Bollywood not only entertains, but sometimes it really inspires. Manish and I have drawn a lot of inspiration from great movies like Lakshya, 3 Idiots, Chak De and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. These movies give us goosebumps, make us reflect on our own lives, and inspire us in our journeys - in life as well as in business. We have applied our learnings from these movies in our business, and this has helped us very significantly to reach where we are.

On New Year's eve, we took the entire Vista Wealth team to watch another such inspirational movie - Dangal. Even as we were celebrating and having a good time together, some of our team members remarked on a lighter vein, that Manish and I would definitely come back from this movie, all fired up and discuss even more challenging goals for the team!

And we did - what an inspirational movie! There were so many lessons for us which are so relevant for us in our business. No, we didn't come up with newer aspirations - but we did come back with some great lessons for each one of us the profession of advising investors. We put our learnings together in the form of a short presentation, which we shared with our team members. They found it extremely useful and inspirational.

A few days ago, when we went to Mumbai to collect our Outlook Money award for Best Independent Financial Distributor of the Year 2016, I stayed back in Mumbai for a day, and at the request of Nikhil Naik (Naik Wealth, Mumbai), I gave the same Dangal presentation to his team. They too loved it and were inspired by it. Naik Wealth's consultant later told me that Nikhil's team talked very highly about the session and wanted to know more about it. That's when Nikhil suggested that it is only fair that just as Vista's and Naik Wealth's teams have benefited from these thoughts, we must find a way to reach out to a wider audience of IFAs with the same message. That's the genesis of this article, where I will try to reproduce the essence of what I shared with the two teams, in the hope that at least some of the messages if not all, will help each IFA to strengthen their thought processes on the right way for us to build our own businesses.

As a core member of DFDA and a Founder member of FIFA, Vista Wealth firmly believes in sharing best practices among IFAs across the country, for common good. This is one such humble attempt.

Ashish Goel inspiring Naik Wealth team with his Dangal insights

Lesson # 1: Matti ki izzat

In the movie, this is the first lesson that Aamir Khan gives his young daughters, when he begins their training. This should also be the very first lesson we give to ourselves and every new member of our team, on day 1 in this profession.

For a pehelwan, matti is his karm bhoomi. For us, it is our financial advisory business and everything around it. Always respect your profession, your team, your clients, your product, your industry, even the regulations that govern you. The more you disrespect your industry, the more it will disrespect you. The more you respect it and play the way you should, the more respect you will earn from it. Whatever be the challenges that come your way, never disrespect any aspect of your profession.

Lesson # 2: Pehle dar se lado

When Geeta goes for her very first "Dangal", she consciously chooses to fight the toughest looking out of her opponents. Spectators comment that she has made a huge blunder, but her father is proud. She chose to conquer her fear first and then get on to the duel, even though it was her very first one, and that too with a tough looking boy.

This action of Geeta teaches us so many things about how we should act. In day to day situations, instead of ducking uncomfortable client conversations and diminishing their trust in us,we need to fight our fear, take the conversations on proactively and do our best to address whatever are the issues. Fear destroys us because it makes us freeze.

When the RIA proposals came, so many IFAs just got paralyzed by fear and started talking about quitting the business, without even thinking through what could be viable options for them over the next 3 years, to build compliant yet viable business models. When you put your fears aside, you search for solutions and you will find one. So long as you remain captive to your fears, no solution will ever come your way.

Almost every IFA has dreams of making it big, yet only some actually do. If we honestly introspect, we will realize that fear is what comes in the way of our success and our growth. To grow, we have to first step out of our comfort zone - we have to invest in building a team, embracing technology, ensuring compliance, creating processes and developing a sense of urgency which comes in an ODI format which is often missing in a test match version. Often, the magnitude of the task at hand seems so large that fear keeps us from even attempting the first step.

In the movie, Geeta goes down valiantly in her first dangal, but earns the admiration and respect of all, including her tough opponent who defeated her. Her spirited show against all odds gives her the confidence that she can win - and she eagerly seeks out new challenges and wins. She lost her first dangal, but she overcame her fear. And that spurred her to glory.

That's what we need to imbibe. If you really want to make it big, make your plans, and then get onto action. If you stumble and fall, that's fine - at least you have begun your journey, rather than continuing to sit on the fence, paralyzed by fear. When you get into action mode, you will learn from your mistakes, you will develop confidence, you will seek out help from other IFAs who can guide you on specific matters, and you will emerge victorious. You can never win the game if you don't first win the war against your own fears.

Lesson # 3 - Taqat aur technique

In our profession, taqat is our knowledge - of products, markets and solutions like financial planning that can deliver good investment outcomes. Taqat can be learnt quickly with the right educational and professional training, or can be learnt the hard way, on the job, over time. But knowledge alone is not sufficient to make you a successful advisor - to make you a sher. What you need is technique - the wisdom of how to engage with different clients in different circumstances, how to build their trust and confidence in you, how to ensure that they remain in the path towards financial success that you put them on, irrespective of numerous distractions caused by greed and fear. This comes from experience, and the wisdom gained from experience.

In our team at Vista, we have a great blend of experienced people and young well educated and energetic people. Our message to both is to learn from each other, so that they can all become shers. Technique without taqat is pointless, and taqat without technique is a wasted asset. It is the combination of both, which makes us good advisors.

To all the young energetic people who have entered the profession, the simple message is that you have a great opportunity to become a sher, if you have the humility to learn practical aspects from people who have vast experience in dealing with clients. Don't become a genda - absorb technique just as well as you got taqat - and become a true sher.

This is an extension of the taqat and technique lesson. The young Phogat sisters in the movie surprise everyone with the manner in which they clobber older boys - without receiving any training whatsoever. Pehalwani unke khoon mein thi.

In the advisory profession, there are technical aspects that can be taught - on markets, vaulations, financial planning, risk management and so on. But there is something that has to also be in-born in you - the ability to listen, empathy, sensitivity, a feeling of fiduciary responsibility, trustworthiness - these are just as important, if not more, for you to become a good advisor. Yeh aapke khoon mein honi chahiye.

Lesson # 4 - Khud ko kar buland

To achieve success and glory in your chosen profession, don't look for support from any external source. Assume you will get none. Don't look for favourable regulations, favourable market conditions, favourable commission structures etc as a precondition to your success. Assume you will have no such tailwinds. Do you still have the fire within to win a medal? That fire within will get you to where you want, irrespective of how the external environment is.

The flip side is also true - you stumble, you commit mistakes, and there will be enough people from the regulator downwards, who will whip you. Sounds unfair? Who ever said that life is fair? Does that mean you quit life? So also, does it mean you quit your profession because the playing field is not looking very conducive? Or do you raise your game to conquer and win, even in a lethal playing surface?

Lesson # 5 - Never lose focus

In the movie, when Geeta goes for training to NSA, she gets her first taste of freedom. She gets defocused from her goal - which was to train for an international medal. She loses her way, and the goal eludes her. She performs disastrously in all her international matches. It is only when she gets back to the basics that her father taught her, that she rebuilds her technique, regains her focus and goes on to win gold.

There is a big lesson for us in this. However knowledgeable and experienced we are, we have to maintain our focus every single day, with every single client. Start taking things for granted in the arrogance of your own success, and you sow the seeds of your own downfall. Each day is a new day, each client has to be managed carefully, managed the right way. Never

Lesson # 6 - Never lose heart

In the movie, Geeta wins the final literally in the last second, when everybody had lost hope. But she makes a determined effort with smart techniques, even in the dying seconds, and emerges victorious. She never lost heart, even for a second.

Whenever a new regulation is proposed, we have got used to losing heart and we start thinking of doomsday scenarios. But, thanks to the determined efforts by FIFA, using a skilled combination of research and articulation, the IFA today has a voice that refuses to simply accept illogical proposals that are against industry and investor interests. We have seen how FIFA put up a spirited defence with an excellent report on why there is no case for expense ratios to come down - this was after everyone in the industry had resigned to be a victim of some misplaced regulatory perceptions. We saw again how FIFA kept up its battle against the RIA proposals, during the consultation phase as well as after it, and how it contributed meaningfully to a situation today where SEBI has agreed to re-examine the issue with an impact analysis survey.

Geeta's heart was in the game till the last second - she never lost heart. FIFA is showing us how to do this on the regulatory engagement front. We all should imbibe lessons from these inspirations - the game is never over until it is finally over, or until we declare it over in our minds and hearts. Whatever be the challenges, however difficult they may seem, never lose heart. Keep doing your bit, and believe in yourself.

Lesson # 7 - Gold toh gold hota hai

In the movie, Aamir Khan realizes that he doesn't need to feel dejected that his dream of an international medal will never happen only because he doesn't have a son - his daughters are equally capable of winning gold. Gold toh gold hota hai - choora lave ya chhori.

In our business, many of us treat the big lumpsums as sons and the humble small SIP as daughters. We run after the big lumpsums, because it is easy to see how a few big lumpsums can rapidly grow your AuM, can rapidly bring you into the radar of AMC sales managers, and can strengthen your bargaining position with fund houses - all of which are very ego satisfying. Lumpsums get you the gold in terms of recognition.

The humble small SIPs which so many of us would rather not run after because the effort reward correlation does not seem to be worthwhile, collectively adds up over time to deliver a far more robust business model for you and therefore far more respect and recognition in the long term, if you nurture this segment well.

At Vista, we consciously ensure that we recognize and reward our team for every piece of business - whether a 10 lakh lumpsum cheque or a 5000 rupee new SIP. The Outlook Money award as Best Independent Financial Distributor for 2016 is a gold for us - and that gold didn't come because we chased lumpsums - it came because we created a robust retail business model that values even the smallest SIP as much as it values large lumpsum investments. Gold toh gold hota hai - chora lave ya chhori.

Lesson # 8 - The hunger for gold

Just before the final match, the words of Aamir Khan to his daughter on the difference between winning gold and winning silver, were a huge inspiration to her.

This is so true in any aspect of life - including our profession. Winners are those who are truly hungry for gold and who will spare no effort to win the ultimate recognition of excellence. For us, the only tried and tested way of achieving excellence is to build your business, one client at a time, and deliver a great experience to each of these clients. There are no short cuts. Strive to win the trust and confidence of your clients. Then work to win their love. When you achieve that, there can be no stopping your progress towards your gold medal. Focus on building AuM, focus on long term stability of your firm, do the right thing for your clients every time.

At Vista, our real gold medal is not what the industry gives us - it is the satisfaction of seeing that we have helped a family achieve its financial goals. Every family whose life we touched and enabled to achieve their dreams and aspirations, is a gold medal for us. In their success is our ultimate success. To all our IFA friends, that will be our simple message: develop a hunger, a burning desire to ensure that you help more and more families achieve their dreams and aspirations. Touch more lives. That is what your gold really is. Getting more income, AuM and industry recognition without positively touching your clients lives is like getting the silver medal - you will soon be forgotten. Misaalein unki di jaayengi, jinhone clients ke dil jeete hon.

Lesson # 9 - Medalist pedh pe nahin ughte

We talked earlier about taqat and technique. There is however another vital element - the role of the coach. Every IFA who has an advisory team or plans to create one, should internalize that his role automatically becomes one of the coach - the person who guides, motivates, trains and disciplines his team, holds their hand, helps them correct their flaws and inspires them to achieve their full potential. The coach has to do this - pyar se, mehnat se, lagan se. If you do not invest your personal time and energy in this, you can never build a winning team.

As Vista, one of the deepest sense of satisfaction for us is to see team members who never had belief in themselves when they started out, becoming very successful advisors handing AuM larger than they ever thought possible. To bring out the best in your team, to inspire your team to realize their full potential - that's what a team leader's job is all about.

Lesson # 10 - Harna nahin hai

In the movie, when all seems lost in the final, these words from Aamir Khan spurred Geeta to muster up the courage to take on a seemingly hopeless task of winning a match she had almost certainly lost - which she then went on to win.

Harna nahin hai - this is the biggest message I would like to leave with my IFA friends across the country. There will always be challenges - regulatory, markets, competition and so on. Harna nahin hai. Jeetna hai. If we adopt this never say die approach, we will fill ourselves with positivity. Positivity brings solutions. Negativity hastens doom.

For every challenge that you face, there are a hundred opportunities too that present themselves to you. If you have a fighting attitude, a winning attitude, you will find ways to overcome challenges and make the most of your opportunities.

All you have to do is remember this simple message: Harna nahin hai. Jeetna hai.

To conclude

I know our team at Vista Wealth and Nikhil's team at Naik Wealth appreciated this session and felt truly inspired by it. I hope this article helps you too, in giving some focus and direction to your efforts. As I mentioned at the outset, both DFDA and FIFA are committed to helping the IFA fraternity through active sharing of best practices. In this spirit, I will be happy to travel to any city where a group of 25 or more IFAs want me to conduct this session for them. This will be a pro-bono effort - my humble way of giving back to the industry from which we have got so much. I must however, in the interests of full disclosure, let you know that one agenda that we will want to drive through such efforts is to drive membership of FIFA - our collective body that is doing such a splendid job in articulating the IFA's point of view to all stakeholders including regulators. We all should do our bit to strengthen this collective movement. One simple way each of you can start, is by becoming a member.

Content is prepared by Wealth Forum and should not be construed as an opinion of HDFC Mutual Fund.

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