If you’re responsible for sales, adoption, or customer success and your team uses Apparound, you know the software spits out a ton of engagement data. But what actually matters? How do you cut through the noise and find metrics that help you do your job—not just fill out a dashboard? This guide is for anyone who wants to get real value out of Apparound’s engagement analytics, not just tick a box for the boss.
1. Get Clear on What You Actually Want to Measure
Before you dive into Apparound’s analytics, stop and figure out what “engagement” means for your team. Not all engagement is created equal—and not every metric is worth chasing.
Ask yourself: - Do you care about how often customers interact with your proposals? - Are you more interested in what content gets shared and opened? - Is your goal to shorten the sales cycle, improve follow-up, or just prove people are paying attention?
Don’t chase vanity metrics: Just because a report shows “number of clicks” doesn’t mean it matters. Focus on metrics tied to real business outcomes, like: - Time to deal closure - Number of meaningful customer interactions (not just opens) - Content that actually gets results (e.g., presentations that are viewed before a sale)
Pro tip: Write down what success looks like before you start tracking anything in Apparound. It’ll save you headaches—and pointless reports—later.
2. Know Where to Find the Right Metrics in Apparound
Apparound has analytics, but they’re scattered across a few modules. Here’s where to look:
- Engagement Dashboard: Usually your go-to for top-level stats—things like document opens, shares, and time spent.
- Proposal Analytics: Dive into how customers interact with specific proposals. Who opened it? How long did they spend? Did they forward it?
- Content Usage Reports: See what sales materials are being used, and which ones customers engage with most.
- User Activity Logs: Less about customers, more about your team—but you can sometimes spot patterns in rep behavior that affect engagement.
What works: Apparound’s dashboards are mostly straightforward, and you won’t need a PhD to figure out what’s going on. The tricky part is knowing what to ignore. A lot of the “total views” metrics are just noise unless you tie them to actual sales results.
What to skip: Don’t get lost in the weeds of every possible stat. Focus on the ones you decided matter in Step 1.
3. Analyze the Data—Don’t Just Look at It
Raw numbers don’t tell a story by themselves. Here’s how to actually make sense of what you see:
a. Look for Patterns, Not One-Offs
- Are certain types of proposals always opened faster?
- Do customers spend longer on certain content before closing a deal?
- Is there a drop-off point where engagement tanks (e.g., after the second email)?
b. Compare Across Time and Teams
- Is engagement getting better or worse over the last quarter?
- Do some reps send out proposals that get more traction?
- Is there a lull in engagement after a specific stage of your sales process?
c. Tie Engagement Back to Outcomes
If a content asset gets opened a lot but doesn’t move deals forward, it might not be as valuable as you think. The real metric is: does engagement lead to results?
Pro tip: Don’t be afraid to ask “so what?” after every stat you see. If you can’t answer it, move on.
4. Set Up Reports and Alerts That Work for You
Apparound lets you schedule reports and set up alerts, but default settings are rarely useful. Here’s how to make them work in the real world:
- Customize dashboards: Build views that focus on your must-have metrics. Hide the rest.
- Automate weekly/monthly reports: But only on the KPIs you actually care about. Don’t flood your inbox (or your boss’s) with fluff.
- Alerts: Useful for big changes—a huge drop in engagement, or a spike in proposal opens. Ignore daily updates unless you like being distracted.
What works: Automating the right reports saves time and keeps everyone focused on what matters—if you set them up thoughtfully.
What doesn’t: Default out-of-the-box dashboards often look slick but try to cover too much. You’ll waste less time if you customize early.
5. Share Insights, Not Just Data
Nobody likes a 15-tab spreadsheet. If you want anyone else to care about engagement metrics, you need to translate data into something actionable.
How to do it: - Highlight a few key takeaways (“Our new one-pager is getting double the opens and leads to faster responses”) - Suggest next steps (“Let’s test sending this to more prospects earlier in the cycle”) - Use visuals—Apparound’s built-in charts are fine, but don’t be afraid to screenshot and drop into your own slides for clarity
Pro tip: If you’re bored reading your own report, so is everyone else. Keep it punchy.
6. Iterate and Ignore the Hype
You’ll see a lot of advice saying “track everything!” or “AI will auto-magically tell you what to do.” In reality:
- Most teams benefit from tracking three to five meaningful engagement KPIs.
- The best insights come from real sales conversations plus your analytics—not just numbers on a screen.
- Don’t chase new features just because they’re new. Test, see what helps, and skip the rest.
What works: Small, consistent tweaks based on what you see in the data.
What to ignore: Overly fancy dashboards, AI recommendations that don’t make sense for your business, or any metric you can’t explain to a new team member in 30 seconds.
7. Troubleshooting: When Metrics Don’t Add Up
Sometimes Apparound’s numbers might not match what you see in the wild. Here’s why—and what to check:
- Spam filters or firewalls: Customer opens may not register if their IT blocks tracking pixels.
- Multiple stakeholders: If a proposal gets forwarded, you might see a lot of opens, but not know who’s who.
- Rep behavior: Sometimes, sales reps “test” their own materials, which skews the stats.
- Data lag: Some analytics are delayed by a few hours—don’t panic if something looks off in real time.
Pro tip: Trust patterns over one-off anomalies. If something feels really off, talk to your Apparound support contact—but don’t lose sleep over a single weird number.
Quick Reference: Metrics That Usually Matter (and Some That Don’t)
Worth tracking: - Number of unique customer opens per proposal - Time spent per proposal (average, not outliers) - Follow-up rates after engagement (did the customer reply or act?) - Which content pieces get used in closed-won deals
Usually noise: - Total document downloads (unless you’re selling content) - Number of times a proposal was “resent” internally - “Clicks” on every single asset—track the ones tied to sales, not every image
Keep It Simple, Keep Improving
Customer engagement metrics in Apparound can help you close more deals, speed up sales, and make better content—if you focus on what matters. Don’t drown in dashboards. Start with a few key metrics, share what you learn, and tweak your approach as you go. It’s not about tracking everything; it’s about acting on the right things. That’s where the real value is.