While M&G’s Alex Matcham had a keen interest in the world of investing, the last place he ever wanted to end up was on the sales desk. Before enrolling onto M&G’s graduate scheme in 2008, he had spent two years at Hargreaves Lansdown as a Sipp consultant and become “so fed up of being on the phone every day”, he specified in his graduate interview that he would work across any department “apart from sales”.
“It’s funny where you end up,” he says. “I did various jobs [at M&G] initially, including supporting the global head of sales at that time. Then from there, I provided more of a support role within the sales team.
“Then, I did about 10 years selling out on the road then came back to London and worked another year [in that role]. After some changes at M&G took place, this job came up and I thought, ‘why not?’.”
With an admirable dose of humility, the now-head of UK wholesale distribution says he is “happy with how it worked out”, but adds: “I don’t think I was necessarily the best salesperson, but I am learning about management, and I am very interested in it.
“Thankfully, the past three-and-a-half years have seen a real turnaround for the business and the team is in a great place. Our investment desks are doing really well. That is the potted history of how I came to be here.”
When asked, given his modesty, which attributes he believes make a truly great salesperson, Matcham says the key factor for anybody working in asset management – sales or otherwise – to remember, is that it is “a people business first and foremost”.
“As M&G has shown over the past few years, if you have good relationships, a strong proposition and a bit of luck, quite frankly, in that the market comes your way, you will still write volume as an active manager. You still have a place in clients’ portfolios.
“Part of the reason I said about not being the best salesperson is because I have now been better exposed to how other people work, as their manager. You see how brilliant other salespeople are. Some of our team have been doing this for 30 years and offer lots of different skills. But the unifying thing is that they are laser focused on what the client wants.
“Then, for me, it’s a case of meeting in the middle between the business and the sales team, to help facilitate what they need.”
Matcham adds that “being a chameleon to different people” is highly important in a sales role.
“Some people, for instance, don’t want small talk, they just want the detail. Understanding this is definitely something that makes the strongest salespeople stand out.
Read the rest of this article in the June issue of Portfolio Adviser magazine
