Meet Mr. Durgesh Pandya, Vadodara, Gujarat.
Mr. Durgesh Pandya is one Partner with a very charismatic personality to go along with his big vision for his business. A very young Partner, in terms of age with NJ, he has already made his mark in the business with an impressive clientèle of over 1,600 clients and an AUM close to Rs.45 Crores.
It gives us great pleasure to share his success story and vision with our friends...
In a nutshell, please tell us who really is Durgesh Pandya? What are the principles that you live by?
I see myself as a passionate social entrepreneur who loves to work. I am a Post Graduate in Marketing and have completed study of CFP from NJ Gurukul. I have over 23 years of working experience in manufacturing companies, distribution and service industry and today am enjoying my personal financial advisory practice...
I live by the principles of 'Sincerity, Efficiency, Excellence & Innovation'. 'Think a decade ahead rather than a day ahead' is what I do believe in.
Why did you choose to become a financial advisor?
I found the advisory business relatively less capital intensive, easier to start with few clients from my natural market and also easier to connect with people. With my rich experience and learnings from corporate world over 9 years, I gained the confidence to quit my job and become an entrepreneur. I believed I could build the business with hard work and dedication. Even today I believe personal financial advisory practice in India holds immense potential.
What client related practices have you adopted in your business?
We have classified our clients as Top-50, Top-100, Top-200 and Fee based clients. We undertake periodic reviews and focus on capital protection and wealth building solutions for our clients. We have designed 3 / 4 specific formats of portfolio review and restructuring across all asset classes, including MF. These formats help us in giving proper advice in a set pattern as per the nature of the client. On product pitch side, since we had begun our business with retail non-life insurance products, it is more about cross-selling other financial products to clients today.
On an on-going basis, we try to keep our communication channel strong. We engage in lot of activities like sending useful mailers, product notes, articles, newsletters, etc. We also do personal discussions, regular client meets through seminars and participate in exhibitions.
I must also share that since the beginning of my relationship with NJ, we have made very extensive use of Print-Shop products and used almost all the innovative ideas launched on BizMall. It has helped us in client awareness, marketing and giving a feel of delightfulness to my clients.
You have an impressive SIP book of nearly 40 lakhs with nearly 76% of your accounts having an SIP. Can you share the process behind it?
Our approach to clients has been to make long-term plans for creating wealth through investments. We give this understanding and message to our client while building their portfolio. Based on our experience and the outcome /results, we have upgraded our process. Over time, we have also refined on the inputs sought from our clients. I am glad to share that my clients are happy to receive our superior advice which is simpler & seen as an ever-green way to create wealth.
You have a strong conviction in NJ TADA. Please tell us about any plans or targets you have.
We all believe that TADA and online transacting is clearly the future of how mutual fund investments will be handled. Our targets are pretty simple – we want our 80% clients to be on this platform with in the next 12-15 months.
You are also a successful Agency Manager with a team of 12 Partners. You also have 22 employees working for you. Please comment on your approach in managing your team.
For my employees, my approach has been to nurture their respective domains and really build on skills of multi-tasking, strategic thinking and coordination. These are important skills in a small organisation.
For Partners, I believe in keeping in constant touch. I often do mailers of motivational quotes & pictures, articles, make smart use of communication tools. I give guidance on building AUM and also actively help in matters like scheme selection. I also regularly do exclusive meetings and interactions with AMC professionals. One unique thing that I do is that I insist on personal visit of my Partners along with me to our Surat Head Office once a year to keep them motivated to think and plan big.
You have recently opened a new office. Many congratulations! Can you tell us more about it?
Thank you. The new office is an ultra-modern cubical layout premise with capacity for 30 persons. It has facilities like, storage, server room, board room, display area, cubical cabins, VIP lounge, Audio-Video room cum class room with capacity of 25 heads, a customer service desk and visitor lounge, a posh cafeteria and an library.
I warmly welcome any NJ Partner who wishes to visit my office...
What keeps you constantly motivated and enthusiastic?
I am constantly motivated by the challenges of the evolving Personal Financial Advisory practice in India. For me, the success of landing a new client is always a thrill, and building a well-thought out pitch that will easily explain the product to the client is very satisfying.
What do you consider your best achievements thus far?
As a intermediary for a general insurance company, I have stood at no. 1 position in our region since last 10 years. On wealth front, on 19th April, we had very successful mega exhibition cum financial trade in Vodadara. It was a big brand building exercise with 12 exhibitions & a foot fall of nearly 3,000 visitors. It was the result of our great team work. The best is still to come. I recall one Robin Sharma quote, "do not confuse money with meaning and income with impact."
There have been tough times too in the business. What has made you overcome them?
My strength lies in my knowing that I have the ability to fix things and turn a situation around. I always try to look at the brighter side of any bad situation and see what I can learn from it. Sometimes you may need to take a hard route to get the end. But we have to be passionate and find creative ways to get your product and services in front of decision makers. And don't give up.
Could you share your plans ahead?
On the business numbers side, I have set my targets at Rs. 2 Cr. of SIP Input value and Rs.200 C. of AUM within the next 3 years. This is approx 4x jump from my existing book size.
One a personal front, I wish to continue learning new things and building transferable skills within myself.
Your advice to fellow NJ Partners?
"Success belongs to those who learn, grow and study." It has been my life mantra and the reason for my success. To my fellow friends, I would say...
- Learn as much as you can about our advisory field from every perspective. The more well-rounded you are in our field, the more effective you will be at your work and the more attractive you will be to your existing and prospective clients.
- Adopt the innovative products & services brought on NJ Platform.
- Most importantly, keep yourself motivated to do more.
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