Kotak Prime

Kotak Mahindra Prime limited (KMPL) is a subsidiary of Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited primarily
formed to finance all passenger vehicles. KMPL is India's Leading car finance company. The
company is dedicated to financing and supporting automotive manufacturers, dealers and retail
customers. The company offers financing in the form of loans for the entire range of passenger
cars, multi utility vehicles and pre-owned cars. The company also offers Inventory funding and
infrastructure funding to car dealers. KMPL has preferred financier relationship with various car
manufacturers in India such as Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Pvt.ltd, Honda, Hyundai, Maruti,
Toyota, M&M, Volkswagen, Skoda, Audi, Ford, Renault, Nissan etc. KMPL has a robust
delivery platform, which is critical for sustained growth. The company also offers loans against
securities, developer loans, corporate loans, personal loans, securitization and assignment
transactions and purchase of non-performing assets. KMPL has a retail distribution network
comprising 79 branches in 18 states in the country and a wide network of Direct Marketing
Associates, brokers and agencies supporting its distribution network.

About Kotak Mahindra Group

Established in 1985, Kotak Mahindra Group is one of India's leading financial services
conglomerates. In February 2003, Kotak Mahindra Finance Ltd. (KMFL), the Group's flagship
company, received a banking licence from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), becoming the first
nonbanking finance company in India to convert into a bank - Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd.
As on June 30, 2016, Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd, has a significant national footprint of 1,333
branches spread across 674 locations and 2,034 ATMs, affording it the capacity and means to
serve its customers through its wide presence.
The consolidated net worth of the Group stands at Rs. 34,443 crores as on June 30, 2016. The
Group offers a wide range of financial services that encompass every sphere of life. From
commercial banking to stock broking, mutual funds, life insurance and investment banking, the
Group caters to the diverse financial needs of individuals and the corporate sector. The Group
has a wide distribution network through branches and franchisees across India, an International
Business Unit at GIFT city, Gujarat, and international offices in London, New York, Dubai, Abu
Dhabi, Mauritius and Singapore.

Market Share for Kotak Prime

Sales Quota
The sales-based quotas for the person that we talked to were determined on a
volume basis, since the person that we talked to was in car leasing the quotas
were generally in terms of number of cars that they sales reps were able to sell to
the customers and loans that they were able to sell to the customers.

The person that we interviewed worked for Kotak, and hence had various Kotak's
bank branches under them, the quotas were further determined by the volume of
business that these branches had. For example, our interviewer had the
Safdarjung branch under him and that branch alone had around 15000
customers, hence naturally the quotas for this branch were higher. We were
further told that Kotak further divided their sales territory into zones which were
north, south, west and east. The highest sales were generated in the south zone
as the number of corporate professionals living in Bangalore was more in number.

The sales reps had monthly targets he explained this to us by citing an example.
He explained that if a person had a target of Rs 10,00,000 and at the end of the
month he achieved a target of 8,00,000 then the remaining balance would get
added to the next month’s target.

The capabilities and the type of relationship that the sales rep had with the
customers and the in-depth knowledge about the product and target audience
further helped set quotas.

SALES TECHNIQUES

The sales reps in Kotak had Kotak bank branches as their sources i.e the
customers who would visit the bank. The bank had all the details about the
customer like his income and financial stability, also the interest that they showed
for car loans when they were given information about car loans.

Then the sales reps would take over and start with basic calling. Further details
about the customer and his seriousness were gauged from these interactions.
This was followed by face to face meetings in which the details about the product,
test drives and the EMI conditions were furnished.
Since Kotak sales reps discovered leads through banks, hence they indulged in
both B2C and B2B model and the techniques were different for both the cases. In
B2B the sales reps had more face to face interactions and higher command also
coming into the picture. The B2B sales required a higher command to build a repo
with the said business.

Apart from this, the sales team would regularly hold ‘ car symposiums’ to educate
the customers about the latest trends and products in the market. Further they
would also keep car models at the bank branch itself to further increase the
interest of the customers.

The sales reps also constantly sent messages to the customers giving them
information about the latest product in the market, the sales reps were also
motivated to stay in regular touch with the customer and whenever they met them,
try and start a conversation with them about the latest product in the market and
educate the customer about discount prices. This ensured that the customer did
not go over to the competition.

During the festive season, the targets were increased and more such meetings
and symposiums were held for the customers.

Sales Position Hierarchy

Director / Promoter

VP Sales

Regional Managers

Area Manager

Field Executive
 Executive Retainers

Sales Performance

Managing and monitoring sales performance was a major task for kotak’s sales
team. The had a well-defined leadership ladder, with retainers( sales reps) at the
bottom followed by area manager, then the regional sales head and finally sales
VP at the top. At the end of each month, a sales report was sent up the ladder to
be studied by the company’s executives. This balance was calculated and then
summed for an entire zone. This amount was then distributed again as the
additional target on the existing month’s target.

The sales reps were encouraged further by incentives that the company offered,
for kotak it was an extra 1000 rupees for each car they sold over the basic salary
that they received, meaning that if a sales rep sold 15 cars then he would get an
additional 15000 rupees over the basic salary.

Follow Ups :
Commit to Being the Fastest to Respond:

Today’s customers expect a level of immediacy that many financial institutions aren’t set up to
deliver. Customers need with real-time updates, they need a confirmation message or email
while submitting an online form etc. As we know that the response time is very important in a
sales business. By doing this any organization can be benefited in the following ways, it can :
● Reduce the processing time of loan applications
 ● Reduce error rates and overall cost
● Reduce average response times
● Improve operational efficiency
● Increase oversight and control over the loan application process
● Increase visibility of loan application status across the organization
● Increase the likelihood of customer satisfaction by reducing friction

In the case of Kotak, while closing a deal there is no new approach which is being followed for
the new customers. They just follow the already set guidelines while dealing with the customer.

Sales in peak seasons:

Peak season is one of the most busiest time of year for all the sellers. The fact is undeniable.
Some of the sellers can get carried away and put all their focus on the key players of their
business during peak season, like inventory quantities or the design of their websites. Though
they are important and are needed to attract the customers but customer service is the one that
needs utmost priority. You can have as much inventory as you want, but if you don’t have the
people there to pick up the pieces when something goes wrong, you’re not making a repeat
sale. Here’s a few reasons why your customers matter most during peak season and how to
improve customer service.
● Improve customer service
● Customer loyalty
● Online reviews
● Customer acquisition

Every organization should focus on the above mentioned points and should work upon them
and improve during peak seasons.
However, through the interview we get to know that Kotak is following the same package which
it use during the non- peak season. It is the same all year long. People tend to buy cars during
the festive season, mainly on Diwali and Dussehra. Kotak don't change their packages
particularly for the peak season when there are higher chances of huge business. Though their
packages are same, their level of performance is not. They work extremely hard during the
peak season and they know that it is time to perform. They have to cover the losses which
happened in non peak season. For example, if there is a business of 100 crore in a non peak
season and 150 crore in a peak season, they know it’s importance and hence perform
accordingly.

Recruitments:
The recruitments in top management in Kotak doesn’t happen very often. It only happens when
there is a special requirement or the position holder is leaving the job. However, at the retailer
level, there are hirings during the peak seasons in order to manage the sales more effectively.

Dealing with the slowdown:

“Buying a car is a necessity which can not be forced onto a person.”

The automobile industry continued to be in the slow lane.The sector has been going through a
slowdown for the past few months due to several reasons including, high goods and services
tax (GST) and liquidity crunch. Increased use of shared mobility etc

In the Indian case, the automotive industry was one of the fastest growing industries as well as
an important driver of the manufacturing sector. Contributing 7% to India’s gross domestic
product (GDP) in 2018, it provided direct and indirect employment due to its forward and
backward linkages with other sectors.

When asked about the Kotak’s strategy to cope up with this, the manager said that it is a short
term stage and the market will flourish soon. He said that if the business is low in the non peak
season, they will catch up in the peak season. There is nothing to worry about it as such. Also
he mentions that if one zone is not performing well, the other ones can catch up to them and
the collective business can be decent in that case.

Pleasing the Dealership

When asked about the Kotak’s strategy the dealerships can play on the price of a vehicle but
they cannot play on how can the customers fund to buy the vehicle they always have a problem
of Financing, calculating the EMI etc

Kortek always tries to play on the interest rates it keeps the interest rates lower than the
competitive players suppose the competitors like HDFC keep the interest rates at 10% then
Kotak tries to keep it at 9.5% and if the competition is very high it keeps it at 9%
Kotak tries to negotiate with the dealerships and the showrooms by persuading them to you and
make them understand that if the showroom provides financing of a vehicle at a cheaper rate
more and more customers would be attracted to the respective shop.

More sales earned due to the reduced interest rates is a Win-Win situation for both the
showroom owners as well as Kotak Prime.

Payment Schemes

If a person buys a vehicle after the 15th day of a month the EMI starts from the the next month
although the downpayment varies from person to person but if the purchases made during the
first 14th day of the month the EMI is also debited from his account in the same month Kotak
Prime has always guided the customers to buy a vehicle after the 15th day of the month where
II initially the downpayment is required to be deposited and the subsequent EMI are deducted
from the next month

So basically most of the sales happen after the 15th day of a month till at 20th day of the month
and during this period heavy discounts are also given.

Price Discrimination

When asked if Kotak follows the policy of price discrimination among the customers the answer
was a NO

Many companies follow this policy of price discrimination where to keep the existing customers
happy lower price of the deal is offered but Kotak does not follow this policy

Discounts are given but no discrimination policy is followed at all

The rates change on the basis of the repo rate fixed by the government.

Geographical Data
When we asked him which zone has the greatest volume amongst all Mr Sharma told that the
northern States including Delhi NCR Chandigarh Ludhiana and the southern States including
Bangalore and Hyderabad are the cash cows for Kotak Prime sometimes the Western city of
Bombay also perform well but Bombay is an Unexpected front

Basically the northern States the southern states and Bombay in particular of the Western Zone
are the key performing zonal regions for Kotak prime

when asked why only the states I like more dependent on the sales Mr Sharma told that mostly
the working millennials Aspiring to own a car maybe because of higher disposable income at
their Bay live in these parts there are other states where people Aspire to own a car but they
don't believe in leasing and financing of a car may be that is the reason why these states are
the leaders for Kotak Prime other factors also included the competitive having hold and much
greater se in other states.

Training:

After selecting the appropriate sales Associates who have basic knowledge about the market
automatic automobile industry and cars are trained for further job parameters

Each candidate undergoes A 15 to 20 days training these trainings are performed in in an in-
house batch method there are separate departments and their Mr Amit Sharma and his team
deals in the department training for car loans basically there they teach how to sell and how to
approach a prospectus how to hear the redressal and how to speak to persuade them.

When we asked him if there were any negligence or mistakes from the part of newly appointed
sales Associates he said yes there were cases of wrong path being followed by the sales
Associates strict course of action was followed in that where an internal team looked after the
incorrect actions case studies are organised on the corrective measures and the problem is
resolved many a times strict actions are also so been charged on the sales associate if the
mistake was on his or her part.

Motivation:
Kotak Prime always tries to keep the employees motivated a motivated employee brings in
good to the organisation and to himself in a much more stable and capable man has than a
demotivated employee

Mr Amit Sharma added that a motivated employee is directed towards the organisation goals
where he knows that a symbiotic relationship will enable in his own growth as well as the
esteemed organisation he or she is working

To boost the moral of the employees Kotak prime tries to keep inter-state discussions among
various teams. they also set competitive Benchmarks where a real-time benchmark is set
amongst the various teams within one zone and the various teams within the whole country the
best performing teams are rewarded as well as awarded. team meet ups also are conducted in
every quarter of a financial year where the strengths opportunities weaknesses and threats of
each team is assessed shared and discussed upon each team in the department share their
experiences and they act as teachers for themselves where they try to make the other teams
understand their mistakes so such a meet up also excludes the the errors that can be caused in
the business.