The last three months have been challenging for all of us. In fact, many of us feel stressed due to nationwide lockdown and weak business sentiment.
Cafemutual spoke to a few MF distributors to find how they are keeping themselves motivated during these difficult times.
#1 - Avoid negativity
One of the simplest ways to remain motivated is to avoid negativity. Often we immerse in negative headlines or pessimistic opinions upon subjects that we cannot control. This ultimately affects our mood and stresses us even more.
Mukesh Dedhia of Ghalla & Bansali feels that the current situation requires distributors to stay calm and relaxed. “The current situation is shocking to the entire country including the MF industry. This is beyond everyone’s control but the only thing in our control is our state of mind that helps us make decisions on behalf of investors,” he said.
#2 - Dig deeper with clients
The nature of an advisor's job is to ask the same questions over and over to understand the client’s ever changing attitude about spending, saving and investing.
Vinod Jain of Jain Investments believes that the biggest motivation for him during the crisis has been to strive for effective communication with clients. “Constant client interactions have been a source of motivation for me. It gives me an idea that there is so much to do with clients. It made me realise that because of the pandemic, lifestyle, earnings and spending habits of investors have changed. This change has necessitated revisiting their portfolios and they need me more than ever,” said Vinod.
Further, Vinod says that learning more and more about the clients should itself be a reenergizing experience for advisors.
#3 - Stay hungry to learn new things
One of the most effective ways to remain motivated is to keep learning new skills or embracing educational opportunities.
MFD Mukesh feels that this is an opportune time for MFDs to upskill themselves and make use of online platforms like Coursera.
Further, distributors can also practice yoga or inculcate the habit of exercising to get rid of the disheartening or demotivating feelings.
Raj Raghunathan, a Zale Centennial Professor of Business at the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin, recently said in a Cafemutual webinar that developing a habit of exercising is important to stay fit - both mentally and physically.
#4 – Pursue hobbies
Pursue your hobbies to de-stress yourself after a long working day at home.
While Amit Bivalkar of Sapient Wealth spends his free time in playing keyboard (musical instrument), Agra MFD Shifali Satsangee of Funds Ve'daa is honing her culinary and baking skills. Indore MFD Pramod Saraf of Swan Finance has been playing table tennis these days.
Similarly, Pune MFD Prasad Deshpande has been honing his cooking skills. He said, “I enjoy cooking but I did not get time to pursue this hobby. The lockdown has given me adequate time to pursue this hobby. In fact, I have learnt to cook dishes like pasta, pizza, garlic bread and even ice-cream.”
#5 - Focus on the positives
Every crisis or disruption brings with it some great innovations. And this lockdown is no different. For instance, many of you wouldn't have experimented with webinars to reach out to clients, had there not been a lockdown. But now you have found an extremely cost-effective marketing tool. So, look at this as an opportunity and surprise yourself.
