LMS Barloworld Case Study | Emile Potgieter

The Brief

Challenge & Objectives

Challenge

In Barloworld Motor Retail, the absence of a structured lead management system led to inefficiencies in following up on digital leads for used car sales. There was no accountability for lead times, leading to potential loss of valuable leads and resources wasted on non-qualified prospects. Without a systematic approach, agents couldn't prioritise leads effectively or guarantee timely follow-ups — a significant drag on sales performance and customer engagement.

Objectives

Develop a comprehensive lead management system that categorises leads by quality and potential, identifies dead leads through automated rules, and prioritises genuine prospects for efficient follow-up. Integrate VOIP calls so agents can log calls, notes, and outcomes directly in the platform, and add automated alerts so timely follow-ups happen and no lead falls through the cracks.

Project Scope

A system that tracks and categorises leads, flags dead leads, prioritises genuine prospects, and integrates VOIP calls for communication tracking and accountability.

Tools

Adobe XD, Adobe Illustrator, and web technologies — HTML, CSS, and supporting backend frameworks.

Role

Leading the design and front-end build of the system, ensuring seamless VOIP integration and comprehensive lead tracking.

Team

Self-directed, with feedback from the mentor and peers.

Mapping the Flow

Four Roles, One Pipeline

Before any screen design, I mapped how a lead moves through the business — from first capture to a sales executive closing the deal — so every role had a clear, accountable path through the system.

LMS role overview user flow showing how a new lead routes through Administrator, Sales Executive, and Lead Agent — Role Overview — New Lead → Administrator, Sales Executive & Lead Agent

Detailed Administrator user flow for the lead management system — Administrator Flow — assigning, tracking, and escalating leads

The Research

Research Synthesis

To synthesise the qualitative data gathered from user interactions, I built an empathy map to identify patterns across sales agents using the LMS. This uncovered key insights, surfaced frustrations, and pointed to actionable improvements for managing digital leads efficiently.

Insights

Sales agents struggle with lead follow-ups due to a lack of accountability and tracking mechanisms.
There's no clear way to distinguish high-value leads from time-wasters, leading to inefficiencies.
Managers find it hard to monitor agent performance and ensure timely follow-ups.
The absence of integrated call tracking makes it hard to assess lead engagement and conversion.

Needs

An automated system that prioritises and categorises leads for efficient follow-ups.
Performance-tracking tools so managers can ensure accountability and optimise response times.
Integrated VOIP functionality to track call logs and maintain a communication history.
An automated escalation process to handle neglected or stale leads.

Going Deeper

Research & Strategy

Plan & Goals

Understand the challenges sales agents face in managing and following up on leads effectively.

Develop a structured system that categorises, prioritises, and ensures accountability for every follow-up.

Identify the features that most directly improve response times, lead tracking, and agent performance.

Assumptions → Findings

Tap a row to see what the research found.

0 / 3 revealed

✓ Confirmed

Agents required a clear, structured follow-up process to avoid missed opportunities. The research confirmed that without a prioritised queue, valuable leads were consistently deprioritised or forgotten.

✓ Confirmed

Managers confirmed they had no real-time view of agent call logs or lead status. Integrating VOIP logging directly into the LMS gave managers the visibility they needed without adding reporting overhead to agents.

✓ Confirmed

Agents acknowledged spending significant time on leads with no engagement history. Automated flagging of stale leads freed agents to focus on qualified prospects and measurably improved response times.

Methodology

CRM benchmarking — reviewed leading sales CRM tools (Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive) to identify best-practice lead prioritisation and pipeline patterns.
Process audit — mapped the existing manual follow-up process to identify where leads were dropped and accountability was lost.
VOIP integration research — assessed call-logging capabilities and how they could be embedded into a lead card without disrupting agent flow.

Agent interviews — conducted structured sessions with 5 sales agents to understand their daily lead management workflow and biggest frustrations.
Manager shadowing — observed a team leader's morning briefing to understand how performance was currently tracked and communicated.
Prototype testing — validated the lead card and call-log interactions with agents using mid-fidelity prototypes before moving to build.

Design Principle

"Every lead deserves a next action."

Every screen in the LMS was designed to make the next step obvious — whether that's calling, logging, escalating, or closing. No lead should leave a session without a status.

The Product