Deliver proof of Promote efficacy to dealers on dashboard

Context

Car dealers use the SaaS platform AutoGate to manage leads and inventory.

Autogate integrates with carsales.com.au, where Promote boosts vehicle visibility in searches - e.g., Top Spot (5.9x views), Showcase (2.8x), Enhance (2x), Automation (2.8x vs manual).

Whenever users log into Autogate, they land on the dashboard that gives them basic insights into how their dealership’s listing and lead management is performing.

Promote product

Promote contributes to two revenue streams:

  • Subscription revenue from ongoing Promote plans and pre-purchased bundles.

  • Transactional revenue from one‑off purchases made in AutoGate.

This project specifically focused on upholding transactional revenue, addressing repeat purchases and delivering proof in the Promote pre/post-purchase flow.

Problem

No clear or hidden metrics showing Promote-generated leads vs non-Promote/third-party. Dealers asked sales reps constantly or had to wait for monthly report; risked dropping Promote. Undermined carsales as top sales channel.

Constraints: No new features/backend; use existing data.

Hypothesis

Side-by-side proof (Promote vs without/third-party leads) lifts repeat buys, cuts queries, reinforces carsales.com.au dominance - via re-layout only.

My role

Detailed dashboard analysis, stakeholder design iterations, created 1 versatile module, Figma docs + Claude prototype for handoff.

  • Analysed existing dash with analytics + expert interviews (sales/field/support, 5+ internals; skipped dealers).

  • Reorganised elements into thematic groups: Inventory, lead sources/performance, team metrics.

  • Introduced 1 versatile line-item module: Pairs Promote/baseline/third-party leads/views dynamically.

  • Iterated designs via stakeholder feedback sessions.

  • Built Claude code prototype incl. charts.js integration for engineers' quicker documentation and rollout.

Solution

  • Thematic grouping: Reorganised dashboard into Inventory, Lead Sources/Performance, Team Metrics sections. Result: Clear narrative flow, Promote metrics now front-and-centre in high-traffic Lead Sources area.

  • Scannable proof (e.g., "Promote: 45 leads vs Baseline: 22")

  • Prominence boost: Expanded Promote real estate with bold splits and carsales reinforcement. 6-year-old section now drives self-serve decisions.

  • Actionable alerts: Clear flagging for dealer tasks (e.g., missing photos/comments) with visual cues.

  • Responsive modularity: All cards stack/generate full page from existing queries.

Outcomes

Still in development

Key learnings

  • High-traffic areas can gain prominence through reorganisation. The Promote section was over 6 years old and untouched, leading to missed opportunities despite heavy usage.

  • You can deliver major improvements purely by refining existing functionality - no new builds needed, just smarter grouping and visibility.

  • Claude Code prototypes drastically reduce Figma documentation overhead, speeding handoff to engineers while keeping designs precise and interactive (but still a lot of tweaking and back&forth necessary)