If you work in sales, marketing, or ops and need answers (not more noise), this guide is for you. Tired of dashboards that look impressive but never quite tell you what’s working? Want less time wrestling with data, more time making decisions? Here’s how to actually build useful go to market (GTM) reports using HoneyPipe dashboards—without losing your weekend or your mind.
What You Actually Need from a GTM Dashboard
Let’s get real: most “custom dashboards” are just vanity projects. They look good in exec meetings but fall apart when you want specifics like, “Which channels are driving pipeline?” or “Are reps following up on leads fast enough?”
A good GTM report should:
- Show clear, actionable metrics (no fluff)
- Pull together sales, marketing, and even product signals
- Update automatically, so you’re not stuck with stale slides
- Let you dig in when something looks weird (without calling in a data analyst)
HoneyPipe is built for this. But like any tool, it’s only as good as the questions you bring and the setup you do. Here’s how to skip the hype and build something you’ll actually use.
Step 1: Decide What Matters (and Ignore the Rest)
Before you even log into HoneyPipe, spend 10 minutes sketching the questions you need answered. Don’t start with “what can the dashboard do?”—start with “what do I need to know, every week, to hit our number?”
Some real examples:
- Where are leads actually coming from—and which convert to revenue?
- How fast are we following up on inbound leads?
- What’s the sales cycle length by segment?
- Which reps are stuck, and why?
Ignore:
- Pageviews, unless you’re selling ads
- Social likes (unless you really tie them to pipeline)
- “Brand awareness” metrics that aren’t tied to money
Pro tip: Write your questions as if you’re going to ask them in a meeting. If you can’t imagine someone caring about the answer, skip it.
Step 2: Map Your Data Sources (Don’t Overthink It)
HoneyPipe’s dashboards are only as good as the data you feed them. The nice part: it’s flexible, and setup is usually less painful than most “all-in-one” CRMs. Still, you need to know where your data is coming from.
Typical sources:
- CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, etc.)
- Marketing automation (Marketo, HubSpot, Mailchimp)
- Website analytics (Google Analytics, Segment)
- Product usage (if you’re SaaS; Amplitude, Mixpanel)
- Spreadsheets (yep, still the backbone for many)
What works: - Start with just one or two sources. Don’t try to boil the ocean. - Pipe in only the fields you need for your questions. - Use HoneyPipe’s native connectors if available (less manual work).
What to ignore: - Integrating every possible data source “just in case.” - Perfectly “clean” data—get it working, then clean up over time.
Step 3: Connect Your Data to HoneyPipe
Now, actually plug your sources into HoneyPipe. This part isn’t rocket science, but you want to avoid a few common headaches.
How to do it:
- Log in to HoneyPipe.
- Go to the Integrations section. HoneyPipe has a menu for connecting CRMs, marketing tools, and spreadsheets.
- Authenticate your sources. For most tools, this is OAuth (click, log in, approve).
- Map fields. Make sure the key fields—like “Lead Source,” “Deal Amount,” “Created Date”—are connected. Don’t get lost in the weeds mapping every field.
Tips:
- If you hit a weird field mapping issue, skip it and come back later. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of done.
- For spreadsheets: use the sample templates HoneyPipe provides, or just make sure your column names match what you want to see.
Honest take: The first sync is rarely perfect. Expect a little cleanup, but don’t panic—HoneyPipe will flag obvious errors.
Step 4: Build Your Core Dashboard (Start Ugly)
Time to actually build something. Resist the urge to make it pretty—you’re aiming for “answers fast,” not “Dribbble-worthy.”
How to get started:
- Create a new dashboard. Give it a name that means something (“Weekly Pipeline Reality Check” beats “Q3 GTM Dashboard”).
- Add your first chart or table. Start with the question you care about most, like “Leads by Source This Month.”
- Pick the right visualization.
- Use tables or simple bar charts for most things.
- Line charts for trends (but don’t overdo it).
- Pie charts? Only if you have 3 or fewer slices.
- Set your filters. Segment by team, region, product—whatever matters to you.
- Check your numbers. Does this match what your CRM says? If not, dig in before you build more.
Pro tip: Don’t try to build everything at once. Add one metric, sanity-check it, then move on.
Step 5: Add Drill-Downs and Alerts (But Only for What Matters)
Once your core metrics are in place, you can get a little fancier. HoneyPipe lets you add drill-downs (click to see details) and set up alerts (email, Slack, etc.).
What’s worth adding:
- Drill-downs for things you get asked about a lot (“Show me all deals that slipped last week”)
- Alerts for real risks (pipeline drops, sudden lead spikes, deals stuck for too long)
What to skip:
- Alerts for “everything”—it’s noise, and you’ll just tune them out
- Drill-downs on vanity metrics
Pro tip: If you’re not sure you’ll act on an alert, don’t set it up.
Step 6: Share, Get Feedback, and Iterate (Don’t Hide It)
A dashboard is only useful if people actually look at it—and trust it. Here’s how to avoid the “nobody uses it” graveyard.
How to roll it out:
- Share the dashboard link in Slack, email, or your ops channel.
- Ask a few team members: “Does this answer the questions you care about? What’s missing? Anything confusing?”
- Schedule a quick review session—screen share, walk through the numbers, and invite skepticism.
If someone pokes holes in your numbers, that’s good. You want to catch issues now, not during a board meeting.
Iterate: Make small changes based on feedback. Don’t be precious about your first version.
What Works, What Doesn’t, and What to Watch Out For
What works: - Focusing on a few business questions at a time - Automating updates (no more manual spreadsheet wrangling) - Keeping dashboards simple and uncluttered
What doesn’t: - Over-complicating things with 20+ charts - Tracking metrics nobody actually uses to make decisions - Trying to “wow” execs with design instead of substance
What to watch out for: - Data lag: If your source systems are slow, so is your dashboard. Not a HoneyPipe problem, but worth knowing. - Field mismatches: Check your definitions (e.g., what counts as a “lead” in marketing vs. sales). - Permissions: Don’t accidentally share sensitive data too widely.
Keep It Simple and Iterate
You don’t get bonus points for complexity. The best GTM dashboards are clear, boring, and ruthlessly focused on real questions. Build the minimum you need, share it, get feedback, and keep tweaking. Over time, you’ll end up with a dashboard that’s actually useful—and that’s pretty rare.
If you’re stuck, start small. You can always add bells and whistles later. And remember, the goal isn’t a dashboard—it’s better decisions.