thinking of “what does a broker do” work wise:
- Friday afternoon: No follow-up, any action must be delayed over the weekend and unless urgent, you better off waiting till the Sunday night window.
- Monday: Skip all social activities on Monday afternoon, check-in calls etc. just don’t bother. Monday is 100% business day for most of us.
- Sunday evening: Great email productivity window on Sunday eve to get through to Brokers and Junior Brokers. You may want to do some preparation work for the week. 1 hour should do it.
