Upland Altify

Sales Reference Manager

The Challenge

The Challenge

In today's competitive B2B landscape, securing trusted references is crucial for closing deals. However, traditional reference programs often presented challenges for salespeople, including:

  • Time-Consuming Searches: Sifting through mountains of data to find the right reference candidate ate into valuable time.

  • Inefficient Communication: Managing communication with references often involved scattered information and context switching.

  • Lack of Centralization: Information on reference requests was fragmented, hindering progress tracking and overall program management.


These pain points led to frustration, inefficiencies, and ultimately, delays in the sales cycle.

To close deals, revenue teams need access to contacts who are willing to join live peer-to-peer reference calls. But finding the right contact, especially on a tight deadline, is a recurring challenge in traditional selling processes. Sales Reference Manager reduces the bottleneck facing B2B revenue teams, placing control in the hands of the actual relationship holders and doing so natively within Salesforce.


Project Brief: How might we create a seamless structured process in Salesforce for sellers to get references on time which are trusted and relevant without owning responsibility of the process.


Design Focus: The key design focus was to create a user-friendly experience within Salesforce that streamlines the reference program workflow for sellers. This involved:


  • Smart Matching Algorithm: Designing an intuitive interface for defining deal-specific criteria to automatically identify suitable reference candidates.


  • Seamless Communication: Simplifying the reference request process within Salesforce, allowing sellers to initiate requests, track progress, and manage communication with their relationship manager effectively.


Benefits: Upland Sales Reference Manager aims to empower sellers with efficient tools to:


  • Reduce Time Spent on Reference Identification: Simplify the process of finding relevant references, accelerating the sales cycle.


  • Improve Reference Program Management: Streamline communication and track progress within a familiar platform like Salesforce.


  • Increase Reference Engagement: Facilitate a smoother reference request process, potentially leading to higher engagement rates.


This project highlights the importance of user-centered design in building enterprise applications that integrate seamlessly into existing workflows and empower users to be more productive.

Following a User-Centered Design Approach:

Following a User-Centered Design Approach:

Recognizing the need for a more efficient solution, I took the lead in designing Upland Sales Reference Manager, a user-centered solution that empowers salespeople with a streamlined reference program workflow. This approach involved:

In-depth User Research: Through interviews and user persona creation, we gained a deep understanding of the needs and challenges faced by salespeople.

  • Detailed Journey Mapping: We meticulously mapped the entire reference request process, pinpointing opportunities for improvement.

  • Iterative Design & User Testing: Prototypes were iteratively refined based on user feedback, ensuring a user-friendly and intuitive experience.

As the Lead Product Designer, I spearheaded the design process for Upland Sales Reference Manager, ensuring a user-centered approach throughout. This involved:

1. User Research:

  • Conducted in-depth interviews with potential users (sales representatives) to identify pain points and understand their reference program workflows.


  • Analyzed user research data to identify trends and user needs.


  • Created User Personas to represent different seller archetypes and their unique needs and goals.

2. Ideation & Journey Mapping:

  • Facilitated brainstorming sessions with the design team to generate creative solutions based on user research findings.


  • Developed detailed User Journey Maps illustrating the entire seller experience with the reference program, from identifying references to managing communication.


  • Identified potential pain points and opportunities for improvement within the journey map.

3. Wireframing & Prototyping:

  • Translated user needs and insights into low-fidelity wireframes and prototypes, defining the core functionalities and user interface layout.


  • Conducted iterative design sessions with the Product and Engineering teams to refine the wireframes and user flows.


  • Created high-fidelity mockups for user testing showcasing the visual design and interaction patterns.

4. User Testing & UX/UI Design:

  • Led user testing sessions with potential as well as internal users, observing their interactions with the prototypes and gathering feedback on usability and user experience.


  • Analyzed user testing data to identify areas for improvement and iterate on the design based on user feedback.

Seamless Integration with Salesforce:

Seamless Integration with Salesforce:

Upland Sales Reference Manager seamlessly integrates within the familiar Salesforce environment, minimizing training time and maximizing user adoption. Key features include:

  • Smart Matching Algorithm: This innovative technology leverages deal specifics to automatically identify the most suitable reference candidates.

  • Streamlined Communication: Initiate requests, track progress, and manage all communication directly within Salesforce, eliminating context switching and fostering efficient collaboration.

  • Intuitive Interface: The user interface is designed for ease of use, allowing salespeople to navigate functionalities quickly and confidently.

Challenge: There wasn't a predefined solution for automating and managing reference programs within the sales industry.

Approach: To tackle this unique challenge, we opted for a design sprint to spark creative solutions and gain valuable user insights.

Method: We utilized Google's design sprint framework, a user-centered, 5-day process ideal for innovative problem-solving. This framework facilitates collaboration among key stakeholders (including myself) and subject matter experts.

Process: Over the 5 days, we followed these key steps:

  • Understanding the Problem: We explored the challenges sellers face in running proactive and engaging reference programs. This involved workshops, brainstorming sessions, and potentially user interviews (depending on the specific sprint).


  • Ideation: Leveraging the gathered insights, we collaboratively generated a wide range of potential solutions.


  • Prototyping: We quickly built low-fidelity prototypes of the most promising ideas.


  • User Testing: We conducted usability testing sessions with representative users to gather feedback and iterate on the prototypes.

Outcome: Through this design sprint, we identified six key concepts and user insights. These insights formed the foundation for the next stage of development, propelling the project forward with a user-centered approach.

Benefits of a Design Sprint:

  • Rapid Ideation: Design sprints condense the exploration phase, generating innovative solutions quickly.


  • Early User Feedback: User testing within the sprint helps identify potential issues early on, saving time and resources.


  • Alignment with Stakeholders: The collaborative nature of sprints fosters a shared understanding of the project goals and user needs among all stakeholders.

This approach proved successful in establishing a strong foundation for the Upland Sales Reference Manager, addressing a novel challenge in the sales industry.

Empowering Salespeople & Enhancing Efficiency:

Seamless Collaboration:
Design & Development

The impact of Upland Sales Reference Manager is undeniable:

  • Reduced Time Spent on References: Salespeople regain valuable time, allowing them to focus on building relationships and closing deals.

  • Improved Efficiency: Streamlined workflows free up time and resources, boosting overall team productivity.

  • Increased Reference Engagement: A smoother and more efficient request process fosters higher engagement rates from reference candidates.

The success of Upland Sales Reference Manager hinged on the strong collaborative relationship between design and development. As Lead Product Designer, I actively fostered this collaboration throughout the project lifecycle.

Bridging the Gap:

  • Translation & Technical Specifications: Close collaboration with the development team was crucial in translating design mockups and user flows into clear, concise technical specifications. This ensured a shared understanding of the functionalities and technical feasibility within the Salesforce platform.


  • Feasibility & Iteration: By working closely with developers, we were able to identify potential technical constraints early on. This allowed for iterative design adjustments to ensure a solution that was both user-centric and technically achievable.


  • Minimizing Roadblocks: Open communication and ongoing collaboration throughout the design process minimized potential roadblocks during implementation. By anticipating potential challenges and working together from the beginning to find solutions, we ensured there was no surprises.

Benefits of Collaboration:

  • Faster Development: By ensuring clear technical specifications and addressing potential issues early on, we streamlined the development process.


  • Higher Quality Product: Collaboration facilitated a deeper understanding of user needs and technical limitations, leading to a more robust and user-friendly final product.


  • Improved Team Dynamics: The collaborative approach fostered a sense of shared ownership and a positive working relationship between design and development teams.

Strong Collaboration Leads to Success:

Strong Collaboration Leads to Success:

The success of Upland Sales Reference Manager hinged on strong collaboration with the development team. We fostered:

  • Clear Communication: Ensuring a shared understanding of design specifications and technical feasibility through transparent communication.

  • Proactive Problem-Solving: Identifying potential technical challenges early on and iteratively adapting the design to ensure a smooth development process.

  • Positive Team Dynamics: Open communication and collaboration fostered a positive working environment and a higher quality final product.

More Than Just a Product:

More Than Just a Product:

Upland Sales Reference Manager is a prime example of how user-centered design empowers users and drives business results. It highlights the importance of understanding user needs, integrating solutions seamlessly, and fostering strong collaboration.

Elliott Simons

Dublin, Ireland