Rajesh Chheda’s first client was a sailor whom he charged $500 yearly for handling his bank work.
Rajesh Chheda (Finance Factory)
From the beginning, I was fascinated with the share market so much so that I decided to become a sub-broker after surrendering my CA certificate. However, Ketan Parekh scam changed my life and I took up LIC agency. Later I took up general insurance and then finally mutual funds.
Over a decade and a half ago, a sailor came to me through a client from my CA days. Being a sailor, he used to get only a few months on shore and as a family man, his priority was to spend as much time as possible with his family. When he first met me, he was in a hurry as he wanted to collect his bank statements from the multiple banks where he held his accounts and give them to his CA. It was the hidden opportunity I was looking for. I asked him “Gandolf (name changed), it seems you are quite stressed at the idea for all this running around. Should I help you in organizing paperwork for your CA?” Gandolf replied with a mix amazement and in relief “Gosh Rajesh, would you be kind enough to do it for me?”
His eyes gleamed and even though I was no more a practicing CA, I knew my experience would make it pretty easy for me to coordinate with my professional colleagues who would not see me as a threat. I replied, "Sure, no probs. I will do all this for you and you can spend quality time with your family. Would $500 be all right for you for this service of visiting all the bank branches and meeting up with your CA until finalization?” Gandolf beamed with joy "That would be so nice. And fees, no problem." With this, I ended up with a yearly "advisory" fee and to this day, my client is happy and continues to retain my services.
He had Rs 2 crore in fixed deposit. I recommended him to invest some portion in balanced fund. As he trusted me a lot he invested around 1/3rd of this amount in balanced fund.
Raman Agarwal (Santushti Securities)
Raman Agarwal’s first client was a SME owner who invested Rs 2 crore in RBI bonds and LIC BimaNivesh.
I am an ex- banker. Right from my college days, I used to do part time accounts in some SME. These SMEs used to take my advice on their finances as well as investments. After I took VRS from bank, I approached one of those SMEs for providing them consultancy. They had majorly invested in bank fixed deposits. I advised them to invest part of this money in RBI Bonds and LIC BimaNivesh. The SME owner asked for a presentation on my proposal. I was good with Excel from those days so I made a tabular presentation on the cost-benefit analysis of converting those FD into my advised solutions. Since this was immensely beneficial to him in post-tax returns, he was convinced and made the investment. The client invested Rs 2 crore.
The key learning for me was that a client centric approach always pays off. If you give paramount importance to your client’s interest, then the client will always stay with you. Moreover, having the knowledge and skill of evaluating investment options has also proved to be a key contributor of success for me.