If you're in sales ops, revenue leadership, or a founder running your own pipeline, you know the numbers never tell the whole story. You need more than a spreadsheet full of deals—you need to figure out what's actually moving (and what isn't). This guide walks you through how to use Pocus dashboards to get a real grip on your sales pipeline, without drowning in vanity metrics or fluff.
Whether you're new to Pocus or just tired of generic dashboard advice, this is for you.
Step 1: Know What You Actually Care About
Before you even log in, get clear about what matters to your business. Pocus gives you loads of data, but not every metric is worth your attention.
- Revenue stuck in stage: Are deals stalling out in the same spot?
- Conversion rate by stage: Where are you losing people?
- Sales cycle length: How long is it really taking to close?
- Deal velocity: Are things speeding up or slowing down?
Be honest with yourself: do you need to track every micro-metric? Probably not. Focus on the few numbers that actually drive decisions—otherwise, you'll waste time chasing noise.
Pro tip: If your team spends most of its time arguing about what to measure, pick two things and move on. You can always tweak later.
Step 2: Set Up or Audit Your Pocus Dashboard
If you haven’t already, set up your Pocus dashboard to reflect your actual sales process—not some “ideal” flow cooked up in a vacuum.
What to include (and what to skip):
- Stages that match your real pipeline: Don’t force your deals into a template that doesn’t fit.
- Simple, readable charts: If you can’t explain a chart in one sentence, it’s too complex.
- Lead source and owner fields: Helps spot patterns fast.
- Filters for rep, region, or segment: Useful for drilling down—don’t overdo it with 10 filters nobody uses.
Skip:
- Overly granular breakdowns (like “calls made between 2:00-3:00 pm”) unless you really act on them.
- “Feel-good” stats like emails sent, unless those actually tie to outcomes.
Reality check: Most teams get more value from cleaning up their pipeline stages than from adding new widgets. Spend the time there.
Step 3: Look for Bottlenecks, Not Just Big Numbers
Everyone loves a big pipeline value, but the real gold is spotting where deals get stuck.
Use Pocus to:
- See deal aging by stage: If most of your deals die in “Proposal Sent,” that's a red flag.
- Track time-in-stage: Not just total cycle time—where do deals sit the longest?
- Compare reps: Is it a process issue or just one person struggling?
- Drill into stuck deals: Look for patterns—wrong buyer, missing info, deal size too big/small?
What works:
- Focusing on deals that have been in one stage 2x longer than average.
- Asking reps directly about blockers—don’t just trust the dashboard.
What doesn’t:
- Obsessing over every single stalled deal. Sometimes, stuff just goes cold.
Step 4: Track Conversion Rates the Right Way
Pocus dashboards can show you conversion rates between stages—but don't just take them at face value.
Make sure you:
- Define your stages clearly: If “Qualified” means different things to different reps, your data’s garbage.
- Look for sudden drop-offs: Where does conversion fall off a cliff? That’s where to dig deeper.
- Break it out by segment: Maybe SMB converts better than Enterprise, or vice versa.
Ignore:
- Tiny percentage swings week to week. Look for trends over months, not days.
- Comparing conversion rates across wildly different deal types—keep apples to apples.
Pro tip: If you see conversions tank after a process change, don't wait for a full quarter to adjust. Move fast.
Step 5: Monitor Pipeline Health, Not Just Size
“Pipeline coverage” (the ratio of pipeline value to quota) gets thrown around a lot. But it’s only useful if the pipeline is legit.
Use Pocus to spot:
- Deal quality: Are there lots of small, unlikely deals inflating your numbers?
- Stage slippage: Are deals moving backward, or getting recycled too often?
- Pipeline freshness: How much of your pipeline is new vs. old and crusty?
What works:
- Setting up alerts for deals that haven’t been touched in X days.
- Regular pipeline “hygiene” sessions—yes, they’re boring, but they work.
What doesn’t:
- Relying on “coverage” alone. A 4x pipeline with junk deals is worse than a 2x pipeline you might actually close.
Step 6: Use Dashboards for Action, Not Just Reporting
This is where most teams fall down. Dashboards are only useful if they drive action.
With Pocus, you can:
- Set up notifications: Get pinged when deals stagnate or stages pile up.
- Assign next steps: Make sure every deal has a real owner and a real plan.
- Share insights with the team: Use dashboard screenshots in meetings to discuss what to do, not just what happened.
Avoid:
- Endless “review” meetings where you just read out numbers. Bring questions and next steps to every session.
- Using dashboards as a “gotcha” tool. It’s about improving, not finger-pointing.
Step 7: Ignore Vanity Metrics and Keep Iterating
It’s tempting to add every shiny new metric Pocus spits out, but more isn’t always better.
What to ignore:
- Activity for activity’s sake: Calls made, emails sent, unless these actually correlate to revenue.
- Leaderboard features: Healthy competition is fine, but don’t let dashboards turn into a Hunger Games for your team.
What to do instead:
- Keep it simple: Focus on the metrics that lead to action.
- Review and adjust: If a chart isn’t helping you decide what to do next, scrap it.
- Solicit feedback: Ask your team what’s useful—and what’s just noise.
Wrapping Up: Stay Practical
Analyzing your sales pipeline with Pocus dashboards can make a real difference—if you keep things grounded. Focus on where deals get stuck, what actually converts, and whether your pipeline is healthy, not just big. Don’t get distracted by flashy charts or metrics that don’t help you act.
Start simple, review regularly, and tweak as you go. The best dashboards are the ones your team actually uses—so don’t be afraid to ditch what isn’t working. Stick to what moves the needle, and you’ll see results.