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Let the joy of celebrating accomplishment continue as Cafemutual brings to you three more equally inspiring stories under Franklin Templeton’s Invest For Progress Campaign.
Today, let’s take a look at the illustrious tales of Anita Kanbargi, Apsara Shetty and Sapna Narang .
Chapter: Anita Kanbargi – The Master of Marketing
Anita started her career in the accounts and administration department in the private sector and took up different roles in her other organisations. However, when her job demanded a transfer from her hometown Belgaum, she decided to look at other opportunities in the city.
Anita came across a media campaign that generated her interests in advertisement and marketing. After much deliberation, she chose to start her advertising agency. As her business flourished, her husband, who hailed from the finance industry, too joined the business. However, given the cyclicality of the advertising industry, the two decided to restart their business journey through a finance distribution company.
They started with an agency to sell post office savings and then graduated to becoming mutual fund distributors. Anita believes that MF distribution holds huge potential and offers a stable revenue stream in the form of trail commissions.
To start with, the couple deployed their advertisement and marketing skills to acquire new clients. They did a host of activities to increase their visibility like handing out business cards through door-to-door visits, distributing brochures, sticking posters on auto rickshaws, sending postcards and conducting events like plantation drives.
As mutual funds were fairly new back then, the duo simplified it through numeric illustrations. They believe that quantifying goals with value makes investors more ambitious and dedicated towards achieving their financial goals. For instance, if you tell people that an SIP of Rs.2000 can become Rs.12 lakh in 15 years, they will get curious to know more.
The duo encouraged investors to start with small amounts to test waters. As investors became comfortable, they voluntarily increased their investments and also gave references.
Today, they collectively manage assets of over Rs. 300 crore from more than 2,000 clients through Datta Anita Financial Services.
Her journey teaches two important business lessons:
- Marketing helps in prospecting and increasing visibility
- Quantifying goals with a value makes investors more ambitious and increases their dedication towards their goals
Chapter: Apsara Shetty – 3 Mantras for a Successful Business
Mumbai based mutual funds distributor, Apsara, donned the entrepreneurial hat right after completing her graduation and CFP. She started with distribution of insurance and fixed deposits. Later, she expanded her offerings with mutual funds by joining her husband’s mutual fund distribution business, Relacs Investment.
Apsara started her mutual fund journey by educating her existing clients about the flexibility and benefits of compounding through SIP investing. Currently, Apsara manages an AUM of Rs.800 crore across all financial products. She attributes her success to these three things:
Firstly, it is important to have a thorough knowledge and detailed understanding of products and the current happenings. This calls for a disciplined and dedicated schedule of reading books, newspapers, and other online content. Also, attending conferences can help understand upcoming trends and learn from experts.
Next, a strong client servicing model and a well-trained team are the core elements to any successful business. Invest in people to grow business.
And the third most important thing is to give clients the ease of accessing their portfolio on a real-time basis. This increases investors’ trust and confidence in their mutual funds distributor.
While her journey teaches multiple business lessons, here are the top two -
- Set aside time for reading every day and attend conferences regularly. It is absolutely essential to have sound knowledge of products and current news
- Offer clients real-time access to their investment portfolio. This increases investors’ confidence in their mutual fund distributors
Chapter: Sapna Narang – identifying Your Target Audience
The desire of protecting clients’ interests and helping them achieve their financial aspirations, encouraged Sapna to be a mutual fund distributor in 2003. With over a decade-long experience of working with different MNC’s, she was not new to the financial industry.
Believing in the power of collaboration, Sapna formed Capital League with two of her ex-colleagues as partners. Next, they identified the client segment to focus on and ventured into the boutique wealth management space. Knowing the target segment helped in taking better business decisions like profiling, marketing strategies, product offerings and service delivery.
Not only her partners, but even her initial set of clients were from previous organisations she worked at. These clients were well-versed with Sapna - her values and skill sets. Gradually, the snowball effect came in to play as her existing clients started giving references.
Professionalism, sound knowledge and integrity are the key ingredients to winning trust over time, she says. Also, Sapna is of the opinion that women naturally tend to be empathetic and caring which in turn helps cement client trust.
Another thing that sets Sapna apart is keeping an eye on factors like office location and calibre of the team to grow business. She believes that the office location has a huge role to play if your target customers are HNIs. Similarly, a well-trained team can make your life simple in terms of client servicing.
Interestingly, Sapna has created an all-women team with the desire to give them an opportunity to fulfil their professional aspirations along with personal commitments.
Today, Sapna and her partners collectively manage assets of over Rs. 2,000 crore across product categories for more than 250 families. Sapna and her team have won many accolades including United Nations Women's Award (under the SME category).
Her journey highlights:
- Defining which client segment you will serve gives your business a clear direction and focus
- Invest in the office space and team to make your business successful
