BatchLeads: Powering Real Estate with Feature-Rich UX Design

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Project

BatchService

Main Role

• Founding Designer
(Jan 2020 – Jan 2022)• Product Design Manager
(01/2022–03/2023)

Multi-hat Sub-Roles

UI/UX Designer, Product Manager, Project Manager, QA Specialist, User Researcher, Content & UX Strategist

Duration

January 2020–March 2023

Tools

Figma, Zeroheight, Jira, Confluence, Pendo, Userpilot

Introduction

BatchLeads transformed real estate by streamlining how investors and agents find, analyze, and manage leads. Facing a market of fragmented tools, BatchService aimed to deliver a unified, data-driven platform integrating lead generation, skip tracing, and communication across web and mobile. As Founding Designer at BatchService, I led the end-to-end UX/UI design from 2020 to 2023, shaping BatchLeads into a market-leading solution that fueled a 1081% growth rate, scaling from 8 to over 350 employees (Inc. 5000). As one of five apps in BatchService’s suite, BatchLeads sets the standard for proptech innovation. For a broader view, see my main case study.

Explore BatchService Main Case Study

Results

0% company growth: from 8 to 350+ employees
0+ UI components and 2k+ icons created
0 apps web, mobile & admin
0% user satisfaction

The Challenge

Designing BatchLeads in 2020’s lean startup environment posed complex challenges:

  • Information Overload:

    Presenting vast property data (e.g., owner details, property stats) intuitively without overwhelming users.
  • Workflow Complexity

    Creating seamless workflows for lead generation (e.g., filtering thousands of properties), skip tracing (finding owner contacts), analysis (comparable properties), and outreach (via SMS messaging system, postcards, and integrated tools like BatchDialer).
  • Cross-Platform Consistency

    Ensuring a cohesive experience between the robust web app and mobile app for field users.
  • Rapid Scaling

    Building a scalable design foundation under tight deadlines with limited resources, as the sole designer in a team of 8.

My Contributions

Web App

Designed over 300 screens for lead generation (e.g., filtering properties), skip tracing (e.g., finding owner contacts), virtual canvassing (e.g., mapping properties), property analysis (e.g., comparable properties), and other key features, supported by 50+ prototypes.

Mobile App

Developed iOS and Android apps for on-the-go use (e.g., property lookup while driving), ensuring mobility and consistency with web features.

Admin App

Created a backend tool for support teams to manage accounts and troubleshoot issues efficiently.

Website

Designed and supervised development of the initial public-facing site, ensuring brand alignment.

Branding & Visuals

Crafted logos, brand books, brochures, presentations, social media artworks, videos, and motion graphics for BatchService and its products.
As the sole designer initially (2020–2022), I wore multiple hats:
  • UI/UX Designer: Crafted all interfaces.
  • Product Manager: Defined feature requirements with founders.
  • Project Manager: Coordinated timelines and resources.
  • QA Specialist: Tested implementations for bugs.
  • User Researcher: Analyzed feedback via Pendo and Userpilot.
  • Content Strategist: Shaped marketing narratives.
  • UX Strategist: Planned user flows and prioritized features.

I also initiated the BatchService Design System, with 550+ components and 2,000+ icons in Figma, documented in Zeroheight, ensuring scalability.
Liza Zagirova

Process & Design Solutions

Initial Phase - Solo

In 2020–2021, I worked solo, collaborating with one of the founders in 10-12-hour days to iterate designs rapidly, overcoming limited engineering resources. Figma prototypes visualized complex flows (e.g., lead generation workflow), validated by early user feedback and founder input.

    User Insights & Iteration

    Feedback, initially from direct user conversations, drove continuous iteration.
    For example:

    • Challenge:

      Users struggled to parse property lists due to buried data points.
    • Solution

      Redesigned list view with clearer hierarchy, prioritized data (e.g., property value), and added saved search functionality.
    • Outcome

      Reduced lead qualification time, improving efficiency.
    • Later, Pendo and Userpilot analytics provided quantitative insights (e.g., 80% engagement with skip tracing), guiding refinements.
    BatchLeads Web App Functionality

    Key Design Solutions

    Integrated Map & List View

    Designed a dynamic interface allowing users to switch seamlessly between geographic (map) and tabular (list) property views, catering to diverse analysis preferences. This solution enabled real estate professionals to visualize and evaluate properties efficiently, enhancing decision-making.

    Advanced Filtering & Lead Stacking

    Created a robust filtering system to target specific properties from millions of records, incorporating lead stacking to prioritize high-potential leads based on criteria like distress signals or equity. The design simplified complex data queries, making lead generation intuitive and precise.

    Virtual Driving (Driving for Dollars)

    Developed a mobile-first feature for real-time property scouting, enabling users to identify leads while driving by accessing property data (e.g., owner details, market value) via GPS or address input. The challenge was ensuring a distraction-free interface for field use. I designed a minimalist layout prioritizing key data, validated through user testing (Pendo) to reduce interaction time.

    Messaging Marketing (SMS Outreach)

    Integrated a comprehensive SMS marketing suite, including mass sending, customizable templates, and a unified inbox, to streamline lead communication. The design focused on scalability to handle high-volume campaigns and ease of use for non-technical users.

    Direct Mail Marketing

    Designed a direct mail campaign tool for sending targeted postcards and letters, with templates tailored to real estate outreach. The challenge was integrating this with lead management while keeping the process user-friendly. I created a comprehensive campaign builder with real-time previews. User feedback highlighted its simplicity, boosting campaign creation efficiency.

    Direct Dialer

    Built interfaces for an integrated calling system, allowing users to create cold calling campaigns or initiate calls directly from lead records with features like call logging, recording and insights. The design ensured reliability across devices, addressing network variability through iterative testing with engineers.

    Advanced Reporting

    Designed a centralized dashboard and reporting suite to deliver actionable insights on lead performance, campaign metrics, and user activity. The challenge was presenting complex data accessibly. I used clear visualizations (e.g., charts, graphs, heatmaps) and customizable views, informed by Pendo analytics showing users prioritized actionable metrics.

    Team & Handoff

    In 2022-2023, I led a five-designer team, training them on the design system and establishing Jira workflows and Confluence guides. Figma’s Dev Mode ensured precise handoffs, maintaining quality as BatchService scaled to 350+ employees.

      Product Design Flow Sample: Jira -> Figma User Flow -> Figma UI Design

      Impact
      My design leadership drove transformative outcomes:

      0M Scaled from $0 to ~$100M by 2023
      0k users Attracted in ~1 year
      0.7/5 user rating on G2
      0% feature adoption rate (Pendo analytics)
      Trustpilot BatchLeads' Customers Reviews 2020-2023

      What I Learned

      Adaptability is Key

      Learned to balance design best practices with the extreme speed required, prioritizing impact and iteration over textbook processes when necessary.

      User Feedback is Gold

      Even informal, direct feedback loops are invaluable for shaping a product users love, especially when guided by founders with deep domain knowledge. Later integration of analytics tools (Pendo/Userpilot) provided crucial quantitative validation.

      Design Systems are Foundational

      Building the design system alongside the product was challenging but essential for maintaining sanity, quality, and speed as we scaled.

      True Ownership

      Experienced the profound impact design leadership can have when deeply integrated with the product vision and business strategy from day one.

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