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Thought Leadership

#GSD: How Sterling Trading Tech’s Commitment to Speed and Relationships Gets Results

Sep 28th, 2022

Andrew Actman

Managing Director of Business Development

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Our team is 100% focused on its clients. That means delivering the exact solutions they need, when and how they need them, with our technical expertise and knowledge. This commitment to getting results is one area where our team is always unified.

One of the catchphrases that I have latched onto and instilled in my team is: “Get Sh!t Done,” or #GSD for short, which has spread throughout STT. It’s a fun reminder phrase to keep everyone moving fast and focused on the task at hand, but on a deeper level, it’s a core tenet of our company philosophy, culture and hiring practices, particularly in client-facing roles, such as business development.

The #GSD mentality is apparent in even the smallest tasks we undertake, from sending immediate confirmation emails to picking up the phone and calling clients that run into problems. Across the organization, the vast majority of our people are skilled communicators and expert multitaskers who prize organization and responsiveness.

But it’s more than that. #GSD means a commitment to responding to clients in a timely fashion and on a human level. The importance of our relationships can’t be overstated – and the best way to build them is through face-to-face interaction.

Over the past year, as COVID-19 restrictions have loosened and life has returned to some sense of normalcy, I’ve made it a point to visit as many clients as I can in their offices. These visits have been truly enjoyable experiences, largely because they have emphasized just how much human touch we lost during the pandemic. In-person meetings provide a natural environment where clients can truly understand the problems we solve and the partnership we provide. For example, I recently flew to meet a client at their offices, and the team and I mapped everything out on a whiteboard, bouncing ideas off one another in real time. I left the meeting feeling STT had a better understanding of how to best serve the client’s needs.

Conferences and other industry events are great, but it’s usually in these more intimate settings where we really get to know our clients and their business needs. In fact, with things slowly opening back up, I’ve made a personal commitment to travel to a client or partner twice a month – that’s how strongly I feel about the power and importance of face-to-face communication.

It's this level of connection with our clients that enables us to deliver technology solutions that meet their exact needs across the trade lifecycle. A true partnership means never losing sight of your clients’ challenges, today and down the road – and that’s what we strive to deliver.

Another example: one of our clients approached us when it had outgrown its existing OMS provider. In addition, this firm wanted to automate some of its risk calculations, which it had been doing on a hybrid basis – some automatically, some manually. Thanks to our ability to deliver on both areas quickly and to the client’s exact configurations, we were able to help solve for its technology needs, complete the implementation in a timely manner and deliver an advanced understanding of risk. That’s a result that doesn’t happen without a highly efficient team working in lockstep – a perfect illustration of the #GSD mentality. And on an ongoing basis, we’ve continued to collaborate closely with this client, allowing us to repeatedly demonstrate our value and engagement.

Over the years, we’ve helped countless clients achieve smooth workflows utilizing just one of or all three of our product lines (OMS, risk and margin, and trading platforms) – bespoke or all together as a complete ecosystem.

Of course, being responsive and supportive only gets you so far – having the right mentality is key. You need to have a sense of hustle, understand clients’ business, and be patient and proactive (I work on this one daily).

Finally – and this is the hardest one for me – you need to be ok with losing at times. As much as we want to win that new business, we never seek to undermine prospects’ decisions or give them a solution that doesn’t meet their precise specifications. That’s all part of our client-centric orientation, even if it can be hard to swallow in the short term.

As we continue to grow, you can rest assured that our team stands ready to serve as a true technology partner and sounding board. Don’t be surprised if you get regular check-in calls from our team long after the ink has dried – it’s part of our commitment to not just understand your needs, but follow through and deliver.

You might even get a visit from me soon! I’m always adding to my upcoming travel itinerary, putting our #GSD philosophy in action. It's all part of our unwavering commitment to our clients. Want to experience #GSD for yourself? Shoot me a message.

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