Life is stressful in Hong Kong, especially those working in the financial service sector who have sales targets to meet every second. Terry Hui, currently the Associate Director of Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS), has been working in the financial services industry for more than a decade. Having experienced the highs and lows, from hitting the rock bottom with absolutely no income at all, to managing clients’ portfolios worth over US$ 100 million every year nowadays, Terry does not rely on any secret sales trick for success, but turns to the basis of all human relationships – trust and integrity. “The first step is to build social network. Then you must build trust with your clients. You can only sell your financial services when they trusted you. Why on earth would someone let you handle their hard-earned cash if they do not trust you?” said Terry.
Building career from the ground up
Terry said providing professional investors with wealth management service is one of the key scopes of business of UBS. So, how do you define a professional investor? “The minimal investment amount required is US$3 million. But most clients who choose to use our investment service have over HK$100 million-worth of capital.” He recited those astronomical figures with a blank face.
Despite dealing with excessively well-to-do clients daily, Terry himself had humble beginnings just like many of us. He grew up in a public housing estate in Lei Muk Shue. His parents worked in carparks and construction sites. He graduated from the Higher Diploma in Business Administration at IVE (Kwun Tong) in 2003 and started his career as a bank teller. As he developed an interest in various investment products and services, he went on to pursue further education to become a Certified Financial Planner (CFP). Meanwhile, his abilities and insights were recognised by a senior Investment Consultant of an investment consultancy company. Terry then gave up the relatively stable and secure job in bank and worked as an Investment Consultant.
Bouncing back from the rock bottom
An Investment Consultant does not have a basic salary. They make money only from the commission. The Company tends not to push you too hard to meet sales targets like the banks do. However, it is difficult to survive in the industry if you could not find new clients. Terry soon encountered a career bottleneck. “In the first couple years, I did okay. But in the third year, there were not any client at all. I made zero income for two months and I had low self-esteem. I was approaching 30 and many of my friends had major achievements career-wise. I felt frustrated and I avoided to meet my friends. I did not even want to go out at all.”
In times of adversity, some people run away from the problem and find a job in a different sector. Some would pull themselves together and get on with it again. Terry swallowed his pride and accepted the job as a Customer Services Manager from the bank that he previously worked for. With a monthly salary of a little more than HK$10,000, he had to do all the spadework like cold calling customers. While building his clientele base, he was looking for new opportunities. Regarding the risk versus opportunity in career, he stood by his decision. He said, “I do not think I made a mistake by becoming an Investment Consultant. Without the hard times when I could not even feed myself, I would never have grown up emotionally and mentally. Without that experience, I would not be able to seize the opportunities in future.” As a Customer Services Manager, Terry overcame his reluctance to sell products and services to customers. He made much effort in learning different sales techniques and product knowledge and managed to attract a loyal client base who became his first customers upon starting his new job at UBS. These clients were essential assets to him in career terms and he sincerely thanked them for their support. He said with a grin, “UBS is not a common private bank. You will not even find any branch on the street. My clients were willing to transfer their fund to UBS simply because they trusted me.”
Work attitude speaks louder than prestigious qualifications
At UBS, Terry faced another challenge. As an Associate Director, he had to bring in US$40 million of new investment within the first year. Many people were threatened by such an astronomical target and rejected the offer. But Terry took it on. At first, he did worry about not meeting the sales target. Luckily, his enthusiasm in learning and diligence impressed his supervisors and other senior workers who referred their clients to Terry and broadened his client base. They helped Terry make it through the first half year or so and things got better from there. He believes positive work attitude goes a long way no matter you are in the sales team or not. There will be someone who appreciate your attitude and take you under his wing one day. “To be honest, I have many colleagues who graduated from the most prestigious universities around the world. Some of them were born to multi-billionaire families. My resume does not stand out among theirs. But the management cares more about the work attitude of an employee – whether he is willing to work hard and try hard, whether he is thankful for the opportunities. Those with the most impressive qualifications or family background do not necessarily excel in these personal characters.”
Terry believes empathy and sincerity are his secret tricks to break the ice with major clients. “Rich people are annoyed by opportunists who approached them for business opportunities. However, no matter how rich they are, they still need help from others. When it comes to finance management, they may want to set up a trust fund, or open bank accounts for their companies. If you can solve problems for them, they will count on you. Wealth management products and services are generic among different banks. Why would someone choose to open an account in your bank but not any other? To a great extent, it is a vote of trust upon you.”
Advices for fellow students
Looking back, Terry considered those days in IVE well spent and very important to his career development. “Many IVE students have to endure hardship in order to graduate or making their ways to universities. Biting the bullet is an important life experience as it primes you well for future frustrations or hardship. You find starting over is not that scary after all.” He also urged fellow students not to dwell on their limitations. “Everyone has his own limitations in terms of personal background or external factors. Stop focussing on what you do not have, but pay attention to your resources and assets. As long as you work hard and maintain a positive work attitude, you will come across someone who is willing to take you under his wing one day. That would be an opportunity for your career to take off.”
