Simple Sales Dashboard: Best Practices

A sales dashboard is a management tool used by businesses to monitor and analyze the performance of their sales activities. It provides a concise, visual overview of the key performance indicators related to sales and financial goals. It allows decision-makers to make informed, real-time decisions based on up-to-date data.

But building effective dashboards can be time-consuming and complicated. That is why, at Sidely, we believe it is better to design simple sales dashboards to optimize sales reporting and improve activity management.

So, in this article, we are going to explain how to do just that.

Sales dashboard: definition

A sales dashboard is a tool that allows you to visualize and track the sales performance of a company (macro level) or a team (micro level). It generally displays key performance indicators (KPIs) such as new sales, revenue, or the percentage of goal achievement, thus offering a global view of sales activity and goal tracking.

This "sales dashboard" comes in the form of several easy-to-understand charts, which are generally associated with graphs. The main objective is to help decision-makers - and sometimes sales representatives -  make strategic decisions based on concrete data regarding sales activities.

The design and structure of the data can correspond to a template established by the company, which compiles charts from different departments in a harmonized way. Often, a sales tracking software (CRM) simplifies - or even automates - the creation and population of reporting dashboards.

In any case, sales dashboards are essential tools that help align sales efforts with the company's strategic goals, optimize individual and collective performance, and make the right decisions based on concrete data. They are therefore true tracking tools that must be updated in real-time or at regular intervals to reflect the most recent data.

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Facilitate tracking for sales reps and managers

Different stakeholders are required to create sales dashboards, whether to track their own objectives, those of their team(s), or also to report to their manager.

The most frequent users of these dashboards are sales directors, sales managers, and the sales representatives themselves, whether they are sedentary (telemarketers) or mobile (field sales).

The following table presents the main objectives pursued by each of these roles.

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Elements of a sales dashboard

Here are the different elements that can be found in a sales dashboard.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

These are the essential metrics that allow you to track sales performance. These KPIs can vary depending on the company, its industry, and above all, the type of team concerned: inside or field sales reps, pre-sales or sales support teams, customer retention, etc.

However, there are essential indicators that all businesses must monitor. We offer a non-exhaustive list below: 

• Revenue (sales turnover);

• Percentage of revenue goal achieved.

• Total number of sales;

• Number of appointments booked AND attended; 

• Closing rate; 

• Profitability of the service or sales rep;

• Prospect-to-customer conversion rate;

• Customer retention rate (loyalty / renewals);

• Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC);

• Sales cycle length (in time or number of meetings); 

• Customer satisfaction level (e.g., Net Promoter Score); 

• Additional sales made to active clients.

There are therefore many key indicators to track depending on the objectives you are pursuing. As we will see below, to simplify the analysis, we advise you to identify a few main indicators and focus on what matters most.

Visualizations and Graphs

Data is often presented in the form of charts or tables for quick and easy understanding. Line graphs, bar charts, pie charts, and pivot tables are commonly used to illustrate trends and comparisons.‍

Goal Tracking

Sales dashboards typically include indicators to compare current performance against past performance and thus track the evolution of set goals. This makes it possible to determine if the company is on track to achieve its sales targets.

Analysis and Insights

In addition to providing raw data, sales dashboards often offer analysis and insights into trends and correlations between different KPIs. This helps decision-makers understand the underlying causes of performance and identify opportunities for improvement.

The sales rep or manager can add contextual elements themselves. If you have chosen a simple dashboard format with only a few figures, your analysis can be added to the reporting email you send to your management or your wrap-up presentation. In any case, focus on the essentials and keep it concise. Executives are used to dashboards and don't have time to read novels!

Simplifying your dashboards

Presenting a large number of indicators in a report tends to make it more complicated to read and interpret.‍

To simplify performance analysis, you can divide the results tracking by type of operation, selecting a few key indicators for each.

Here are some examples of indicators to track by mission type.

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How to create a simple and effective sales dashboard

Now let's look at a simple method to help you build your sales performance tracking tool.

Step 1: Start with the main objective

Begin by focusing on the company's main objectives, such as increasing revenue or the number of clients, reducing acquisition costs, or optimizing the acquisition cycle, etc.

Step 2: Identify the indicators corresponding to this objective

For example, a company that wants to shorten its sales cycle could track the following indicators: 

• Percentage of one-shot closes (following the first meeting);

• Average number of meetings held before closing;

• Average number of meetings held per sales rep in the month.

Step 3: Identify and evaluate data sources

Check the feasibility of the reporting and the reliability of the data that will be used. To do this, you will need to ensure that the data is up-to-date and unbiased. Next, try to automate everything that can be, and if necessary, supplement with manual actions to pull in missing information.‍

Step 4: Find the ideal layout

A dashboard must provide a clear and immediate overview. That is why you must absolutely keep a summary page that your management can understand and interpret in a few seconds. 

If needed, add tabs to your spreadsheet to look for deeper information, such as results by sales rep, by region, or secondary indicators. Some companies also choose to keep the monthly reporting history by dedicating one tab per month.

With modern CRMs, it is quite simple to test different layouts, especially when the software allows you to create dashboards using drag & drop!‍

Step 5: Set up a quality control process

It is possible to set up a quality department. This can aim to ensure the correct entry of data into the CRM or any other tool from which the reporting data is extracted; the CRM administrator can then be put in charge of this mission. In other cases, the sales dashboard itself can be checked for both substance and form: checking formulas, accuracy of data, consistency of results, relevance of tracked KPIs...

Step 6: Engage and onboard sales (or other stakeholders)

Setting up and sending a dashboard must lead to consistent actions: it is advisable to establish routine sales meetings that take into account the metrics set by the reporting. These rituals can be quick, but they are fundamental for sales engagement because they allow reps to feel involved in the strategy and own their objectives.

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Be careful not to mix up tracking tools

To keep it simple and effective, organize your tracking tools logically and avoid confusing your routines.

For this, it is important not to confuse the sales dashboard with two other tools commonly used in the field of sales.

Forecast

For example, the sales dashboard does not replace the forecast declaration. The "forecast" is an animation ritual that allows sales representatives to announce to their management what they have in the pipeline at the beginning of the month. This short ceremony allows sales reps to remain realistic and transparent about their progress to date regarding the sales targets for the current period, and allows the manager to assess the starting situation. In the end, comparing results with the forecast helps analyze what happened during the period concerned and implement reactive measures.

Sales prospecting dashboard

Brands launching their activity sometimes set up a sales prospecting dashboard on Excel or Google Sheets. These situations are temporary, as companies sooner or later realize they need a sales CRM to facilitate - and sometimes automate - the generation of sales reports, and to eliminate many errors associated with manual data entry.

Which indicators to track according to your distribution network?

Not all sales teams are alike. And neither are all dashboards. A good report is not limited to tracking the same indicators as your neighbor: it must reflect the reality on the ground in your sector. Do you sell in supermarkets? in pharmacies? in the food service sector (horeca)? Your challenges are not the same, and neither are your distribution channels. So before building your sales dashboard, take the time to identify the right indicators to track according to your industry.‍

Here are suggestions for sales indicators to include in your dashboard, channel by channel.

KPIs to track in supermarkets (FMCG / grocery retail)

Here is an example of different metrics to track for a brand present in supermarkets:

• Numeric Distribution (ND) by point of sale;

• Numeric Distribution (ND) by sales rep;

• Weighted Distribution (WD);

• Share of shelf vs. competitors;

• Revenue generated (sell-out / sell-in);

• Cash register sales and evaluation;

• Number of appointments booked in the month;

• Sales visits conducted;

• Number of active points of sale;

• Out-of-stock rate on shelves;

• Goal tracking (sales, activity...);

• Annual sales growth vs. goals;

• Average Weekly Sales (AWS);

• Latest activity of sales reps;

• Etc.‍

👉 The objective: guarantee your presence on shelves, boost sell-in, and analyze the impact of your sales activities.

If you want to know more about this topic, we wrote an article on the 5 KPIs to absolutely track in grocery retail.‍

KPIs to track in the HORECA sector (Cafés, Hotels, Restaurants)

Here is an example of different metrics to track for a brand present in HORECA:

• Number of visits / routes completed

• Number of new outlets activated

• Order volume by product type

• Restocking frequency / product rotation

• Territory coverage rate (customers vs. prospects)

• Conversion rate of visits → orders

• Average order value per establishment

• Most ordered products

• Field customer feedback

• Analysis of white spots (unvisited areas)

👉 The objective: maximize order frequency and field coverage.

KPIs to track in Out-of-Home Catering (OOH)

Here is an example of different metrics to track for a brand present in out-of-home catering:

• Number of active touchpoints (canteens, caterers, institutions...)

• Number of monthly orders per site

• Customer loyalty rate

• Share of volume by product range

• Average basket per establishment

• Response rate to tenders / requests

• Sales volume by channel (distributor, direct, etc.)

• Product presence rate in menus / offers

• Frequency of sales routes

• OOH revenue growth

👉 The objective: manage channel performance and secure recurring volumes.‍

KPIs to track in pharmacies/drugstores

Here is an example of different metrics to track for a brand present in pharmacies and drugstore networks:

• Number of active pharmacies

• Sales growth by product or range

• Product shelf presence rate

• Number of sales visits conducted

• Average order volume per pharmacy

• Top products by performance

• Out-of-stock rate

• Sell-out data (if available)

• Number of new clients acquired

• Field feedback on sales arguments‍

👉 The objective: guarantee product visibility and boost advice at the counter.

The case of specific industries

Insurance is not a distribution channel, but a fully-fledged industry with its own sales codes. To effectively manage your sales forces, you must track indicators aligned with your long cycles, conversion challenges, and retention goals.

Here is an example of different metrics to track for an insurer:

• Number of leads generated per channel

• Conversion rate of leads → clients

• Number of sales appointments held

• Average sales cycle length

• Average value of a signed contract

• Customer churn rate

• Post-signature customer satisfaction rate

• Individual performance per sales rep

• Sales pipeline status by stage

• Cross-sell / up-sell rate per customer

👉 The objective: structure sales performance and boost conversion.

These indicators are a foundation. The ideal is still to customize your dashboard according to your business challenges. And if you need a simple, mobile, and ready-to-use tool, we can support you. Request your demo here!