No matter the size of your company, accurate sales information is the backbone of successful sales operations. But if, for example, the number of deals and pipeline conversion rates are scattered across your sales team’s computers, it’s not very useful. It’s hard to know for certain the progress your sales reps are making.
That’s where sales dashboards come in. A sales dashboard shows you all sales info at a glance so you can support, reward, and course-correct your sales reps when needed.
What is a sales dashboard?
A sales dashboard shows sales data in a single location. It takes multiple data points (e.g., revenue goals, total sales, number of team cold calls) and puts them into a simple, easy-to-view format, giving you insight into real-time sales activities.
For example, you might want to see whether your sales reps are meeting revenue goals for the quarter or whether individual reps are completing the right sales activities. A sales dashboard provides a quick screenshot of all of this information.
On top of that, if your reps are having any problems or failing to meet their goals, a sales dashboard shows you right off the bat. It helps you proactively solve problems.
Here are additional benefits of sales dashboards:
- Dashboard views can be filtered or customized.
- Important sales data is organized in one central location.
- Issues with sales activities can be caught early on.
- Information is uniform for sales managers, sales reps, and executives.
“Okay, I’m convinced,” you might be saying. “How do I make a sales dashboard?” You can create a sales dashboard with an Excel spreadsheet, complete with formulas and charts.
But it’s much easier to set up a dashboard in your sales customer relationship management (CRM) system. Sales info is automatically organized and presented. You simply have to select which dashboard you want to view.
Below are five CRM sales dashboards that allow you to easily track team progress and activities. To help you get the most out of each sales dashboard, we’ve also included actionable tips.
1. Overall performance dashboard
An overall performance dashboard gives you a high-level view of key performance indicators (KPIs), such as activities, goal attainment, revenue. Consider it your one-stop shop to see how your entire team or individual reps are doing.
- Tip #1: Use Sell’s CRM to either give every rep an individual performance dashboard or implement the same dashboard across the team so everyone is viewing the same info.
- Tip #2: Drag the performance dashboard widgets around so that the most important sales info is the first thing you see when you open your CRM.
2. Individual rep performance dashboard
If you want to see how sales reps are performing on an individual level, go to the individual rep performance dashboard. It includes information such as quota attainment, the rep’s pipeline conversion rates, and loss reasons.
The dashboard gives you a high-level view of each rep’s performance and helps you determine whether they need assistance.
- Tip #1: Filter by rep or team to compare them side by side. See how they’re performing against each other and whose skills need improving.
- Tip #2: Compare common loss reasons by rep and team. If, for example, many deals are being lost across the board because of poor demos, you know extra demo training is needed.
- Tip #3: Also compare conversion rates by team or reps. If Lauren is achieving a conversion rate of 50% between pitch and contract, but Jason is achieving only 20%, pair the two together so Lauren can offer pointers.
3. Activity feed dashboard
Do you know what your reps are doing and whether it’s worth their time? The activity feed dashboard shows the daily activities of your reps, along with their results — from notes and calls to completed tasks and appointments.
- Tip #1: Want to see the progress of just a specific activity, such as appointments? Select that activity via filters, and remove the rest.
- Tip #2: Filter by users, teams, and groups to see their progress. For example, you can choose to view only Team X’s activities.
4. Pipeline coverage dashboard
The pipeline coverage dashboard allows managers and sales reps alike to see the progress they’re making with deals in their sales pipeline. View by owner, current pipeline value, pipeline value needed, and remaining goal.
You then know if your reps need to add higher-value deals to meet sales goals.
- Tip #1: If you’re trying to figure out if a sales reps is bringing enough pipeline value to hit their goal for the following month, filter by time frame (“Next Year”) and pipeline owner. A bar graph will be created automatically, showing if the team member has enough Pipeline Value to hit their revenue goals.
- Tip #2: Maybe you’re concerned that one of your sales rep’s pipeline value is too low. Filter by “This Month” and pipeline owner to see whether she’s performing relative to other reps.
5. Forecast dashboard
The forecast dashboard compares sales progress with your sales forecasts. View everything from quarter and total forecast value to your sales goals and pending forecast.
This dashboard lets you know whether you’re on track to hit the numbers you forecast or whether you need to adjust sales activities. It’s also great for executives who want to compare actual sales with forecasts.
- Tip #1: Go into your “Goal Settings” to set individual goals for team members. Check the black line on the graph to your reps’ progress in meeting these goals.
- Tip #2: View the “Pending Forecast” to check how much deal value is expected to close and when. You can then compare with how much more revenue is needed to hit predicted forecasts.
- Tip #3: Filter forecasts by individual sales rep and quarter to see whether their personal revenue goals will be met.
Keep dashboard info up to date with mobile
Now that you have your sales dashboards, you want to ensure that the info you’re looking at is always accurate and up to date.
That’s why it’s important to use a sales CRM with mobile capabilities. With a mobile CRM, reps in the field can use the CRM mobile app to plug in information on the go. You’re on the road, too? Cool. You can see the dashboards and the reps’ progress on your phone.
And the best part is that information is automatically updated between the mobile and desktop version once connected to Wi-Fi. No more trying to remember important conversations and plugging info into your CRM once back in the office.
You also have access to the same dashboards on mobile as you do on the desktop, so neither you nor your reps miss any important deal information.
Train your field reps to use the mobile app and dashboards with this tutorial.
How to customize your sales dashboard
A simplified view of the most important details for your sales team’s success is more effective. Granted, it is possible to include too much info when setting up a sales dashboard in your CRM.
With Sell, you can strategically customize an existing dashboard (specifically the Overall Performance Dashboard) to show only the most important info. Here’s how:
Determine what information your sales reps need to succeed.
Approach your sales dashboards with a strategy. First, determine what data is important to you and your viewers. And remember, what’s important to you might differ, depending on the viewer.
For example, as a sales manager, you’ll want to see the dashboards that show Individual Rep Performance or Pipeline Coverage. However, it would be more beneficial for a sales rep to see their day-to-day progress, such as the Sales Leaderboard or their Win Rate.
Insert the elements you want to see into your dashboard.
The Overall Performance Dashboard can be customized by viewer, or you can choose to do the same dashboard across the team.
With Sell, you can opt to keep the nine KPI widgets that are automatically included, or you can remove the widgets you don’t want to see within the dashboard menu.
Keep it simple.
Again, your dashboards shouldn’t include every piece of sales information. That’s what sales reports are for. Instead, sales dashboards should offer a quick view of sales operations to help you and your reps meet specific sales goals.
For example, maybe a quarterly goal is to increase revenue by 20%. “Revenue Goal Attainment” would be an important Overall Performance Dashboard widget. On the other hand, including “Tasks” might not be as relevant for your team if you’re focused on the long term rather than on daily activities.
Maximize your sales data in your CRM
The dashboards within your sales CRM offer unique insights about your sales team. While a rep might say they’ve completed 10 cold calls this week, you can go into sales dashboards and see whether this information is accurate.
And if reps aren’t on track to meet quotas (which consequently could affect revenue), you know ahead of time and can offer solutions to improve.
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