Spend less than 180 £ a day and live lavishly in Mumbai

Having lived in Mumbai for 30 years, I thought of writing a post just for those from UK who are planning to holiday in the Maximum City.

Inspite of being the most expensive Indian city for expats, a visitor from UK can spend almost a week over here and be treated like royalty.

The best time to visit Bombay..oops!... Mumbai is between December and February. During this time, the city is blessed with pleasant weather. Rest of the year is spent oscillating between sweltering heat and the famed yet difficult monsoon.

Let us assume  you plan to arrive on 12th of Jan and depart on 17th of Jan.

Booking a room: Since this is a popular time for tourists to arrive, the room rates are costlier. Among the options, I would recommend Vivanta by Taj just for their delicious breakfast buffet at Tratoria! The stay would cost would be between 700 and 800 pounds depending on the hotel you choose.

Intracity travel: I would recommend you download Uber or Ola App or both as soon as you land in the city. The drivers won't find it easy to fleece you and the vehicle would be in a fair condition. For Uber, the fare estimate is given here. Which means if you wish to travel from Taj Vivanta at Cuffe Parade to Haji Ali (approximately the distance from Brent Cross to Manchester Square), it would cost you approximately Rs 200 (2 pounds) in a Uber X category vehicle.

Places to visit: Oh, there are many (Will be dedicating a seperate post for this)! Apart from Haji Ali which I wrote about, you must also visit Gateway of India, Jehangir Art Gallery at Kala Ghoda (Mumbai's art district),Nehru Centre in Worli (which has a beautiful section called Discovery of India that takes you through how India has changed over several centuries), Mannat+Jalsa (if you are curious about Bollywood), Navi Mumbai (Navi Mumbai literally means New Mumbai) and Malabar Hill. Inclusive of food, you won't be spending more than 25 pounds a day (assuming 2 adults)

In fact here are some off beat things you can do in Mumbai: https://www.thrillophilia.com/places-to-visit-in-mumbai#offbeat things to do in mumbai

Easy way to predict the corpus you can create

Not investing in mutual funds through SIPs yet?
New investor in SIPs?
Keen to know the value of your mutual fund corpus after a few years?

Use this simple calculator

For instance, if you invest Rs 5000 per month for 5 years and assume growth of 15% year on year, your corpus would be worth Rs 4.48 lakhs.

Happy investing!

How to shop during GOSF

(Source: http://www.medianama.com/wp-content/uploads/GOSF.png)

So GOSF (Google Online Shopping Festival) is just a day away.

GOSF was started in 2012 in India on lines of Cyber Monday.

This is how GOSF has grown through the years:

2012

• Held on 12/12/12
• Partnered 90 e commerce websites
• Received bad feedback

2013

• Held between December 11th and 13th and got extended to 14th December
• Partnered with 250+ e commerce websites
• According to Google, partners had sold out stock within 15 hours of going live 
• Attracted 2 million users
• Performed extremely well for participating companies (Example: Tata Value Homes sold more than 50 apartments in 4 days!)

2014

• Will be held from December 10th to December 12th (3 days)
• 450 companies participating

Here are a few ways by which you can make most of this as a shopper:


1) Make a list:

(Source: http://www.memecenter.com/search/list)

One cannot underestimate the usefulness of making a list. Create a list of products you want to buy. This will ensure you only focus on buying the products you need and avoid impulsive purchases.


2) Allocate a budget:


(Source: http://dravenmade.blogspot.in/2014_01_01_archive.html)

Cannot get simpler! Allocate a budget and you won't over spend!


3) Patience:


(Source: http://car-memes.com/patience-meme/)

You must be patient enough to browse through all the deals being offered. Getting a really good deal is like finding out a needle in a haystack. So allocate a couple of hours for only discovering the appropriate deal.


4) Check out the Rs 299 section:

Branded products priced between Rs 600 and Rs 1500 will be sold for Rs 299. Products will be delivered free of charge and COD option will also be available.


5) Be Aware:

Don't get drowned out by all the noise surrounding the GOSF. Keep your eyes and ears open for really good deals that may not get featured in GOSF. Some smart companies might come out with sudden and lucrative offers during this period.


6) Shop between 8 am to 10 am & 5 pm to 8 pm:

This is just  a hunch. Since many people would be travelling around this time, the chances of encountering website down/server down issues would be less!


So Happy Shopping! :)


References:

Hashtricks http://hashtricks.com/gosf-2013-attracts-2-million-visitors/

Medianama: http://www.medianama.com/2012/12/223-how-indias-ecommerce-companies-did-on-gosf-day/

Firstpost: http://tech.firstpost.com/news-analysis/great-online-shopping-festival-2012-starting-on-december-12-60467.html

Economic Times: http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-11-15/news/56115125_1_great-online-shopping-festival-google-india-nitin-bawankule

One way to massively improve your productivity at work

(Source: http://www.personal-development-is-fun.com/improve-efficiency-and-productivity.html)

Do you forget that meetings or calls were scheduled?
Do you find yourself over worked?
Do you find it difficult to quantify your efforts to your colleagues and bosses?
Do you find yourself in a blind spot at work? Not knowing what to do next?
Do you find yourself saying 'I dont know what I might do in the next few hours, how can you ask me whether I would be free on Friday afternoon'?
Do you find it easy to procrastinate because feel that you have only a couple of things to do today?

If your answer to any of these questions is a yes, then chances are you do not maintain a To-Do List.



(Source: http://stevevernonstoryteller.wordpress.com/2014/07/06/day-6-at-nanowrimo-making-a-to-do-list/)

A simple way to exponentially improve your productivity at work is to maintain a To-Do list

A To-Do list can be maintained in a diary or through an app

It will help you in the following ways:

a) Plan ahead: You will always be planning ahead. This will soon become a way of life. It will not only improve your professional life but also enhance your life skills.

b) Sense of accomplishment: A to do list will force you to write down what you need to complete. Once you complete a task, just put up a tick mark sign (✔) next to it. At the end of the day, when you see that you have completed twenty tasks, it will give you a huge sense of achievement and motivate you to work harder.

c) In Control: You will always be in control of your schedule. You will find your self using your time efficiently. And most importantly, you will find the courage to say NO.

d) Appreciation: You will be surprised to know that several people report late for meetings, forget to get back on their deliverables and are mostly clueless about what to do next. A To-Do list will transform you into a professional who respects time and people. This will certainly get you appreciation and rewards.



(Source: https://agoracommodities.com/success/)

Visiting India? Here are some useful Indian websites

According to analytics provided by Blogger and Google Analytics, almost half of my blog's visitors come from outside India. US internet users form the second largest group of visitors to my blog.



(Source: http://www.skillansafaris.com/david-skillan-clients.html)

Therefore I thought of writing an article for my readers from outside India.

This article is about websites that would be useful for foreigners who are either in India or are planning to visit India.

Useful Indian websites:

a) Olacabs.com: Gone are the days of haggling with uncouth cabbies, being worried about safety and having a terrible riding experience. There are several private cab services in India today who provide world class service. My personal favourite is Ola Cabs. Apart from Ola Cabs one can also check out Meru and Tab Cab. However Meru and Ola Cabs are widely spread across the country. Even Uber has entered India but the feedback so far has been discouraging.

b) Zomato.com: Planning to be adventurous and try out that Tandoori Pomfret in Hotel Sea Food International? Well, read the reviews on Zomato.com before doing that!

c) Hotels.com: Want to shortlist and book a good hotel to stay in India? I would go for Hotels.com. Other websites are Yatra.com, Makemytrip.com and goibibo.com. I would recommend Hotels.com as it is quite easy to use and they dont pester you later with promotional phone calls.

d) Flipkart.com: Broke your phone while riding your bike on the streets of Panjim? Fear not. Just order from Flipkart.com or even Amazon.in. Apart from mobile phones, you can order several other items from these websites.

e) Quikr.com: Bought that treadmill as you were planning to stay in India for 2 years. However due to some emergency, you have to leave the country within 4 weeks. Fear not. You can quickly get a buyer for your treadmill on Quikr.com or Olx.in

f) Practo.com: Feeling ill after eating that Tandoori Pomfret? Want to visit a doctor? Don't know which doctor might be the right one to visit? Heck! Don't know where can you find a doctor? Practo will help you!

g) Times of India: Will let you know what is happening in India. You must also read The Hindu, Telegraph and The Hindustan Times.

h) Moneycontrol.com: Interested in Indian stock markets? Because the entire world surely seems interested!

i) To buy a Sim Card: Read this detailed article about a foreigner's experience of buying pre paid sim cards in India.

j) Justdial.com: One of the very few internet technology companies in India to get listed, Justdial is a fantastic online classifieds. A random need such as Phone number of a towing service in Matunga in Mumbai can be fulfilled through Justdial.com. I would rate their service as excellent!

k) 99acres.com: Planning to buy or rent out an accommodation? Apart from 99acres, there is Magicbricks.com as well!

l) IRCTC: Last but not the least. Brave enough to experience the real India by travelling in a train? And braver to book tickets through IRCTC? Well, this will not only test your courage but also your patience! :)

I have included as many websites as I could.

Do let me know if you are looking for something specific and I will be more than willing to help!

Why is it important for your prospect to say NO than a Yes

(Source: http://www.blogging4jobs.com/business/the-girl-who-cant-say-no/)

Ever floundered with that prospect who had promised business many months ago?

However every time you follow up, these are the responses you get:

a) Still awaiting approval from a department/superior

b) Needs some more time to analyze and compare with other proposals

c) Been busy with other projects

d) This has been put on a back burner 

And my personal favorite:

e) Will begin next month

Various research studies have confirmed that it is very difficult for people to say no.

One of them talks about 'avoiding conflict' being a reason to not say no.

And there are several other reasons.

A sales person needs to manage time very well.

Here is what happens when a prospect doesn't say yes:

a) Sales person will keep chasing that prospect who has promised a big order but ignore the smaller ones who are willing to begin soon

b) Salesperson's time gets wasted

c) Salesperson's resources get wasted

d) With every meeting Salesperson's size of dejection keeps increasing 

There is no point in wasting 80% of one's time in chasing these prospects who have promised huge business but haven't said yes.

Here is a simple way to cross them off your pipeline.

While questioning your prospect, here is an important question to ask:

•  If  we come on board, will you begin working with us within the next 3 weeks? (This is assuming that 3 weeks is your sales cycle and is also an industry standard for the prospect's purchase cycle)

That is it.

Try doing this and see how your pipeline gets filled with those who want to begin working with you right away.

You will start closing deals soon!

Therefore, sometimes, no in sales is more important than a yes!

Your customer's security guard could be earning more than you!

(Sources: http://tinyurl.com/pseobg4)

During one of my sales calls, I had come across an old man who looked to be around 70 years.

He was doubling up as a receptionist and a security guard. (More about the inappropriateness of having an old man as the security guard later).

I started chatting with him.

He had a distinguished personality, cultured dialect and had lived a full life.

The following were the highlights of the conversation:

a) His mother was a Englishwoman! (What are the chances?) She never went back to England after meeting his father.
b) He had served in the armed forces for a few years.
c) He had three houses. In Mumbai. Had put up a couple of them on rent.

Ok. What!? Did I read properly?

Oh yes you did.

Three houses, In Mumbai. The rent from those two houses was adding up to his salary.

His total income. I must say. Was more than that of many people, with a post graduate degree, earn.

 This got me thinking.

What if I was a banker. Or an agent selling mutual funds. Or a stock broker. Or even a real estate agent.

This man would be a prospect!

And I am sure there are many like him.

What are marketers or sales people doing to reach out to this audience? Forget about reaching out. Do they even speak with such people properly?

So be like Death.



(Source: http://tinyurl.com/kd8qe63)

Because death treats everyone equally.
And that is why death gets treated well!
To understand, please read this story.