To fund his college fee, Anup Bhaiya used to sell garments in a small town called Khamgaon in Maharashtra’s Buldhana district. After finishing his college, he was neck-deep in debt when he started dealing in oil cakes.
Subsequently in 2000, he decided to move to Mumbai. Anup was dependent on his relatives in Mumbai till he landed a job in India Infoline. “My decision to move to Mumbai was the best thing that happened to me. I just had Rs. 900 in my pocket and was looking for an opportunity to work. The initial days were very tough. I was dependent on my relatives till I got a job at India Infoline, where I was heading the administration and distribution business. My interest towards this business grew and so did my knowledge. It was here that I got the idea of starting my own company,” recalls Anup.
When asked about what prompted him to leave his comfortable job, he confidently answers, “During those days, the focus was only on selling insurance products. I never wanted to limit myself to a single product when there was so much more to offer. I understood the importance of selling the entire basket of products to customers. Nobody was following a holistic approach. This was the gap I wanted to fill and I decided to quit the job and start my own firm.”
In 2008, Anup floated his firm Money Honey Financial Services to give people a wide range of investment options by offering mutual funds, corporate fixed deposits, debentures and tax-free bonds.
But he began doubting his decision of becoming an entrepreneur after the global meltdown which rocked the market in 2008. “Our business was doing very well till September 2008. But our efforts were washed away due to the recession. As a start-up, we had to face serious struggle and our ‘acche din’ were almost over,” recalls Anup.
But Anup believes that this crisis helped him become more determined and confident. “I believe that everything happens for a reason. This crisis helped me build stronger customer relationships.”
Business model
Unlike most financial advisors who convert prospects after a series of meetings, Anup has a different approach. He claims to have acquired 90% of his clients through phone calls. When asked how he won trust of his clients without meeting them, he says, “Our intent was right. The interest should always align with the customer. You have to understand the investor’s investment experience and add your expertise to it. Our clients have been with us for eight years now but I have not met many of them even once,” says Anup.
Anup rides the latest trends in communication to acquire new clients. After phone calls, he started SMS marketing. Later, he started email-marketing and now he focuses on digital marketing and social media to expand his reach.
Also, in a span of eight years, Anup has adopted a paperless model to enhance client experience. “After the client is convinced to invest, we give them soft copies of pre-printed system generated forms. They send us the filled soft copies. All the information is available on our website so the clients do not have to maintain any documents.”
Future plans
Anup says that he wants to reach masses through investor awareness programs. “We are currently conducting one investor awareness program (IAP) a month and want to increase the number.”
He also plans to expand his team to meet the growing demands of his business.
AUA
Interestingly, Anup’s major chunk of business comes through fixed income. His firm advises on Rs. 1,000 crore in fixed income. He has also built an enviable AUA of Rs. 400 crore in mutual funds, claims Anup. With an overall customer base of 15000, Anup boasts of SIP book of Rs. 1 crore a month.
Advice to IFAs
His advice to budding IFAs is to follow 3Bs: Belief, Behaviour and Business. “If your belief is right then your relationship improves which automatically reflects on the health of your business. Consistency is extremely important. If you want to be your client’s favourite, you have to remain consistent and keep their interests first.”
