Key takeaways:
- Crypto conversations have evolved from beginner questions to discussions about how digital assets fit into broader financial plans.
- The same skills that reps use to guide clients through market uncertainty—listening, context, and perspective—are just as important with digital assets.
- When a conversation goes well, the outcome is more than real-world answers. It’s also confidence.
For more than a decade Client Service and Support Representative Chris Waterbury has been having conversations with clients about some of their biggest financial questions. With Schwab launching the Schwab Crypto™ account, those conversations increasingly include digital assets, bringing a new set of questions from both first-time crypto investors and longtime participants in the asset class.
We spoke with Chris about the questions clients are asking about cryptocurrency and how Schwab is bringing its long-standing approach to guidance and support into those conversations.
What are you hearing from clients about crypto today?
The questions have evolved over time. Earlier conversations were often about understanding the basics of digital currency. Today, some clients are still taking their first steps into crypto, while others have followed the asset class for years and have more complex questions.
But at the end of the day, the conversation usually comes back to the same things we are used to talking about. What are you trying to accomplish? How much risk are you comfortable taking? And how does this fit with everything else you're doing financially?
What does that mean for how Schwab has prepared reps for crypto conversations?
It means we've focused on the ecosystem and the experience, not just the product.
We have prepared our reps to bring the same level of service, professionalism, and guidance clients already expect from Schwab to conversations about digital assets. Someone can call Schwab and talk about all parts of their financial picture with one experience, instead of having to piece things together across multiple providers. Consistent with the rest of their Schwab experience, they also have access to educational resources and insight from experts on Schwab.com and the Schwab Network.
Crypto can feel especially volatile and emotional. How do you think about supporting clients during periods of uncertainty?
Volatility is something we've talked about with clients forever. The product may change, but the conversation doesn't.
When the market starts moving around and everyone's talking about it on social media or in the headlines, people naturally have questions about what it means for them. Experience helps you slow the conversation down, listen for what they're really concerned about, and respond to that—not just to the headline or the price movement. That's a transferable skill, no matter the asset class.
What other skills are transferable to crypto conversations?
Emotional intelligence is huge. You can often tell what someone's worried about before they say it outright. Maybe they ask one question, but you can hear there's something underneath it—fear of loss, fear of missing out, fear of making a mistake.
Being able to read that and adjust the conversation is just as important as technical knowledge.
When a client hangs up after a conversation, how do you hope they feel?
Confident. Confident in themselves. Confident in Schwab.
That confidence comes from having a thoughtful conversation with someone who understands the product and can answer their questions. And you can hear it when that shift happens—when uncertainty turns into confidence.
I also hope that if they have another question, they feel confident that they can call back and talk to someone who's prepared. That's the goal.
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