If you’re sick of generic dashboards that bury you in fluff and don’t actually show how your sales team is doing, you’re in the right spot. This guide is for sales managers, ops folks, or anyone trying to get a real handle on what their team is actually getting done. We’re going to walk through making custom dashboards in Icypeas that actually show you what matters—and skip the stuff that doesn’t.
Why bother with custom dashboards?
There are a million tools that promise “actionable insights.” Most just give you more charts than you’ll ever look at. Sales teams don’t need more data—they need the right data, displayed clearly. Custom dashboards in Icypeas let you focus on what your team actually needs to see, not what some SaaS vendor thinks is important.
You’ll save time, cut confusion, and stop wasting energy on KPIs nobody cares about.
Step 1: Get clear on what you actually want to measure
Before you start clicking around in Icypeas, take ten minutes to write down what “productivity” actually means for your team. Don’t just track what’s easy—track what matters.
Some useful metrics: - Number of qualified leads created - Calls or meetings completed - Deals moved to the next pipeline stage - Total revenue closed (not just forecasted) - Average deal size or sales cycle time
Metrics to ignore (unless you have a good reason): - Raw email counts (activity doesn’t mean productivity) - Vanity metrics (like “profile views”) - Anything you’re tracking just because it’s there by default
Pro tip: If you can’t explain to your team why you’re tracking a metric, don’t put it on your dashboard.
Step 2: Set up your data sources in Icypeas
Icypeas is flexible, but it’s only as good as the data you connect. Here’s how to avoid headaches:
- Connect your CRM
Most sales teams run on Salesforce, HubSpot, or Pipedrive. Icypeas has pre-built connectors for these, but double-check you have the right permissions. - Go to the Integrations section in Icypeas.
- Choose your CRM and follow the prompts.
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Test the connection—don’t assume it just works.
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Pull in other relevant data
If you’re tracking calls in a separate dialer, or meetings in a calendar tool, add those too. - Only connect tools you’ll actually use in reports.
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Avoid connecting every app “just in case”—it’ll make things messy.
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Check your data quality
Garbage in, garbage out. Make sure your team is logging activity the same way, or your dashboards will be full of holes.
Step 3: Start building your dashboard
Now the fun part. Here’s a practical approach that keeps things simple.
- Create a new dashboard
- In Icypeas, click “Dashboards” > “Create New.”
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Name it something obvious, like “Sales Productivity Overview.”
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Add your key widgets
- Use charts, tables, or leaderboards for your top metrics.
- Don’t get fancy—stacked bar charts and simple tables are usually enough.
Some suggested widgets: - Pipeline Health: Number of deals in each stage, with totals and owners. - Activity Leaderboard: Calls/meetings per rep (bonus: filter by “completed,” not “scheduled”). - Conversion Rates: % of leads moving from one stage to the next. - Revenue Closed: Total sales per rep or team, filtered by timeframe.
- Set up filters
- Add filters for time period (today, this week, this month).
- Filter by individual rep or team.
- Don’t go wild—too many filters just confuse people.
Pro tip: If you’re tempted to add a widget “just in case,” don’t. You can always add more later. Start with the basics and see what you actually use.
Step 4: Make it readable (and useful)
Dashboards aren’t for show—they’re for decisions. Here’s how to keep yours clear:
- Limit widgets: Four to six per dashboard is plenty.
- Use plain labels: “Calls Closed This Week” beats “Telephonic Touchpoint Conversion Ratio.”
- Highlight what’s off-track: Use color coding (red/yellow/green) for KPIs that matter.
- Add annotations: If you’re tracking something new, add a note explaining why.
Pro tip: Ask a peer to look at your dashboard without any explanation. If they can’t tell what’s happening in 30 seconds, it’s too complicated.
Step 5: Share with your team (and get feedback)
Don’t just email out a dashboard link and call it a day. Here’s how to actually get your team to use it:
- Share in context
- Present the dashboard in a team meeting. Walk through what you’re tracking and why.
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Make it the default “home screen” for your sales team, if possible.
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Ask for honest feedback
- What’s confusing?
- What’s missing?
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What’s pointless?
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Keep it up to date
- Set a reminder to review the dashboard every month.
- Kill any metrics nobody’s looking at.
Pro tip: If your team stops using the dashboard, that’s a sign it’s not helpful. Don’t take it personally—just tweak it.
What Icypeas does well (and where it falls short)
What works: - Flexible data connections—if your sales data lives somewhere, you can probably get it into Icypeas. - Easy drag-and-drop dashboards, with enough customization for most teams. - Real-time updates, so you’re not looking at last week’s numbers.
What’s so-so: - Advanced analytics (like predictive modeling) are limited—don’t expect magic “AI insights.” - If your CRM data is a mess, Icypeas can only do so much to clean it up. - Mobile dashboard experience is basic—not great for on-the-go deep dives.
What to ignore: - Fancy visualizations you don’t understand—stick to bar charts, tables, and leaderboards. - Pre-built “productivity” templates that don’t match your process. Build your own, even if it takes longer.
Common mistakes (and how to avoid them)
- Tracking too much: More metrics = more confusion. Start small.
- Ignoring data quality: If reps don’t log calls, your “activity” numbers are fiction.
- Letting dashboards go stale: Outdated dashboards are worse than none at all.
- Measuring what’s easy, not what matters: Focus on results, not just activity.
Keep it simple, and keep iterating
The best dashboards aren’t built all at once. Start with the basics, get feedback, and don’t be afraid to change things up. If your dashboard actually helps your sales team see where to focus, you’re winning. If not, simplify until it does. And remember—there’s no prize for having the most charts, just for having the right ones.