Client retention · Lesson 2 of 3
Onboarding and ongoing support
5 min read
Draft lesson — under editorial review
The first few weeks after sign-up shape how a client trades for months afterwards. A clear onboarding path builds good habits before real money is at risk, and steady support afterwards keeps clients learning rather than guessing. This lesson shows you how to do both while staying on the right side of the line between education and personalised advice.
Start on a demo account
A demo account lets a client trade with virtual money on live prices. Encourage every new client to use one before trading live, so they can learn the platform, practise placing orders and make beginner mistakes for free.
Be honest about the limits of demo trading too:
- there is no real money at stake, so the emotions of live trading are missing
- fills and slippage, meaning the gap between the price you expect and the price you get, may be more favourable than on a live account
A sensible approach is for the client to set their own goal before going live, such as completing the learning path below and keeping a trading journal for a set number of weeks. The decision to trade live, and how much to deposit, is always theirs.
A starter learning path
A simple four-week structure gives new clients a clear sequence. Adjust the pace to suit them.
| Week | Focus | What the client practises on demo |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Platform basics, pips and lot sizes | Opening and closing small trades; reading a quote |
| 2 | Leverage and margin | Checking the margin a position needs before opening it |
| 3 | Risk management | Setting a stop-loss and sizing every trade by risk |
| 4 | Trading plan and journal | Writing a plan and reviewing four weeks of demo results |
Example material for weeks 2 and 3
These are the kinds of worked examples your sessions can use. They are general education, not recommendations.
Margin (week 2): a mini lot is 10,000 units of the base currency, the first currency in the pair. For a pair where USD is the base, such as USD/CHF, one mini lot is a position worth 10,000 USD. At leverage of 1:30, the required margin is 10,000 ÷ 30 = 333.33 USD.
Position size (week 3): an account of 2,000 USD risking 1% per trade can lose 2,000 × 0.01 = 20 USD on that trade. With a stop-loss 25 pips away on EUR/USD, where 1 pip on 1 standard lot is worth 10 USD:
- risk per standard lot = 25 × 10 = 250 USD
- position size = 20 ÷ 250 = 0.08 lots
So the position would be 0.08 lots, which is 8 micro lots of 1,000 units each.
Regular sessions
Ongoing support keeps clients learning and gives them a safe place to ask questions. Options include:
- a weekly live question-and-answer session
- a monthly workshop on one topic, such as reading an economic calendar or reviewing a trading journal
- recordings and short written summaries for people who cannot attend live
- a newsletter that explains concepts rather than recommending trades
Keep the focus on process: planning, risk, record keeping and review. Avoid turning sessions into trade calls, price forecasts or celebrations of big wins. Remember that sessions are promotions too, so the risk warning and IB disclosure from the compliance course still apply.
Answering questions without giving personalised advice
Unless you are authorised to give advice, you must not tell an individual what they should trade, when, or how much. You can still be genuinely helpful by explaining how things work and helping clients think through their own plan.
| Client asks | Avoid saying | A better response |
|---|---|---|
| "Should I buy gold now?" | "Yes, go long." | "I cannot tell you what to trade. Let us look at how you would decide: what is your reason for entering, where is your stop, and what size fits your risk?" |
| "How much should I deposit?" | "Put in 5,000 so it is worth it." | "Only ever deposit money you can afford to lose completely. An independent financial adviser can help you look at your wider finances." |
| "Which leverage should I choose?" | "The maximum, for bigger profits." | "Here is how leverage changes the margin a trade needs. Your risk mainly comes from position size, so let us look at sizing too." |
| "My trade is losing. Should I close it?" | "Hold it, it will come back." | "That is your decision. What did your plan say you would do if price reached this point?" |
For account, deposit or platform problems, point clients to the broker's official support team. Never ask for their login details to "take a look".
Key takeaways
- Encourage every new client to start on a demo account, while being honest about its limits.
- A short, structured learning path covering platform, leverage, risk and planning builds good habits early.
- Regular sessions should teach process, not give trade calls or forecasts, and still carry a risk warning and disclosure.
- Help clients think through their own decisions instead of telling them what to trade, unless you are authorised to advise.
- Send account and platform issues to the broker's official support, and never ask for logins.
Educational content only — not financial advice. Trading leveraged products such as forex and CFDs carries a high risk of losing money.