Do you speak on calls if the MD is leading?
So I was recently promoted to VP at a BB bank in London. Because of high turnover in my industry, I've actually never worked with a VP before. It's always been me as an analyst or associate with the Director or MD. Needless to say, I've generally been quiet on client calls when the Director or MD is leading the discussion. Now I've been promoted to VP (execution VP) and I think I should be speaking up more but I don't know what is typical as I've never seen what a VP says on calls.
I'm also naturally very quiet and don't like asking dumb questions in front of the client so it's pretty difficult for me to be smooth and part of the flow but I'm willing to put in the effort to get there! I acknowledge I probably should've done it sooner as an associate but I didn't think I would get promoted so quickly. I guess my technicals made up for my introversion...
If the MD is talking to the CFO, am I expected to also be part of the discussion? What if it's 3 MDs from our bank with 3 c-suite from the client side? It feels like I'll be annoying if I'm trying to talk on the call.
I realize I sound like an idiot asking these questions but I would rather ask anonymously here than my team. Thanks in advance, really would appreciate any advice!
Made it all the way to VP and still nothing to say?
Yeah I think that's my issue. I got promoted really quickly because of high turnover and I guess my technical work was good. But now I'm suddenly on all these client calls and I don't have much to say. It'd be great to get some advice though so I can work on this.
As a VP you should totally speak in front of clients.
Unless you tell us that your MD is patronising and absolutely doesn’t let you speak (which I’ve seen before) you have no excuse not to speak up.
Pick your battles. If it’s a call covering areas you are less knowledgeable in then maybe don’t. If you have anything to add then go ahead. Don’t take the whole limelight but start small and build up the confidence.
If you’re not sure what to say, then I suggest ahead of the call take 30-60 minutes going through what this meeting is about, what do they need to know, what do they already know, what else was discussed that would be good to touch base on, etc. Even the most well spoken VPs with natural charm that I work with perform way better if they prepare. I’ve seen people make a list of topics to be sure they get to say something.
This is a good comment. I would also say you wanna think about what kind of call you're on. If it's a deal you're on, you should definitely be asking questions and speaking up so you have the right understanding of the deal and what the client wants to execute well.
I would say if it's client call where your MD is just doing BD and knows the client well (and say you don't), then you should be part of the "chit-chat" and maybe ask a few questions but shouldn't be speaking too much. If it's a BD call where various MDs are pitching products then speak less.
Thank you! So if there are a ton of senior guys on a call then I should be speaking less. What do you usually focus on to ask or talk about on calls?
Thank you! This is very helpful. When it comes to prepping, this is a dumb question but what would you do to prepare for a call? I find it especially hard when it's a call just talking with the client about their general business. My MD would've asked all the questions I had in my head.
MDs are on calls with industry leaders all day and have decades of experience to know what questions to ask. If you spend 15 min before a meeting figuring out how you can add value in some way, even if it's one question or an insight, that's time well spent. Eventually you will see these things more quickly but you need to intentionally spend some time looking for insights at first.
- know all of the numbers in the deck, have them written down on a notecard if you need. The MD is not going to have these memorized so that's a place you can help, and if you can start out your speaking career by being the go-to numbers guy, that's a good spot to build off of
- read their investor pres, transcripts etc to see what is a focus for them and what type of questions the equity analysts are asking on these calls
- similarly go through research - did the CEO do a meeting with the equity research guys lately? presentations at an event? Go read those
Just chime in when you can
If I had a VP on my deal teams that didn't say anything on calls I'd feel like I was needing to do his job and would have a talk with him.
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