Improved Sales Conversion by Addressing Process Bottlenecks at The Home Depot’s Installation Business, Generating $67MM in Revenue.

Executive Summary

The Home Depot’s $1B Installation business relies on sales consultants, 60% of their appointments didn’t convert to signed contracts. Through generative research, I identified conversion bottlenecks in the sales cycle, leading to a $67MM revenue opportunity for an internal CRM sales platform. Within 4 months of piloting a new flow, follow-up rates increased 8%.

The Challenge

Sales consultants faced significant obstacles in post-appointment follow-up, leading to missed revenue opportunities. Disorganized notes, lack of reminders, and unclear ownership between the call center and sales teams contributed to low conversion rates, with only 30% of completed appointments resulting in signed contracts.

Methodologies Used

  • Structured Interviews

  • Quantitative Survey

  • Kano Analysis

  • Concept Testing

  • Journey Mapping

Collaborated With

  • Product Director

  • Product Manager

  • Director of Technology

  • Sr. Director of Technology

  • UX Manager

Timing

  • 4 weeks

My Approach

I led multiple rounds of generative and evaluative research, including 50 in-depth interviews, surveys, and a Kano study with sales consultants. Mapped breakdowns in sales workflows, uncovering inefficiencies in communication and post-appointment follow-up. Shaped product roadmaps through journey mapping, and workshops, securing stakeholder buy-in and funding for automation improvements.

Research Questions

  • What factors limit the conversion rate from completed appointments to signed sales contracts, and how can targeted post-appointment communication improve this?

  • How can the efficiency of sales consultants be improved to influence conversion outcomes?

  • What communication pain points are disrupting the sales funnel, and how can automation and workflow clarity improve follow-up and customer re-engagement?

Research Objectives

  • Uncover the root causes of low appointment-to-contract conversion rates, with a focus on communication barriers and workflow breakdowns in the lead-to-cash process.

  • Quantify the revenue impact of post-appointment communication inefficiencies and identify where they most significantly affect sales outcomes.

  • Prioritize high-impact solutions that improve communication, streamline workflows, and deliver measurable value to sales consultants and the business.

Themes

  • Prioritize High Valued Leads: A lack of capabilities to prioritize jobs by value or likely to convert, leading sales to spend time on low-impact opportunities while high-value leads are overlooked.

  • Connect The Sales Journey: Sales and Recovery teams operate without a shared view of the customer, causing delays in follow-ups, duplication of effort, and missed opportunities to drive loyalty and sales conversions.

  • Appointment Follow-Up: Post-appointment follow-ups are missing capabilities to track past appointments, leading to delayed outreach impacting lead conversion.

Recognition

  • I received an internal award for this work by my Engineering Director.

  • My scope of research expanded beyond my original role (Call Center work, Customer Documents).

Impact

  • $67MM YoY Revenue Increase: Launch of the product updates drove a $67MM year-over-year revenue increase

  • 8% Follow-Up Rate Lift in 4 Months: Customers reported a 30% reduction in time spent on critical workflows.

  • $1M in Funding Secured: I worked with my product team to build a business case that secured funding for improvements.

  • Org-Wide Alignment: The research created cross-functional buy-in and reframed the sales gap as a systemic issue.