Achuthan Kutty from Thrissur narrates how he acquired his first client who was a retired superintendent of police (SP).
Achuthan Kutty, an IFA based in Kerala’s Thrissur city has a novel of selling mutual funds. For the last 22 years, he has been travelling in and around the villages of Thrissur district in his auto-rickshaw along with a driver. He has acquired over 1000 clients by travelling in his mobile office. Kutty believes in providing door-to-door services to his clients.
Achuthan Kutty: When I started distribution business in 1990, I found it very difficult to acquire even a single client due to lack of awareness about mutual funds in Kerala. My friends who were insurance agents were also facing the same problem.
To tackle this problem we decided to reach out to educated and wealthy people. We made a list of such prospects. With the help of my friend, I managed to get an appointment with a retired superintendent of police (SP).
A day before the meeting I prepared myself with all possible questions he might ask me about mutual funds. Next day when I met him, he asked what mutual funds are, benefits of investing in it, where the money goes after investment and how it is managed.
I answered all his questions by citing appropriate examples. He was very satisfied with my approach and gave me a cheque of Rs. 5000 for lump-sum investment in a diversified equity fund of UTI. That time Rs. 5000 was a large amount.
My first client passed way but his family members still invest with me and currently they have built a corpus of Rs. 50 lakh in mutual funds.
From my first client, I have learnt that homework is important before meeting a prospect.
A man well known for ‘5 SIPs a day’ got his first client who overheard a conversation while he was explaining the concept of mutual fund to one of his friends.
A Chennai based IFA, Alagappan Thenappan has a unique success mantra called ‘5 SIPs a day.’ Whether it is a Sunday or a festival he works 24*7 to achieve his target. His passion for mutual fund distribution makes him travel long distance even for SIPs of Rs. 500. He believes that his bag is his office and client’s desk is his work place. With an over 10,000 SIP book, Alagappan has sensed a huge opportunity in India for mutual funds.
Alagappan Thenappan: The initial days were very challenging. All my close friends, colleagues and even my relatives turned down my proposal to invest through me. I was very disappointed that time. However, my wife gave me the confidence and I didn’t lose hope. One day I went to my friend’s office and explained him the concept of mutual funds and the power of SIP. A person sitting next to his desk overheard the conversation. He was impressed with the concept of SIP. That day, he himself approached me and invested Rs. 2000 in a diversified equity fund of DSP BlackRock through SIP in 2005. Till now, he invests in the same fund with me.
I learnt that in order to succeed one should not lose hope. Also, my first client has taught me that product knowledge and the way you present that product are two most important aspects in distribution business. IFAs should always try to keep things simple so that their client can better understand the concept of mutual funds.