Inside view with Omar Al-Janabi, TopFX Head of Sales & BD: The challenges of Business Development in the FX industry

Our Head of Sales & BD Omar Al-Janabi, talks about the challenges of Business Development in the FX industry.

1 . Hi Omar. It’s been over a year since you joined TopFX. Can you tell us a little bit about how this year has been for you?

Thank you for asking. I joined TopFX when we expanded our offering to retail trading. I considered it an opportunity because our management had a clear picture of what they wanted to achieve and how they wanted to be different compared to the competitors. Initially, my role focused on penetrating the MENA region but the infrastructure we established inside our MENA team proved very effective and resulted in my promotion to Global Head of Sales and Business Development. Since the last year, TopFX has experienced tremendous growth in terms of deposits and generated volume across all regions. For that, we are thankful to our competent teams across all departments and the open-door approach our management adheres to.

2. You have been responsible for growing the BD team globally. What’s the biggest challenge in doing this?

Nowadays, and especially in the FX industry, candidates have a lot of opportunities when it comes to choosing the FX brokerage to work for. Brokers might often make unreal claims about offering uncapped commissions and a perfect working environment. Unfortunately, candidates eventually find out that reality is a lot different than they thought. They lose trust or just give up on their dreams. It can therefore be challenging to persuade them to choose you over your rivals and renew their faith in what they can achieve. I recently read that over 75% of applicants would research a company's reputation as an employer before submitting their resume. I consider this part an advantage because TopFX's reputation is strong. TopFX started as an institutional broker and offered our services to many other brokers before opening its doors to retail traders. TopFX has been in the industry since 2010 and we have team members who work in the company for more than 10 years. Besides growth potential, we offer the stability that many other brokers cannot provide.

3. Over the last 2 years, TopFX has grown exponentially. Which factors contributed to this fast growth?

We have focused on retail trading during the last two years, enhanced our solutions, and lowered our spreads to the absolute minimum.  We enable partners to create customizable rebate plans and support them around the clock for any request. We do believe that clients’ success enhances ours and for this reason, we aim to always fulfill their needs and requirements. Our trading conditions are excellent and our trading environment is constantly being upgraded with new features.  Additionally, we have planned to attend as many expos and business events as possible, host seminars and meet our clients and partners to shake their hands and build a positive working relationship. Our corporate culture encourages collaboration within our team and departments over the competition. When hiring, we focused on identifying the right talent and onboarded rising stars; I like to use the term ‘’Galacticos’’ to show my trust in the potential that our employees have as well as the opportunity that TopFX offers.

4. You are in charge of business development teams in various regions. How do you manage to find what traders want locally and how do you customise TopFX’s products to fit local markets?

Being a liquidity and technology provider for the past 12 years has given us a competitive advantage in terms of customizing deals and offering unbeatable trading conditions. We also have our “Galacticos” team on the ground who are very experienced in the conditions needed per country and what competitors provide. Also, our frequent visits to meet our clients and partners have helped us to understand local needs and to be one step ahead of what our clients and partners need.

5. What’s your leadership style?

It's hard to use the same style with all our team members. I adjust my style depending on the person’s experience, type of work, and position. Generally speaking, I prefer a collaborative approach, and I offer support and guidance to all team members equally.

6. What are your future plans? Are you planning to penetrate more local markets and where will your primary focus be?

At TopFX, we know very well that investors all over the world need and we strive to provide top-notch conditions to all.  We are improving existing markets through listening to our clients’ needs and transparently conveying their messages to our top management. We are on a mission of expanding our global teams and keep hiring talent across the world remotely. We are focusing on all markets equally and seeking partners and educational academies to work globally.

Taking into account that younger traders are showing interest in the forex market and that forex trading is becoming more accessible via mobile applications,  we optimised the TopFX cTrader mobile platform by adding new features like push notifications. Of course, we offer many other tools such as signals from the renowned providers Trading central and AutoChartist.

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