How to ask if a company needs money

April 13, 2009 8:04 AM

I recently started a job that I don't know much about. It's a commission only job for a company that does private placements for small public companies. All I have to do is qualify the leads, which comes down to two parts: do they have enough trading volume and does the company need money. My question is, how do I ask if they need money?

My worry is that I'm violating some REG FD rule if I ask if they need to raise money. Am I? I can look at the annual reports and see often that they say that the company may require additional capital so can I just say, "Do you still need to raise money?". If this isn't possible, I'm looking for ways to get at that subject without breaking any rules.

posted by josher71 to Work & Money (3 answers total)

You are a salesman. You are paid a commission, which means you either make no money or you make all of the money. You have an unlimited amount of potential money to be earned if you commit to asking the questions that will create a pathway for your company.

If you are near to the base of the company, like in the office, you need to get the person above you or the person with more experience than you to take you out on some calls or watch them open (and hopefully close) a meeting or deal on the phone as soon as you can.

I don't think you are breaking any law by asking a public company if they need more money. Public companies don't have to announce to their stockholders that they are 'looking' for a loan. They only need to make note when the loan has been signed.
posted by parmanparman at 10:07 AM on April 13, 2009

(It should be) needless to say that a commissioned salesperson is not supposed to, nor supposed to need to, make these kind of fundamental legal and compliance judgments for himself/herself. Ask you supervisor, and if needed ask your CCO.
posted by MattD at 10:38 AM on April 13, 2009

Response by poster: Asked my supervisor who said, "They'll just say they can't answer that."

So, question solved I suppose.
posted by josher71 at 12:15 PM on April 13, 2009