Do you struggle with getting Xplan to work in your business? Does it feel like everyone in your office is doing their own thing, making it hard to tell where a client’s at or where important notes are kept?
If this sounds like you, you might be missing an “Xplan champion” in your business.
The Xplan champion is key to making sure your advice technology works for your practice. Much like the executive chef who conducts the operations of a well-oiled Michelin-star kitchen, the Xplan champion ensures that your practice’s everyday operations chugs along smoothly: everyone knows their role, the tasks they need to do and when they need to do them.
This means they have a big job ahead of them, but many hands make light work. Depending on the size of your business, the Xplan champion may delegate other team members as “owners” of certain Xplan modules – the paraplanner, for example, might own Xtools+ and WealthSolver/Risk Researcher.
The Xplan champion can be a client services administrator, paraplanner or adviser, and their roles and interests should be aligned with the mission of facilitating an efficient and effective advice process via Xplan.
Here are some of the core qualities we believe a successful Xplan champion should have in order to become the executive chef of your advice practice:
Curiosity
Xplan is a behemoth when it comes to functionality, and often there are many ways to skin a cat. So a great Xplan champion should always be curious about existing features and the options available to solve a particular business problem.
They should always be open to learning new features and staying on top of updates (all can be found in Iress Community). They should always be asking themselves, “Is there a better way to do this?”
Don’t be afraid to reach out in Community or Advisely if you have a sticky problem you’re trying to solve – other users may have an answer at hand!
Influence
Influence plays an important role, too. No, I’m not talking about TikTok videos, but rather the ability to cajole the advice team into using Xplan systematically.
A process is only as good as the people using it, so the Xplan champion acts as the bridge between the leadership’s vision and the rest of the team.
This means understanding how the team uses Xplan: where are the pain points? Can we find a solution? Everyone needs to be on the same page as to how things should be done.
The sage Xplan champion understands that not everyone embraces change easily. Be patient, positive and persistent when encouraging adoption. Celebrate small wins to keep momentum.
Connector
The Xplan champion connects Xplan solutions to their specific business needs.
Key to this is understanding how different parts of Xplan interrelate:
- Do you keep seeing duplicate clients (could be a datafeed or client wizard issue)?
- Do workflows keep getting stuck at certain stages (could be a user or automation problem)?
- Are you seeing unreasonable income and growth projections in Xtools+ (assumptions set may need updating)?
Great Xplan champions have the ability to distill the business problem that needs solving, find the solution and roll it to the wider business. Instead of waiting for issues to come up, they anticipate pain points, look for efficiencies and encourage others to bring ideas for improvement.
This is a skill that takes a little while to cultivate, but a healthy dose of curiosity will get you there.
Have I missed anything? What other qualities should a top-tier Xplan champion possess? Let us know!
Xplan Expert
