If you’re responsible for sales ops, account management, or even just wrangling a small sales team, you know tracking B2B deals can get messy fast. Spreadsheet hell, endless status meetings, and deals slipping through the cracks—nobody wants that. This guide is for folks who need real visibility into deal progress, not just pretty dashboards.
I’ll walk you through how to set up and actually use Scoreboardbuzz to track B2B deals—without getting lost in features or sales buzzwords. We’ll cover what matters, what doesn’t, and a few hard-won tricks to keep everyone honest about what’s really happening in your pipeline.
1. Get Real About Your Sales Process Before You Touch Scoreboardbuzz
Before you start clicking around Scoreboardbuzz, map out your existing sales process. Be brutally honest. What actually happens between “new lead” and “closed-won”? Where do deals usually stall? Who needs to be in the loop?
Why bother? - No software fixes a broken process. - Scoreboardbuzz (or any CRM) is only as good as the process you run through it.
Quick exercise: - List key deal stages (e.g., Qualified > Demo > Proposal > Negotiation > Closed). - Under each stage, jot down what must happen for a deal to move forward. - Decide who’s responsible for each stage. If it’s “everyone,” it’s no one.
Pro tip: Keep stages broad. More than 7 stages and nobody will update them. Less than 4 and you’re not getting enough detail.
2. Set Up Deal Stages in Scoreboardbuzz That Reflect Reality
Now bring your process into Scoreboardbuzz. Resist the urge to use default pipeline stages if they don’t fit. Customize them to match how your team actually sells.
To set up your pipeline: - Go to the pipeline settings. - Edit or add stages to match your real-world process. - Write a short description for each stage. (Don’t skip this—new team members will thank you.)
What works: - Stages based on clear, buyer-driven milestones (e.g., “Proposal Sent,” not “Waiting for Feedback”). - Fewer “internal” stages. Only add steps that reflect an actual change in deal status.
What to ignore: - Hyper-specific stages for every little task (“Contract Drafted,” “Contract Reviewed,” etc.). You’ll just end up clicking more buttons.
3. Decide What Data Actually Matters—And Make It Required
Scoreboardbuzz lets you track all sorts of info. Don’t. Focus on what you’ll actually use to move deals forward or forecast accurately.
The essentials: - Company name and contact - Deal value (or at least a ballpark) - Close date (even if it’s a guess) - Stage - Next step or follow-up date
Optional, but useful: - Decision-maker(s) - Key blockers or risks (keep it short)
How to set it up: - Mark these fields as required in Scoreboardbuzz. - Hide or de-prioritize everything else.
Why be strict?
If you leave fields optional, reps will skip them. And you’ll be back to guessing why deals stall.
4. Keep Deal Updates Short, Honest, and Regular
Nobody wants to fill out a novel for each deal. But you do need regular updates so you’re not blindsided at the end of the quarter.
Best practices for updates: - Use the “Next Step” field religiously. It should always answer: “What’s happening next, and when?” - Add quick notes after every real interaction (call, meeting, email). - Avoid fluff like “Had a great call, client is interested”—it’s meaningless.
Set a cadence: - Weekly updates for active deals. - Bi-weekly or monthly for long shots or deals on ice.
Pro tip:
Make it a habit to update deals during calls or meetings—don’t wait until Friday afternoon.
5. Use Scoreboardbuzz’s Views and Filters—But Don’t Overcomplicate It
Scoreboardbuzz has customizable views and filters. Use these to cut through the noise and focus on what matters.
Most useful views: - “Deals closing this month/quarter” - “Deals with no next step” - “Stalled deals” (no activity in X days) - “New deals this week”
How to set it up: - Save your favorite filters as default views for the team. - Share views so everyone’s looking at the same data.
Skip this:
Don’t waste time building a dozen custom dashboards. Most teams only use a few views regularly.
6. Make Pipeline Reviews About Action, Not Blame
Too many pipeline meetings turn into finger-pointing or endless reviews of deals that aren’t moving. Use Scoreboardbuzz to make these meetings fast and useful.
Run a better meeting: - Only discuss deals where something is stuck or a decision is needed. - Use the “Next Step” and “Stalled” views to guide the agenda. - Don’t dwell on closed-won/lost deals—mark them and move on.
What works: - Focus on what can be done to advance deals. - Encourage honesty about lost or dead deals. Clearing them out helps everyone.
What to ignore: - Endless debate about forecast percentages. They’re just guesses—don’t treat them like gospel.
7. Don’t Rely on Scoreboardbuzz for Everything
This might sound odd in a guide about deal tracking software, but here’s the truth: Scoreboardbuzz is a tool, not a magic bullet.
What Scoreboardbuzz can’t do: - Build relationships for you - Replace actual conversations - Fix a bad product or poorly-defined sales process
What it does well: - Keeps you organized - Makes follow-up easier - Gives you a decent forecast (if you’re honest with your data)
Remember:
If your team is skipping updates or gaming the system, the tool won’t fix it. Set the tone by being direct and candid in your own updates.
8. Review and Refine—Don’t “Set and Forget”
Your sales process will change. So should your Scoreboardbuzz setup.
How to keep improving: - Every quarter, review your pipeline stages and required fields. Are they helping or just slowing things down? - Ask the team what’s annoying or confusing. Fix it. - Kill any reports or workflows nobody uses.
Pro tip:
Document changes as you go. Even a shared Google Doc is fine. It avoids “Wait, why did we add that field again?” six months from now.
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple, Iterate Often
Tracking B2B deals isn’t rocket science, but it gets ugly fast if you overthink it (or under-think it). Set up Scoreboardbuzz to match the way you actually work, not how you wish things worked. Focus on the basics, keep your pipeline honest, and don’t be afraid to tweak as you go.
The best systems are the ones your team actually uses. Start simple, cut the fluff, and you’ll spend more time closing deals—and less time managing software.