Sales Dashboard

What is a Sales Dashboard?

A sales dashboard is a visual representation of sales data. It includes graphs, numbers, and charts that give the sales team an up-to-the-minute snapshot of current sales performance and activities.

Common sales dashboard metrics include closed business (dollar amount), sales volume, lead conversion rates, pipeline data, and activity by sales rep. Sales dashboards use real-time data, so changes are reflected every time a sales rep puts a new activity or deal in the CRM.

Sales managers use dashboards to track employee performance, report revenue figures to execs, monitor KPIs, and understand the current health of sales operations. Individual reps use them to keep tabs on their personal performance, prioritize tasks, and measure progress toward sales targets.

Dashboard reporting can either be a function built into a company’s CRM or a standalone product that integrates with a CRM. Sometimes, companies will use both an integrated solution and a native dashboard (e.g., to display marketing, sales, and customer success data all at once).

Synonyms

• Sales analysis dashboard
• Sales KPI dashboard
• Sales performance dashboard
• Sales pipeline dashboard

Benefits of Using Sales Dashboards

Measuring sales metrics and tracking sales activity across the organization has untold benefits. It’s the only way anyone in the company can really know what’s going on with their sales force.

These are the 10 key benefits of using a sales dashboard:

1. Accuracy. Dashboards help ensure accuracy in tracking, reporting, and forecasting since they are based on real-time data straight from the CRM.
2. Visibility. Sales dashboards give executives and managers a single view into how well their team is performing across key metrics like volume, closed business, and leads conversion.
3. Performance monitoring and diagnosis. With performance centralized on a single dashboard, high-performing reps get the praise they deserve. With sales activities and KPIs all in the same place, managers can proactively diagnose and address problems underperforming reps may be experiencing.
4. Motivation. Sales reps can use their dashboards to stay motivated and on task with up-to-date sales progress. They also benefit from being able to compare activities related to success or failure in the numbers.
5. Efficiency. Sales dashboard reporting streamlines processes that would otherwise be manual (and error-prone). There’s no need for manual reporting or data entry when everything is managed right inside the CRM.
6. Insightful decisions. Dashboards provide an ongoing, real-time view of sales performance that can help managers make data-driven decisions about where to focus their resources for maximum ROI.
7. Accurate forecasting. When there’s a continuous data flow, managers can keep a close eye on current performance and confidently predict future outcomes. The risks of bad sales projections are enormous: too much or too little inventory, missed targets, and a lower bottom line.
8. Comprehensibility. Execs and investors rely on sales data for high-level decisions. But they aren’t analysts. Sales dashboards make it easy for these decision-makers to see where the company is headed.
9. Lead scoring. Even if an organization doesn’t use AI-driven lead scoring models, they will have to prioritize certain leads based on
10. Greater sales potential. Making sense of all the information CRM houses and reports on is only possible thanks to its technology. On their own, sales managers would never be able to visualize the full story of what’s going on in their sales funnel.

Sales Dashboard Examples

Overall, using a sales dashboard creates a better selling experience. Most sales orgs actually use more than one to understand different types of data.

Here’s a look at some examples of sales dashboards:

Sales Cycle Length Dashboard

The length of a company’s sales cycle is closely tied to its lead conversion rate. Deals that sit in the pipeline too long convert less often. It’s in the best interest of the sales team to move deals through as quickly as possible.

A sales cycle length dashboard shows the company’s average sales cycle length, as well as those for each market size (e.g., emerging, mid-market, enterprise). It displays these numbers next to sales cycle lengths for each sales rep.

Depending on how it compares to their performance, sales managers can use a rep’s sales cycle length to set an example or as a diagnostic measure. For example, a slightly longer than average time to close for a top rep could indicate success because they spend extra time with their prospects. If that same rep were underperforming, it could mean they’re leaving deals in the funnel too long.

Sales Conversion Dashboard

Sales conversions are the number of qualified sales leads converted into customers. A sales conversion dashboard typically shows:

• Total conversions and pipeline stages for each rep (e.g., contact made, opportunity opened, proposal sent)
• Number of leads, opportunities, negotiations, proposals, and wins at present
• Lead-to-close conversion rate for each rep, as well as an overall company average
• KPIs like average deal size and customer lifetime value
• Close rate by channel, and conversion rates over time (YoY)
• Smaller conversion metrics, such as MQL-to-SQL or SQL-to-opportunity conversions

Conversions are ultimately what leads to revenue growth, not leads. So monitoring conversion metrics closely is a must. A sales conversion dashboard helps to make sure that leads don’t slip through the cracks.

Sales Opportunity Dashboard

An opportunity is different from a lead. It’s a sales-qualified lead (SQL) that is likely to close, based on their current knowledge about the prospect.

The sales opportunity dashboard gives reps and managers visibility into all opportunities that are in the pipeline.

It shows:

• Total number of opportunities by stage (e.g., contact made, opportunity opened)
• Opportunity size and value by stage
• Opportunity win rate by rep and overall for the team
• Average customer lifetime value
• Total revenue generated from all deals in the pipeline.

The sales opportunity dashboard provides an overview of how well your reps are doing at closing opportunities. It also helps improve opportunity management processes, such as prioritization and follow-up.

Sales Productivity Dashboard

Sales productivity dashboards define how certain activities translate to better performance and outcomes. They allow sales teams to track a variety of productivity metrics.

These include:

• Total number of calls made, meetings booked, and emails sent
• Sales demos delivered
• Prospecting activities such as account research, networking, and cold outreach
• Follow-up with leads and last time of contact
• Lead response time
• Conversion rates by activities (e.g., meetings from emails sent)
• Average time spent on each activity

Measuring and presenting sales productivity means sales reps have the data they need to get better at what they do. Sales leaders can use data from the productivity dashboard to show reps what they should and shouldn’t be doing.

Sales Performance Dashboard

The sales performance dashboard is the most comprehensive type of sales dashboard since it includes all metrics related to sales operations, including revenue, leads, conversions, opportunities, deals won/lost, sales goals, and quotas. It provides a holistic view of the entire team’s performance.

This dashboard typically includes the most important information from all the others, including:

• Total new business closed
• Overall conversion rate
• Total number of leads, opportunities, and deals closed
• Number of deals in each pipeline stage
• Average deal size and customer lifetime value
• Number of calls made, emails sent, and demos delivered per rep
• Sales reps’ performance against KPIs, quotas, and goals

The sales performance dashboard provides visibility into the entire team’s performance and can be used to identify areas for improvement. It helps ensure everyone is on track to exceed their goals.

Sales Leaderboard

A sales leaderboard is a great way to reward and motivate reps. It shows the performance of each rep in relation to one another, which can encourage top performers and push others to work harder.

The sales leaderboard typically displays:

• Total number of leads generated
• All opportunities opened
• Deals closed by value and volume
• Average deal size by rep
• Number of deals won

Leaderboards gamify the sales process by compiling this data into a ranking system. At any time, reps and leaders can check who’s at the top of the leaderboard and who needs to hustle more.

10 Common KPIs Included in Sales Dashboards

Sales Cycle Length

CRM examines the timeline from when a lead enters the funnel until it closes to measure the length of a company’s sales cycle. It adds up all sales interactions over a period of time to calculate the average.

To visualize sales cycle length in a meaningful way, it’s a good idea to segment it based on the specific sales team/cohort and their market size. Enterprise sales always entail much longer sales cycles, so they would heavily skew the data for emerging and mid-market reps (and vice versa).

Average Deal Size

Average deal size is exactly what it sounds like: the average value of all closed deals. It’s an important metric for budgeting and setting team goals since it directly indicates total revenue.

Another reason to watch average deal size closely is because it helps the company understand how long they need to retain a customer to get a return on its customer acquisition cost (CAC). The lower the CAC and higher the average deal size, the more profitable the sales organization is.

Open Opportunities

An open opportunity is a highly qualified lead with buying potential that a sales rep is actively working on. A lot of open opportunities are almost ready for contracting, negotiation, and/or closing (if they haven’t started those processes already).

Tracking open opportunities (and who they are) is important because it serves as a reminder to stay on top of them. It also helps reps prioritize their day-to-day activities and make sure they’re concentrating on leads that are most likely to close.

Closed Opportunities

A closed opportunity could either be Closed Won or Closed Lost. Both are important to track and analyze since they both indicate how efficiently reps close deals.

Especially in collaborative selling, keeping everyone in the loop is important. The closed opportunities dashboard provides the reps with a visual list of everything they have won and lost in one place. During morning meetings, sales managers can go through these numbers and open up dialogue for any reps with commentary on their closed deals.

Not every lost opportunity that closes is closed forever. Sometimes, sellers have success in reopening lost opportunities through follow-up emails and new conversations.

Win/Loss Rate

The win/loss rate is a straightforward metric that tracks how many opportunities a rep closes compared to those they don’t. It provides a glimpse into the effectiveness of reps’ sales processes and helps them identify areas for improvement, whether it’s qualifying leads better or honing their negotiation tactics.

Although it doesn’t account for the value of won/lost deals, the win/loss rate gives actionable insights into a company’s product-market fit, current sales approach, and the effectiveness of reps’ tactics.

Leads by Source

It’s important to track leads by source because it helps sellers refine their approach. When they can see which sources are most successful, reps can focus their efforts on those channels more and double down on the ones that work.

To track leads by source, companies usually integrate lead tracking software with their CRM or include the lead source every time they enter a new customer. This opens up a whole range of possibilities for tracking and managing incoming leads and measuring marketing and prospecting ROI.

Upsell Ratio

Upselling is one of the best ways to grow revenue. It doesn’t require additional lead generation efforts and adds more value to an already-loyal customer. For those reasons, most businesses consider it a high priority.

Particularly when a company wants to secure outside investment or IPO, they want all the internal revenue growth they can get. The higher the net revenue retention rate, the better.

The upsell ratio tracks the number of times a seller upsold one of their current customers. It’s a great indicator of how successful their retention tactics are and what more they can do to maximize ROI from their customers.

Customer Churn Rate

The churn rate is a measure of customer attrition — or, in other words, lost customers — over time. It looks at the percentage of customers who cancel their subscriptions or don’t purchase again within a given period.

It helps sales reps identify which customer segments are happiest with the product. If the majority of lost customers come from a certain market or segment, they’re either not getting the right customer experience or they simply aren’t a good fit for the product.

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

Customer lifetime value (CLV) explains the total revenue a customer brings in over their lifetime. It’s calculated by multiplying customer lifetime (the length of time they remain with the company) and total customer value (the average value of their purchases times the frequency rate).

Customer lifetime value is the basis for companies to set up customer retention plans and loyalty programs. It also helps them understand how long they need to retain each customer to run a profitable business.

Average Revenue Per User (ARPU)

Average revenue per user (ARPU) is similar to CLV, but it’s calculated over a shorter period. It tracks the average revenue generated from each user within the timeframe a company is operating in.

ARPU can also provide insights into how effective customer acquisition efforts are. Companies use this metric to analyze which channels bring in more customers and at what cost, then allocate their marketing budget accordingly.

Lead scoring is also largely based on ARPU. Customers from segments with higher ARPUs are scored higher and receive priority in the sales pipeline. It’s an effective way to measure customer value during lead qualification.

Data Sources for Sales Dashboards

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Most CRM software has customizable sales dashboards built into it. Since CRM is the center of all sales operations and data, it’s the best place to start when putting together a dashboard.

Most CRMs have out-of-the-box integrations with other data sources (like marketing, finance, and customer service) as well. This makes it easy to get all of the necessary data in one place for accurate reporting.

Whether it’s a native feature or API integration with another dashboarding and data visualization tool, CRM provides the most important data, including overall performance, sales cycle length, rep activity, and deal size.

Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ)

Configure, price, quote (CPQ) is a specialized software designed to help sales teams quickly (sometimes automatically) generate quotes and proposals.

CPQ is the main source of product sales data. Since it’s responsible for quoting, contracting, and eventually managing payments, it also feeds data like average deal size and ARPU into the dashboard.

Marketing Automation

Marketing automation tells sales organizations which sources produce the highest-quality leads. It’s the best way to track leads by source and how successful reps are at converting them into paying customers.

Integrating marketing automation with CRM and sales dashboards helps give a fuller picture of how prospects become customers, which channels they come from, and their purchase journey.

Sales Engagement Platform

A sales engagement platform is designed to help reps stay organized, prioritize prospects and tasks, and track their progress. It consolidates all stages of the sales process into one place so reps can see where they stand with each prospect in real-time.

Sales engagement platforms also provide an accurate picture of how effective the team is at getting through deals. By tracking which activities are most successful — such as emails, calls, demos, and meetings — reps can use that data to refine their sales approach.

Sales Enablement Tools

Sales enablement software comes in all shapes and sizes. Some are designed to arm reps with the right content, while others focus on helping them create more effective strategies to get deals across the finish line.

Sales enablement tools can also track performance metrics like win rates and deal sizes over time. This is especially important for sales teams that use different strategies, such as inside/outside sales.

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