Listen to this article
When a 27-year-old Pratik Shah took over the insurance distribution business of his father in 2000, he hardly had any idea about mutual funds. He couldn't have even guessed that such a product will become the backbone of his distribution business in times to come. However, 22 years later, he is one of the biggest individual MFDs in India with monthly SIP book of over Rs. 2 crore and 10,500 SIP live accounts.
Pratik attributes his success to IAPs and referrals. Talking about IAPs, he said, "I invite not more than 30 people to my IAPs. This helps me connect with each one of them personally. Also, I make sure that each prospective client attends my IAP before on boarding them so that they are aware of what they are getting into," he said.
Further, his IAPs are a detailed one and establish strong connect with the participants. “My IAPs go on for over four hours. Though the number of hours is not a factor in itself, you need time to get familiar with people. The added inputs also make you look more knowledgeable and you come across as someone whom they can trust with their money,” he said.
Pratik claims that he never fails to convert an IAP participant into client, given that he puts a lot of input and time to understand each one of them. “If you approach someone with solutions to their real issues, I don’t know why anyone would refuse to listen to you,” he said.
Another important thing that helped Pratik is staying in constant touch with his clients. “I even ask my clients to keep calling. The more you call someone, the better the other person remembers you. As an MFD, all clients should be equal to me but I can’t deny the fact that the people who keep connected get a slightly better service. The case is similar the other way around also,” he said.
