Relationships are Key

"Others can replicate the product, no one can replicate the person", says Asha Mathen who leads the wealth management team of the Deutsche Bank. "People always have a family doctor or a family lawyer, so why should they hesitate to have a family banker?" she asks, quite logically. Asha leads a team working with a select band of high - net worth individuals, whose investment portfolio is over Rs. 5 crores each. Not one of her clients has a purely business relationship with her. "My clients trust me. They don't see me as a vendor of products. They treat me as family." As I watch, she answers a call from an elderly lady who is in hospital recovering from an operation. Clients ask her to check out new properties they are buying, family weddings and other important family events. Many share details of their wills. "I never miss a funeral", she says recalling the many times she has helped avoid family feuds. Relationships are key to business success, recession or no recession.