With an incredible product on offer, our charismatic persona and our alluring sales skills, we often can't figure out why the investor is skeptical about me and my product. We are seasoned performers, well prepared for unordinary questions and situations, we follow our customary principles of advising. We focus on overall Financial Planning of the investor, Goal based investing, Age and Risk tolerance of the investor, and advise accordingly. Yet, sometimes the end result – the investor isn't convinced.

The investor lacks conviction probably because your perception of his needs is at odds from his. A common mistake that many advisors commit is they advise according to their own judgment, although in the best interest of the investor, but often omit noticing what exactly is going on in the Investor's mind, what are his real issues. The primary need of the investor could be utmost safety of principal even if it is at the cost of returns, and you are trying convince him for Equity. He will never fall for it since his basic requirements are not being met. A financial Advisor is a solution provider, but what's the point of offering a solution to an unknown problem. There is a gap between your understanding and his state of mind. To bridge this gap, you need to step into his shoes and think like him to understand his concerns and preferences.

You need to understand the thought process of investors, what exactly do they want in return for their money. When there is parity between his views and your perception of his views, the end result will be quality advice.

So, how do you achieve this parity?

The simplest method to getting the right answers is through asking the right questions. Spend some time with the investor and ask a lot of questions. Apart from the direct rapid fire, try to gauge his risk appetite by observing his reactions in fictitious financial situations. Ask him about his personal life, his goals, is he willing to compromise on some, what's his priority list, etc. A tête-à-tête with the client can erase many misconceptions that you may otherwise have, and help you disseminate the desired solution.

Try to understand his reason especially during volatile periods. You feel that there is no need to panic and the investor is overreacting, but here you actually need to understand why is he reacting this way. Try to analyse the sudden turn of events from the investor's point of view. Money is a sensitive issue, he might have some concerns, some doubts which may need clarification. Only when you substitute yourself in the investor's position, you'll be able to rightly identify the doubts and provide a satisfying explanation.

The investor may have a number of questions and anxieties revolving in his mind, it's essential to ascertain them and advise accordingly.

Sometimes the issues that are holding him back are small. The client may have doubts about the offeror, in case of a Mutual Fund he might be skeptical about the AMC's brand name, and may be simply looking for a more familiar name for investing. So when you know the problem is so simple, it'll be very easy for you to convince him by sharing some success facts about the AMC, performance history, quality of the portfolio, expertise of the fund manager, etc.

A client may be looking forward to adequate and not extraordinary performance, but is not ready to compromise of the safety of his capital. Another investor may be a little aggressive in nature and the primary purpose of investing is soaring returns. Once you thoroughly understand the risk reward preferences of the investor, you'll have superior solutions to put on to the table.

He may have numerous apprehensions pertaining to his goals, hoping he won't have to compromise later, ease of liquidity, like what if he may have to withdraw the money before the advisable investment period, he may be reluctant to technology or may be finding the investment procedure complicated, etc.

So the crux is, the investor's mind is an ocean of questions and anxieties, they can be really petty or can be pretty intricate on the other hand. The central idea behind this article is you should never base your advice on assumptions. It's crucial to analyze and understand the Investor's Mind and Advise Right.

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The customer is king for every business. Retaining the customer is often more challenging and herculean than acquiring one. The latter becomes futile if you cannot succeed at the former. Most corporations today invest in customer relationship management so that they can effectively oversee their relationship with the customers at every point.

Acquiring new customers is very important for our business to grow. And it involves a lot of time and money. And there are existing customers as well, some have invested in SIP, some in debt funds and then there are the ones who have invested in lump sum ELSS'. The challenge here is to manage all previous, new and prospective customers effectively.

As an advisor, you can follow the following techniques to manage your client relationships better:

1. Conduct Regular Meetings: Meet your customers regularly. It is very important to meet your customers at regular intervals. This will enable you to build on relationship and also get to know more about the customer, to review investments and find new business opportunities. You would be able to effectively judge whether he is happy or otherwise and an opportunity for you to communicate effectively to address any concerns or important updates. Typically one should personally meet all clients at least every year but this frequency can go up to six months or even quarterly for your preferred / important clients.
2. Manage Leads Effectively: Don't ever take leads lightly. Every new lead is a prospective long term relationship. It is very important to track and manage all the leads properly. Your relationship with the lead is very fragile at this stage and effective tracking and timely communication techniques can help nurture leads and get better conversion ratios.
3. Communicate productively: You should very timely communicate all important information related to client's portfolio and investments like policy / SIP renewal, FMP maturity, etc. Communications for product awareness / promotion should ideally also be done by targeting the right customer groups. One way of communicating effectively is by sending custom e-mails to clients so that he/she feels that you have thought about the customer before sending the email. There are today multiple means on communication and use of digital tools should be done effectively. It is important that the relevant info reaches the client on time, since it will lose its significance beyond a particular point.
4. Know Customer Insights: The importance of customer insights cannot be overlooked. Right information about the preferences, product exposures, interests, family background, professional info, etc. go a long way in finding right solutions and business opportunities for your clients. As a business practice, a financial advisor must maintain all such info such that it is readily available whenever you need it.
5. Keep a personal touch: The power of personal touch can't be overlooked. Wishing your client on his birthday or anniversary may seem trivial but can contribute enormously to building relations. A personalized message for each customer each year can nurture your bond with him. But doing this for a large customer base can be challenging. Hence proper tools should be used for reminding and also for sending your best wishes with a personal touch.

We understand the importance of customer relationship management and also the techniques which can help us build relations with our clients. However, with changing times and increasing customer database, it might become troublesome to cater to all the clients and follow all ideas narrated above for each client. There is a tendency to mess things up even if well started. So how can we be better organized and empowered to have better customer relationship management practices? How can I manage all this work and information easily? What tools should I use?

NJ CRM
The answer to this is technology in the form of NJ CRM. With NJ CRM, you can manage almost all your customer relationship management related activities easily and effectively. NJ CRM offers many exciting features and tools that empowers you to practice time management, lead management, communication management and sales management related work on a single window. NJ CRM is integrated with your NJ business in your Partner Desk, is simple to operate and is designed keeping in mind your requirements. Please do visit your Partner Desk and start using NJ CRM to better manage and grow your business from today!

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Financial Planning is not a 9-6 job, your after office hours are inseparable from your office hours. Your day is usually too long and hectic. Your job as a financial advisor is much more than managing investment portfolios or closing sales. You at times compromise your personal commitments in order to meet your business demands. We have made an effort to help you better organize your routine and simplify your day. We have featured certain points which you may integrate in your schedule and make your lives easier.

You must maintain a diary or a software which shall include all your business details, work in pipeline, status on leads, etc. We have laid down a routine for your entire day, you may alter the time and activities according to your business requirements and convenience:

As a planner you can make the most of your mornings.

7 AM: Checking your e mail, whatsapp and sms shall form a part of your morning ablutions. Check if anything is urgent and respond accordingly.

9 AM: Start with planning for your entire day. You shall refer your diary for anything that shall be carried forward from the previous day. Check your calender for any client meetings. Pen down everything, client meetings, phone calls to be made, following up, meetings with NJ Sales Team, seminars, etc.

10 AM: Start calling people and fix up meetings, respond to all queries, follow up with leads, respond to missed calls or any important messages. Write down if you can't get through any call, you can call them back later. Making cold calls will also be more fruitful, since people are more responsive in the mornings.

11 AM: You shall work on removing any operational backlogs so that you can proceed smoothly. If you have a team, meet them in the morning, review their work, look into their problems and delegate responsibilities.

12 AM: You shall start executing your routine tasks, meeting new clients, meeting prospective clients, meeting NJ salespersons, etc. Before execution, you should however, keep in mind that you should be prepared for these tasks. Eg, before meeting a client, you should have all the questions and the flow of conversation framed in your mind.

2 PM: You must develop the practice of a mid day review. It will help track your progress, if your day is going as per your plan. If not, it'll guide you to be back on track.

Lunch

You may continue with your routine tasks post lunch as well. You must also include the following activities in your day

2 – 4 PM: Since your afternoon's are relatively less engaged. You can exploit this time for more passive and vital exercises.

• You shall review your client's portfolios and figure out if any modifications or additions are required.
• Work on devising strategies to enhance your business, new client meetings, technological upgrades, marketing strategies, plan for seminars, kiosks, etc.
• You should never stop learning. You should acquaint yourself with all the upcoming financial products and study their pros and cons. Grab the latest money magazines, or websites and read articles related to your business. An advisor is expected to know more than the investor and regular education will enable you to stand up to expectations.
• You shall also prepare for your evening meetings during this time.

5 – 7 PM: Most of your clients must be free by now, and they'll have time for you. You shall meet new and existing clients for new business or with the view to build relationships. See if there are any customer queries and try solving them on a daily basis. Before calling it a day, you should write down the important minutes of the day, so that you can start your next day by following up on them. Make a habit of writing client queries, the commitments you made to people, the meetings you scheduled, any relevant article or information you came across, any event or seminar that you scheduled, etc. in your diary everyday. This will help you remain much more organized.

Though, we have laid down an ideal routine but every new day in an advisor's life is as thrilling as never. Some meetings get canceled, some new meetings unexpectedly pop up, some meetings just last forever, some meetings get rescheduled. Your wife might need you for 2 hours during the day. Traffic is insane, your car breaks down and many other instances jumbles up your day and things don't go as per plan. But you can include these tips in your schedule to the extent possible and organize your business better.