When I was a sofa salesman working in Melandas Casa Mobili at IMM, one way to tell whether a couple is serious in looking for a sofa is by asking them to sit in the sofas. If they don’t want to sit down in any sofas, it’s a tell-tale sign they are just “strolling the garden”. I would move on to other “prospects”. I am working on commissions OK? The longer I can keep a couple sitting in one of our sofas, the odds will be better for a sale. That is why when you enter into a furniture salesroom, the sales staff always invite you to sit. And if you walk into a mattress showroom, they will ask you to lie down! (No not together! No when your missus is around!) The same technique is used in car showrooms. If you don’t even want to go inside the car to feel the steering wheel, you will get ignored pretty soon. And if you go for a test drive, its kaching $$! That is also why when your missus drop into jewellery shop, the smart sales person will pile pieces of jewellery on her finger, neck, and wrist! You don’t let glass come between a girl and her jewellery. You let her feel, touch, and possess it! And when you see the longing look when the sales person put back the jewellery back into the glass cabinet, you relent and say: “OK, whatever makes you happy dear. Just choose one.” Ouch! Now, how would a broker promote something “intangible” like financial derivatives? Something that most people “fear” is complicated and dangerous? Yes! You introduce fake trading simulation accounts that create the “illusion” that it’s a risk free environment for you to test out your strategies before you get your feet wet… Why? Simple – it’s an understanding of human emotions: 1)     Over-confidence – It’s a lot “easier” to make money using fake money as the emotional turmoil is taken out. It’s all fun and games! 2)     Denial – You can bust out your fake trading account 9 times out of 10, and on the 10^th try you make money, you tell yourself that you have found your “method”! 3)     Familiarity – The more we get used to something, the more we let our guards down. So instead of opening with a “hesitant” small $5,000 or $10,000 account if you had not traded with simulation, you now will open a much bigger starting account. You are now energy charged! And what happens the moment you trade with real money? I have a simple test. If you now have $50,000 to hand over to a fund manager, would you hand-over your money to: a)     A “world champion” in a trading simulation competition, or b)     a fund manager with real investment track record that beat 80% of his peers? Skip the trading simulations. Most newbie today have lots of knowledge – be it through books, internet or seminars attended. It’s not lack of brain-power; it’s more about emotions. And the quicker we discover our personality flaws, the quicker we can decide to stay in the game (reflect and adjust) or get out (out-source). May the force be with you! Singapore Man of Leisure (welcome to my blog; just google it!) This post was written by a guest contributor. Please see their details in the post above. If you'd like to guest post for TheFinance.sg, feel free to contact me for details about how YOU can share your tips and knowledge with our community.