Sales manager has twenty deals in pipeline. Total contract value: five million. Close rate historically thirty percent. Forecast says we will close one point five million this quarter. Actual revenue so far: two hundred thousand. Pipeline velocity is slowing. Why.
Without sales dashboard, manager does not know until quarter ends and numbers miss.
With sales dashboard, manager sees pipeline by stage and knows: initial meetings down forty percent this month, proposals down thirty percent, negotiations up but very slow. Sees exactly where deals are stalling.
What to track on sales dashboards
Pipeline by stage
Deals in prospecting. Deals in conversation. Deals in proposal. Deals in negotiation. Deals ready to close. Each stage shows number of deals and total contract value. Visualization shows funnel shape. Wide at top (many prospects). Narrower at bottom (fewer closings). If shape is wrong (early stage empty or late stage too wide), problem is visible immediately.
Sales velocity
How many days deals spend in each stage. Historically: prospecting five days. Conversation ten days. Proposal fifteen days. Negotiation twenty days. Closing five days. This month: prospecting six days (slightly slow). Conversation twelve days (slightly slow). Proposal twenty-two days (eight days slower than normal). That is the bottleneck. Why are proposals taking longer.
Quota attainment
Team quota: one point five million this quarter. Current revenue: four hundred thousand. Attainment: twenty-seven percent at midquarter (should be fifty percent). Behind. Sales rep A: six hundred thousand. On track. Sales rep B: three hundred thousand. Half of quota. Sales rep C: not shown (no deals). Help reps B and C.
Close rate by rep
Rep A closes thirty-five percent of proposals. Rep B closes twenty percent. Rep C closes fifteen percent. Rep A is best closer. When rep C moves to proposal stage, low close rate shows. Coaching opportunity.
Average deal size by rep
Rep A average deal: one hundred twenty thousand. Rep B average deal: forty thousand. Rep C average deal: twenty thousand. Rep A brings bigger deals. Rep B and C bring smaller deals. Is this intentional. Should smaller deals get different sales approach.
Win rate by industry
SaaS customers: forty percent win rate. Retail customers: twenty percent win rate. B2B manufacturers: thirty percent win rate. SaaS is winning channel. Allocate more prospecting to SaaS.
Win rate by sales stage
Lost in prospecting: prospects say not interested. Lost in conversation: budget not approved. Lost in proposal: chose competitor. Lost in negotiation: price too high. Most losses happen at proposal stage. Is proposal showing wrong value. Lost in negotiation is price issue. Negotiation training or pricing adjustment needed.
Real example: SaaS sales team dashboard
Quarter goal
One point five million revenue.
Pipeline funnel
Prospecting: thirty deals at five hundred thousand total value. Should close nine deals (thirty percent rate) equals one hundred fifty thousand.
Conversation: twenty deals at one point two million. Should close six deals equals three hundred sixty thousand.
Proposal: eight deals at six hundred thousand. Should close two point four deals (thirty percent) equals one hundred eighty thousand.
Negotiation: two deals at three hundred thousand. Should close zero point six deals equals one hundred eighty thousand.
Ready to close: one deal at one hundred thousand. Should close one equals one hundred thousand.
Expected revenue if normal velocity continues: one hundred fifty plus three hundred sixty plus one hundred eighty plus one hundred eighty plus one hundred equals nine hundred ten thousand. But goal is one point five million. Pipeline is undersized. Need to add more deals to prospecting.
Sales rep breakdown
Rep A: four hundred thousand already closed. Quota one hundred fifty thousand. Already exceeded quota. Reassign A to new market.
Rep B: one hundred fifty thousand closed. Quota one hundred fifty thousand. On track but barely. In proposal stage with two hundred thousand potential. Will likely finish just above quota.
Rep C: fifty thousand closed. Quota one hundred fifty thousand. Will miss quota unless something changes. Has only one hundred thousand in pipeline. Currently at thirty-three percent of quota pace. Cannot make quota.
Action item
Rep C is struggling. Review C's prospecting metrics. How many calls C is making. How many meetings C is scheduling. Is C struggling with execution or struggling with activity. If activity is low, coach C on prospecting. If activity is high but conversion is low, coach C on conversation skills.
Frequently asked questions
How often should sales team check the dashboard?
Daily during last two weeks of month. Weekly during first two weeks. End of month is crunch time. Sales wants to know daily progress toward quota. First of month is about prospecting and filling pipeline. Weekly check is enough. Adjust cadence by deal size and sales cycle. If average deal takes six months to close, monthly check is enough. If average deal takes two weeks, daily check is essential. With WEMASY's website builder, you can set this up directly on your website.
Should sales dashboard show individual rep performance or only team totals?
Both. Team totals show whether team will hit quota. Individual metrics show which reps need help. But be careful how individual metrics are displayed. If publicly displayed, rep comparison can demoralize lower performers. Show individual in private reports to manager. Show team total in group meetings. Transparency with individuals, discretion with groups.
How do we handle deals that go stale?
Track deal age in each stage. Deals that have been in proposal for more than thirty days are stale. Should be moved to lost or negotiation or back to conversation. Stale deals are decision bottleneck. Not every deal should close. Some should fail fast so sales can move on. Have rule: deals in any stage more than X days must be made active or closed. Define X based on your sales cycle. If average proposal stage is fifteen days, thirty days is doubling normal. Flag at thirty days.
What if our sales cycle is six months?
Show long-term pipeline projection. Today's prospecting becomes next quarter's revenue. Show "expected revenue in 90 days" by looking at deals in earliest stages. Show "expected revenue in 180 days" by looking at all pipeline. Long sales cycles need forward-looking metrics. Monthly quota does not make sense. Quarterly or annual quota makes sense. For six-month cycles, set annual targets and show quarterly progress toward annual goal.
Should we show competitor win/loss data on sales dashboard?
Yes, if you track it. Which competitor did we lose to. If we lose to same competitor repeatedly, we have competitive problem. If we lose because of price to one competitor and features to another, we have clear action items. But only if you are actually gathering this data. Do not guess competitor names. Require sales team to record competitor name when deal is lost. Monthly: which competitors won most. Then address that specific competitor with sales training or product changes.
How do we prevent reps from gaming the pipeline?
Combine pipeline metrics with actual revenue. If rep shows one million in pipeline but closes nothing, pipeline is fake. Require manager review of pipeline stage assignments. If deal does not meet stage criteria, move it back. Criteria example: deal can only be in proposal stage if written proposal has been sent and customer has received it. No verbal proposals. If rep puts deal in proposal but has not sent proposal, manager moves it back to conversation. Transparency prevents gaming. Also tie rep compensation to revenue closed, not pipeline size.