Ravi Samalad profiles Darayas Mistry has built up a successful niche practice purely on referrals and personal interaction
Mumbai: Darayas Mistry says that one should not push hard to solicit referrals from existing clients. His belief is that if you have built a good rapport with them, referrals will automatically pour in.
We are in his office opposite Old Custom House near Horniman circle in Fort, the heart of Mumbai’s financial district. Our conversation is interrupted by a phone call. One of his existing clients has called him for investment advice for his sister-in- law. Darayas quizzes the caller about her age and objective of investing. Rather than making a product recommendation, Darayas asks the caller to set up a meeting with his sister- in-law first.
“After a period of time your clients get to know you well. The client should have so much confidence in you that he should give you a referral without even being asked. The comfort of the client determines your success,” shares Darayas.
Darayas has been taking keen interest in numbers right from his college days. During his college days, Darayas took a part time accounting job with a small management consultancy firm. He soon discovered that he loved to dissect balance sheets.
After finishing his college, he joined a broking firm. In 1996, he got a chance to work in the operations department in Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund. This exposure to mutual funds led to an interest in the distribution space and he quit his job in 1999 to set up an investment advisory firm called Farr Lapp Investments. “There was this Asian crisis in 1998. Things weren’t going very well for the industry but I saw a big opportunity in this industry,” says Darayas.
Like any other budding IFA, he initially operated from his home. His first clients were close friends and family. Soon the word spread. Today he has more than 100 clients, with an average ticket size of Rs 2 crore. His wife, who is a CA by qualification, lends him a helping hand in the business.
Darayas has not started charging a fee from his clients yet. He says that Indian investors are still not ready for the idea of paying a fee for investment advice, a challenge which scores of IFAs are facing after the scrapping of front loads.
Most of his clients have been with him for a very long time. He believes in a personal and interactive style of marketing. Rather than rely on mailers, flyers or any form of advertising, he prefers to meet people one-on-one to promote his services. “As an IFA, you can’t advertise in dailies. You have to meet them and it’s only when they feel comfortable with you and accept your way of working,” concludes Darayas.