Designing an online Sales Portal for Business Energy Brokers

The Challenge

Energy brokers acted as intermediaries between British Gas and business customers but were hindered by outdated manual processes and disconnected data sources. The original process involved multiple spreadsheets, inconsistent quote formats, and slow communication between account managers and brokers. The challenge was to design a secure, scalable online platform that:

• Digitised every step of the broker sales journey from lead capture to renewal.
• Simplified complex tendering and pricing workflows across different energy tariffs.
• Improved accuracy in quoting and contract submissions.
• Delivered analytics and visibility to both British Gas and its partner network.

It had to serve users with varying technical skill levels, work seamlessly on desktop and tablet devices, and integrate with British Gas’s back-office CRM and billing systems.

My Approach

I began by mapping the end-to-end broker sales journey, interviewing internal account managers and external brokers to understand workflow bottlenecks and critical pain points. Through co-design workshops, I helped define key tasks quoting, renewals, lead tracking, and tender submission translating these into modular, repeatable user flows.

I developed prototypes demonstrating the portal’s structure, dashboard layouts, and interaction patterns. These were validated through iterative testing with both internal teams and pilot broker groups. To ensure adoption, I worked closely with business analysts, developers, and the sales operations team to define data models, logic flows, and role-based permissions. I also created extensive design documentation to guide development and ensure consistency across future feature additions.

Solution

The finished product delivered a fully digital sales ecosystem that automated and unified the broker workflow:

• Quoting & Tendering: Brokers could create, modify, and submit energy quotes in minutes using dynamic pricing templates and validation rules.
• Contract Management: Integrated renewal and approval tools reduced manual handling and error rates.
• Lead & Performance Dashboard: Provided visibility into conversion metrics, pending deals, and customer renewals.
• Document Automation: Streamlined contract generation, removing the need for manual data entry.
• Responsive Design: Optimised for desktop and tablet use, enabling brokers to operate from any location.

The visual design followed a clean, data-driven interface language aligned with British Gas Business’s brand system, ensuring clarity and trust in every transaction.