It is important to apply your past learnings while making your goals for 2016. As 2015 comes to an end, we asked leading advisors what were their biggest learnings in their professional lives in 2015.
Yogita Dand, ASKY Financial Services
- Your clients are your best sales people: The most important lesson that I have learnt in 2015 is that when you serve your clients well, they refer you to their friends and family and hence your business grows. It is very important for us to place the client first and not their money.
- Have a team for execution: Having a team for execution helps me meet more prospects as well as meet existing clients. Thus, I can concentrate on the growth of the business.
- Robo and human advisors need to co-exist: I have started getting clients from all over the country as well as abroad and while I can video conference with them on Skype, I have realised that having an online platform for execution would make all the difference. So brick and mortar advisors can partner with Robo advisors to provide a superior experience to clients.
- Join networking groups for relationships first and then for business: I have joined a few groups to network and realised that business comes only after people build a certain level of trust and confidence in you. Hence, joining a networking group and expecting business to flow from day one could be unrealistic.
- Collaboration is the key to future: There is a great deal of collaboration among financial planners and I feel it is a wonderful community! We are always helping each other and collaborating for our profession. To quote Rajesh Krishnamoorthy, MD, iFAST, “If a few good financial planners decide to collaborate and join hands on a higher level, nothing can stop us from being the next KPMG.”
Suresh Sadagopan, Ladder7 Advisories
- Let the clients decide: As an advisor, we stand our ground about what we feel is right for our clients. Sometimes, clients have already decided on certain things before they come to us. They seek our consent on what they believe is right. Such people will argue even if the most persuasive arguments are put forward. It is best to leave the thought with them on the table for them to consider & take a call rather than just capitulate & toe their line.
- Client Service: Service standards cannot be compromised to lower costs. Clients don't mind paying higher fees but they do not want any compromise on service than what they are already used to. It may simply be a better idea to collect higher fees & offer a couple of more value-added services to sweeten the deal.
Mimi Partha Sarathy, Sinhasi Consultants 
- Growing demand of advisors: The importance of having a sound trusted financial advisor is becoming more understood and wanted by investors, especially HNIs.
- Appetite for equities increasing: More investors have understood the long term nature of equity and are now ready to invest in equities with a 3-5 year horizon. In addition to gold and real estate, they have understood the importance of adding equity into their investments.
- Greater awareness about insurance: Health insurance has become popular and better understood among people across ages. Also, natural calamities like floods, earthquakes etc. have made people take home risk cover.
