What is the impact of discontinuation of physical application forms on your business?
Coronavirus pandemic has definitely affected the MF distribution business.
Many clients who prefer investing in mutual funds physically have decided not to continue investing. In fact, many distributors like us who spend majority of our time meeting clients have seen a major impact on our business.
However, many fund houses have come up with alternatives to keep the process going like accepting application on emails and WhatsApp. These efforts have helped us to a great extent.
How are you dealing with investors who want to exit investments post the sharp downfall in the market?
Nationwide lockdown has affected many business owners and employees working in various sectors. Many clients have been facing financial constraints due to delay in salaries or pay cut. Hence, our priority is to guide clients manage their household expenses with the help of their emergency corpus in short term funds.
We are convincing investors who want to redeem their investment due to market decline to stay put by citing examples from the past and the lessons that these events have taught us – patience and perseverance pays off.
How are you engaging with clients considering the nationwide-lockdown situation? Which app do you use for video conferences?
We have kept it simple. We talk to clients on phone calls and use video call feature of WhatsApp and Google Duo as most clients are comfortable using these apps.
How are you managing your time? Tell us more about your work from home routine.
I start my day at 6 am. I do some exercise and play badminton with my wife for an hour. I catch up on some reading to keep myself updated before starting my routine work.
I start my work-from-home routine by connecting with my colleagues to discuss the day. I then make calls to my clients and spend more than four hours a day talking to them.
Nevertheless, the current situation has given us an opportunity to spend more quality time with family.
What are the two biggest lessons for you during this phase?
This may sound funny but I miss the hustle bustle of day to day life. I miss traffic noise, vehicle honking and crowd. While we crib about these things, it makes our daily life complete.
On a serious note, I have learnt that travelling and meeting people are important for distribution business.
In such a difficult situation, how do you keep yourself motivated?
Honestly, I am always prepared for such shocks. The day I made up my mind to become mutual fund distributor, I knew I will have to face such shocks. Our income changes every now and then and this is not new for us. However, these events keep me busy figuring out how I can overcome the situation and get better at what I do.
