The Xero Advisor Directory has become a significant source of client leads for Xero partners, with roughly 20,000 small businesses visiting globally each month and using it to contact a Xero Partner directly or through partners’ websites. Xero connects more accountants and bookkeepers to more small businesses than any other platform, with some 89 percent of Xero subscribers connecting advisors and 29 percent ecosystem apps – and we see thousands more small businesses that could and should be connected to a Xero advisor.
Making this happen has been one of the key priorities in the replatforming of our partner program. We want to create beautiful experiences for small businesses searching for advisors so that they can more easily, confidently and eagerly engage the best advisors for their businesses. By opening up the technical power of the Xero platform we can help Xero advisors and small businesses connect – and that’s exactly what we’re doing with the new Xero Advisor Directory, as announced at Xerocon South today.
We didn’t stop with a better design for people searching for advisors. We built great new experiences for Xero Partners to manage their Xero Advisor Directory practice profiles from within Xero HQ.
New authoring and content capabilities in Xero HQ make it very easy for partners to create and control their practice profiles.
With the information-rich settings, you can communicate your practice vision and specialization as well as general details about your practice. You can self-edit and maintain your profile through Xero HQ. This is a beautiful, customizable and free experience for our Xero partners, allowing you to promote your practice in a unique way, and attract more clients.
New ability to leverage your Xero-certified staff members to attract and engage people searching for advisor.
You can toggle on/off the display of any of your practice staff with Xero Certifications through Xero HQ. This functionality helps the practice manager to coach team members and develop engaging staff profiles; and, it gives partners the control to decide which team members to display.
You can easily find and add clients’ Industry data in Xero HQ’s industry Explorer.
Tagging your clients to industries will greatly enhance your search results, as your practice will show up in the search according to the number of clients you currently work with on Xero in that particular industry. [*] Clients missing industry tagging can easily be found and filled in using the new Xero HQ industry explorer.
The new Xero Advisor Directory will be available in November this year when the expanded Xero partner program launches globally.
Want to take full advantage of the Xero Advisor Directory? It’s easy. All Xero Partners who are Bronze or above with at least one Xero-certified team member will automatically receive a full practice profile in the Xero Advisor Directory.
What’s coming up
Between now and launch, there will be information and education sent to partners to help them prepare their practice for the programs new tools and support. Your practice will have a chance to update your profile in Xero HQ and, if you qualify for a listing, you’ll be sent information on how to optimize your settings.
