Making Enemies

How’s your spring going?  I’ve spent mine ripping back the curtain and making enemies all over the financial services industry.  I keep hearing the same thing again and again from my former colleagues in brokerage industry:

“You know they want to kill you, right?” or “They hate you – but they read you.  And they can’t say that you’re wrong.”

One of my blogger colleagues, a former broker himself, reminded me last night that “If this were the 90’s, you’d probably need protection of some kind.”  He’s probably right, all kinds of scary people had a lot to lose by someone putting the scripts and pitches and tricks out there.  Those scary people are no longer in the business for the most part.  For the most part…

A friend of mine was out drinking with a crew of brokers the other night in NYC, apparently the conversation turned to the subject of me and the things I published in my book.  Supposedly half of them couldn’t believe I did it.  My friend may or may not have admitted to knowing me, lol.

But it’s too late now, I’m just getting warmed up.

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SPEAK TO WIFE 1

I understand why you would want to check with your wife.  I have to respect a man who respects his wife.  It’s probably the reason why I’ve been with my wife for so long.

However, as a businessman, which you obviously are, you must make a lot of important decisions everyday, correct?
Decisions that I’m sure you couldn’t or wouldn’t consult your wife on!  And she’s OK with that because she trusts your judgment, right?

Now if this call was about buying a large piece of property or taking a million dollar position in a stock, that would be one thing.  But we’re not talking about anything as substantial as that, are we?

Of course not!

What we are talking about, I mean really talking about, is establishing a relationship with someone that you can trust.

And besides, ___, I know from experience that it’s probably a lot easier to beg for forgiveness than it is to ask for permission!

SPEAK TO WIFE 2

___, I know you’d rather speak to your wife, and believe me; I want you to feel comfortable as well.

But I know from experience that your wife will feel much more comfortable when you show her the FedEx package that comes to your home after you purchase the stock.

In it will be a full dossier on ___, as well as a complete profile on myself and the firm.  In addition, account information from ___, the largest clearing firm on the planet which is where your stock is held, not to mention where your checks go to as well.  The annual report, the 10K, the confirmation, all of which will be much better than you just telling your wife that you want to buy stock from someone you’ve never spoken to in a company you’ve never heard of.

___, what do you think she’s going to say?

Exactly!

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Backstage Wall Street on Amazon