Shashi Verma has grown his business by targeting clients in a systematic manner and thoroughly understanding a customer’s needs.
Shashi
Bhushan Verma
started his financial
planning business in 1999. Most investors were not aware about the concept of
engaging a single advisor for all financial needs a decade ago, says Shashi. Many
of his prospects had a minimum of three advisors each to satisfy investment
requirements: one for market investments, an agent for post office deposits and
a chartered accountant to advice on tax related issues.
Initial Steps
Shashi’s father and brother are chartered accountants but he decided to do something on his own.
Having made the decision, Shashi started looking around for career options. An LIC broker asked him to join his business. But Shashi says he did not appreciate the lack of a dynamic work ethic at the public sector insurance giant. He wanted to do something different.
It was in 1999 that he became a full-time advisor. Before starting off on his own, Shashi started work as a sub-broker with RR Financial, a Kolkata-based broking firm.
During his junior college days, Shashi had approached corporate clients for enrolment in Art of Living yoga sessions. He used this client database when he started off as a sub-broker. “Initially, I approached prospects with a questionnaire to evaluate their financial needs,” says Shashi.
Client Acquisition
Those were tough days. Shashi was thrown out of a number of corporates. But he managed to contact around 180 people with the questionnaire. This gave Shashi a good understanding of the financial needs of different types of clients, and the products needed to service them.
Shashi says that 2001 was a crucial year. The business environment was impacted by the 9/11 attacks, and a few companies had started terminating the services of employees. Financial planning became a must.
He empanelled himself with a few top fund houses during this period. Shashi managed to boost his client base from 10 to 100. Currently, he manages around 300 clients. “People were serious about deploying their investments in different assets so that all their financial requirements were met,” says Shashi.
Unique Selling Proposition
During his initial days, Shashi noticed that people were not aware of Mediclaim. In a year’s time he started offering a full product basket comprising insurance, Mediclaim and PPF.
Shashi also discovered that clients were planning on a quarterly basis. He offered them a plan for the complete financial year. That was a USP which all his initial clients liked. This gave a boost to his career. Shashi became a tax consultant and an investment planner.
As he approached his prospects, Shashi managed to convert them through testimonials from existing clients. One of his clients was from a tea plantation in Assam. Satisfied with his services, his client arranged for a financial seminar at Assam for his employees. In a single day, Shashi gathered 80 clients.
Similarly, Shashi addressed the employees of ITC Sonar Bangla. His talk on financial planning helped him to enlist 20 clients.
Currently Shashi manages assets worth Rs 12.50 crore. He plans to grow his business by adding more clients through investor awareness programmes. Shashi wants to tie up with AMCs for these sessions.