If you’re tired of dashboards crammed with noise, and you want reporting that actually helps you sell more (not just impress your boss), this is for you. Whether you’re a sales manager, team lead, or just someone who wants to know what’s actually moving the needle, this guide will walk you through building and customizing useful sales performance reports in Kular—no fluff, no “data-driven synergy,” just practical steps.
1. Know What You Want Before You Click Anything
Let’s be honest: most reporting tools, Kular included, can show you a zillion charts, but only a few are actually useful. Before you dive in, figure out:
- Who’s this report for? Yourself, your boss, the whole team?
- What are you trying to answer? (“Which reps are crushing quota?” “Are deals getting stuck?” “Are we on track for the quarter?”)
- How often do you really need this? Daily, weekly, just before the board meeting?
Pro tip: Don’t try to track everything. Pick 2-3 questions that matter, and ignore the rest—at least for your first report.
2. Get Your Data in Order
No reporting tool can turn junk into gold. If your CRM data is a mess, your reports will be too. In Kular, you can pull in data from:
- Your CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot, etc.)
- Manual uploads (CSV or Excel)
- Other tools (depending on your setup)
What works: Kular’s integrations are usually pretty painless, but double-check that fields like deal value, close date, and owner are consistent.
What to ignore: Don’t bother reporting on fields nobody actually updates. If your team never fills in “Lead Source,” don’t build a report around it.
3. Start a New Report (Keep It Simple)
In Kular, go to the Reports section and hit “Create New Report.” Don’t let the template options intimidate you. For most sales teams, you’ll want to start with one of these:
- Pipeline Overview: Shows deals by stage, owner, or close date.
- Rep Performance: Compares team members on deals closed, revenue, or activity.
- Win/Loss Analysis: Looks at what you’re winning, losing, and why.
If you’re not sure, pick “Custom Report.” You can always tweak it.
4. Choose the Right Metrics (And Ditch the Rest)
Here’s where most people get lost. Kular can show you every metric under the sun, but only a handful actually help you make decisions. Focus on:
- Closed Won Revenue
- Number of Deals Closed
- Average Deal Size
- Sales Cycle Length
- Pipeline Value by Stage
Skip: Vanity metrics like “Emails Sent” or “Calls Logged” unless you know for a fact they’re tied to outcomes. Activity doesn’t always mean results.
5. Filter and Break Down Data (Don’t Just Accept the Defaults)
This is where the magic happens. In Kular, you can slice and dice your data by:
- Time period (This month, last quarter, custom range)
- Owner (Individual rep, team, region)
- Deal stage
- Product, segment, or industry (if your CRM tracks them)
Pro tip: Always compare apples to apples. For instance, don’t compare this quarter’s deals to last year’s unless seasonality is a factor.
What works: Filters help you spot bottlenecks: Is one rep stuck in “Negotiation”? Is the pipeline drying up in July?
What doesn’t: Overcomplicating the breakdowns. If you need a PhD to read your report, it’s too much.
6. Visualize Wisely: Charts, Tables, and When to Use Each
Kular lets you pick between line graphs, bar charts, pie charts, tables, and more. Here’s how to not waste everyone’s time:
- Use bar charts for comparing reps or products.
- Use line graphs for trends over time (like pipeline growth).
- Use tables for lists or when you want the raw numbers.
Skip: Pie charts. They almost never help with sales data—unless you’re splitting a pizza.
Customize: Rename your axes and titles. “Revenue by Rep (Q2 2024)” is clearer than “Chart 1.”
7. Customize, Don’t Overcomplicate
Kular gives you options for customizing colors, grouping, and even conditional formatting (like highlighting deals over a certain value). This can help—but don’t waste hours on design.
- Highlight what matters: Use colors to flag big wins or stuck deals.
- Group smarter: Instead of 20 tiny slices for each rep, group by team or region if that’s more actionable.
What to ignore: Fancy themes, animated charts, or anything that makes your report slower to load or harder to print.
8. Share and Automate Your Reports
Don’t keep your insights locked away. In Kular, you can:
- Schedule automatic emails: Send reports to yourself, your team, or execs on a regular basis.
- Export to PDF or Excel if someone insists on their own format.
- Share live dashboards with a link (great for standing meetings or TV screens).
What works: Automating weekly or monthly digests so you’re not scrambling for numbers the morning of the meeting.
What doesn’t: Sharing every little update with everyone. Tailor the report to your audience—what your CEO cares about is probably different from what your sales reps need.
9. Review, Iterate, and Don’t Be Afraid to Delete
Your first report probably won’t be perfect. That’s normal. Take time each month to:
- Ask if anyone's actually using it. If not, kill it or tweak it.
- Notice what gets ignored. Are there charts nobody ever talks about? Cut them.
- Add only when necessary. Resist the urge to track every metric just because you can.
Pro tip: The best reports are the ones people actually act on. If your report isn’t leading to better conversations or decisions, it’s just window dressing.
Common Pitfalls (And How to Dodge Them)
- Data not updating? Double-check your integrations. Sometimes permissions or field mismatches break the sync.
- Charts look weird? Make sure filters and date ranges are set correctly. Sometimes default settings lump together different periods or reps.
- Too much info? Less is more. Start with one page, max two, per report.
Keep It Simple—And Adjust As You Go
Don’t let “reporting” turn into a full-time job. Build something straightforward, see if it helps, and tweak from there. The point isn’t to have the prettiest dashboard—it’s to get clarity on what’s working, what’s stuck, and where to focus next.
If you’re ever in doubt, ask: “Does this help me (or my team) sell more, faster, or smarter?” If not, scrap it and move on. Reporting is just a tool. Use it—don’t let it use you.