If you manage a sales team or handle pipeline reviews, you know the pain: scattered data, unreliable activity logs, and dashboards that look pretty but don’t tell you much. This guide is for sales leaders, ops folks, and hands-on reps who want a dashboard that actually helps you see what’s happening—without a week of spreadsheet nightmares or buying another overpriced tool.
Here’s how to build and visualize a real sales activity dashboard that lets you spot what’s working, what’s stalling, and where to focus—using Nektar. I’ll walk you through the setup, highlight what matters, and call out what you can safely ignore.
Step 1: Get Your Data Sources Connected (Don’t Skip This)
First things first: a dashboard is only as good as the data it pulls in. If you’re just tracking what sales reps manually log in CRM, you’re missing most of the story. Nektar’s main value is that it pulls activity from everywhere—your CRM, email, calendar, calls, and even messaging platforms.
What you should connect: - CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot, or whatever you use) - Email and calendar (usually Google Workspace or Microsoft 365) - Call/meeting tools (like Zoom or Teams) - Sales engagement platforms (Outreach, Salesloft, etc.), if you use one
Pro tip: Don’t get distracted connecting every possible tool. Just focus on what your team actually uses to talk to customers. The rest is noise.
What can go wrong:
- If permissions aren’t set up right, you’ll get gaps or duplicates. Double-check access and test with a few accounts before rolling out.
- If you skip the calendar or email connection, your activity data will be full of holes—and your dashboard won’t be worth much.
Step 2: Define What “Sales Activity” Means for Your Team
Before you start dragging charts onto a dashboard, get clear on what counts as meaningful activity for your sales process.
Common activities to track: - Emails sent/received - Meetings held (not just scheduled) - Calls made - Notes or updates logged in CRM - Stage changes or deal progress
But don’t just track everything. Focus on what actually moves deals forward in your company. If most of your deals close over the phone, meetings matter more than emails. If you do a lot of account-based selling, maybe you care more about multi-threaded contacts per account.
Pro tip: Write down your “critical events” somewhere. This keeps you (and your dashboard) honest later.
Step 3: Map Out Your Dashboard—Before You Build
Don’t jump straight into the tool and start adding widgets. Think about what you want to see on one screen. Here’s a solid starting point:
- Total activities by rep (over a time period): Shows who’s actually working accounts.
- Activity by stage: See if outreach drops off after a certain point.
- Engagement by account: Are your target accounts getting enough attention?
- Activity mix: Balance of calls, meetings, and emails (to spot lazy “just emailing” habits).
- Stalled deals: Accounts with low or no recent activity.
What not to bother with:
- Fancy charts for the sake of it. If nobody looks at them in your pipeline meeting, they’re just clutter.
- “Activity streaks” or gamification—unless you’re running a contest, nobody cares.
Pro tip: Sketch your ideal dashboard on paper or in a doc. If it doesn’t fit on one screen, you’re trying to track too much.
Step 4: Build Your Dashboard in Nektar
Now it’s time to actually set things up in Nektar. The process is pretty straightforward, but here’s how to avoid the usual pitfalls.
4.1. Pick the Right Dashboard Template (Or Start Blank)
Nektar offers some starter templates—like “Sales Activity Overview” or “Rep Performance.” If you’re new, start with one, then tweak. If you know exactly what you want, start from scratch.
What works:
- Templates save time, but don’t be afraid to delete sections you don’t need.
- Always rename widgets so they make sense to your team, not just what Nektar calls them.
4.2. Add and Configure Widgets
For each metric or view you mapped out earlier, add a widget. Typical widgets include:
- Bar/column charts: Good for totals by rep or stage.
- Heatmaps: Useful for engagement by account.
- Tables/lists: For detailed breakdowns (like stalled deals).
Honest take:
- Less is more. If you need to explain what a chart means every week, it probably shouldn’t be there.
- Avoid pie charts. They rarely help with activity data.
4.3. Filter and Group Data—Don’t Just Use Defaults
Default filters often show all activity, regardless of quality. Tighten things up:
- Filter by active deals (not dead or won/lost).
- Exclude internal meetings/emails (there’s often a toggle for this).
- Group by team, segment, or rep—whatever matches how you run reviews.
Pro tip:
Save common views (like “This quarter” or “Top 10 accounts”) so you don’t have to re-filter every time.
Step 5: Visualize What Matters—And Hide the Rest
The best dashboards surface problems and trends, not just raw numbers. Here’s how to make yours useful:
- Highlight big changes: Use color or alerts for sudden drops in activity or stalled accounts.
- Trend lines matter: A gentle dip is normal; a cliff means something’s broken.
- Context counts: Show targets/benchmarks next to actuals so reps know if they’re ahead or behind.
What to ignore:
- Vanity metrics (like “total dials” if nobody picks up).
- Overly granular breakdowns (hour-by-hour charts, etc.).
Honest take:
It’s tempting to track everything, but most teams only act on 2-3 metrics. The rest is dashboard wallpaper.
Step 6: Share and Use Your Dashboard (Don’t Let It Die on the Shelf)
A dashboard is only useful if people see and use it regularly. Here’s how to make sure it sticks:
- Automate sharing: Set up weekly or monthly email digests to your team.
- Embed in your workflow: Add the dashboard to your CRM homepage, team wiki, or pipeline review agenda.
- Review together: Walk through the numbers as a team. Ask “What’s the story behind this?” instead of just reading stats.
What not to do:
- Don’t use the dashboard as a surveillance tool. That kills trust. Use it to spot coaching moments, not to micromanage.
Step 7: Iterate—Don’t Try to Nail It All At Once
You won’t get your dashboard perfect on the first try. That’s normal. Watch for:
- Metrics nobody uses or understands (cut them)
- Data that’s always wrong or delayed (fix the source, not the chart)
- New questions from the team (“Can we see X?”—add it if it’s really useful)
Pro tip: Set a calendar reminder to review your dashboard’s usefulness every month or quarter.
Final Thoughts: Keep It Simple, Make It Actionable
A sales activity dashboard should answer real questions, not just fill the screen with charts. If it helps your team see where to focus, spot stuck deals, and improve next quarter, you’ve done it right.
Start simple, connect only what matters, and keep iterating. Don’t be afraid to cut what isn’t working. Your future self (and your team) will thank you.
Ready to see what’s actually happening in your pipeline? Build that dashboard, and let the data do the talking.