From Conversation To Conversion
Background
A calculating tool used by sales agents in their selling conversations with optometrists. The calculator helps simplify calculations and visualize the profit.
- My Role
- Product designer
- Product Manager
- Tom Gorfinkel
- Developer
- Baha Amasha
Starting point
The company wanted to increase the sales of high technology and more profitable lenses. Part of the strategy was to bring back to use an existing calculating tool that was visually outdated.
Challenge
Design a product that integrates well in a sales pitch and supports the sale conversation with the client.
Before
After
Discovery
The users had all the answers
The old design raised a lot of questions:
- •Do they use the current calculator, and if not why?
- •What does a conversation between a sales agent and a client look like?
- •What are the tools they use today to promote sales apart from the calculator?
- •What needs does it address and what needs it does not?
- •How do they use the calculator in a conversation today and for what purpose?
User research
The main goal was understanding how to adapt the calculator to their needs.
Users were sales agents from four different countries.
Zoom interviews
Design
Solution
Framing the conversation
Research insight
The sales agent focuses the conversation with the client around a category of lenses and compares packages within those categories rather than comparing between individual parameters.
Implementation
I changed the horizontal layout to a vertical layout and added a 'Category' parameter to be chosen first. This corresponds better with the course of the conversation.
Changing conceptions
Research insight
The conversation is based on the retail price the optometrist sets.
Implementation
At first, it seemed like a small detail: the calculator didn't allow agents to enter the retail price. But this limitation made the tool almost irrelevant in real sales conversations. By adding the retail price option, the calculator became practical and accurate. It also challenged the long-held assumption that optometrists never share their retail prices with sales agents.
Talking money
Research insight
The conversation surrounded profit, and the visuals had to support that.
Implementation
To make profit more tangible, I used tags that highlight it from different perspectives. The income breakdown shows exactly where it comes from, making it easy to read at a glance. By doing so, profit finally gets the spotlight it deserves — turning an abstract number into a clear value driver in the sales conversation.
Extending the conversation
During conversations with clients, the sales team often felt the discussion ended too quickly — just at the point where there was room to explore more. They wanted a way to extend the dialogue and naturally introduce upsells and service upgrades. That's how the idea for a shopping bag screen was born: a familiar e-commerce touchpoint that allows sales reps to offer additional products and services in a seamless, value-driven way.
