Sales teams live and die by their numbers. If you’re a sales manager, ops lead, or just someone who wants to cut through the noise, you know that reporting in Salesforce can be both powerful and… a complete mess. This guide is for folks who want dashboards that don’t just look pretty but actually help you track what matters, spot issues early, and make better decisions.
Here’s how to actually use dashboards in Salesforce to keep tabs on your team’s performance—without drowning in clutter or busywork.
Step 1: Figure Out What You Actually Need to Track
Before you even open Salesforce, get clear on what you want to measure. Dashboards aren’t magic—they’re mirrors. If your inputs are vague, your dashboards will be, too.
Start with these questions: - What do we need to know to improve our sales? - Who’s going to use this dashboard, and how often? - What gets people moving—pipeline, activities, win rates, something else?
Common (and useful) sales metrics: - Total pipeline by stage - Closed won deals (by rep, team, or product) - Win/loss rates - Sales cycle length - Activity counts (calls, emails, meetings) - Forecast vs. actual sales
Skip the vanity metrics: Don’t bother with numbers you can’t act on. Nobody needs a pie chart of “accounts by industry” unless you’re actually segmenting your strategy.
Pro tip: Ask your team what they wish they could see. You’ll get real answers (and buy-in).
Step 2: Build the Right Reports—Don’t Skip This
Dashboards in Salesforce are just collections of reports. If your reports are off, your dashboard’s useless.
How to build a solid sales report: 1. Go to the Reports tab. Click “New Report.” 2. Pick the right report type. For sales, “Opportunities,” “Leads,” or “Activities” are your usual suspects. Be specific—“Opportunities with Products” is different than just “Opportunities.” 3. Add filters. Use date ranges, owner, stage, and whatever else slices data down to what you care about. Avoid “All Time” reports—nobody needs 7 years of closed-lost deals. 4. Group rows/columns. Group by rep, stage, region, or whatever makes sense for your team setup. 5. Summarize fields. Add sums, averages, or counts as needed. 6. Save and run. Give it a name that makes sense (“Q2 Pipeline by Rep,” not “Report 17”).
Honest take: Don’t try to cram everything into one mega-report. You’ll end up with a slow, unreadable mess. Build focused reports that answer specific questions.
Step 3: Create Your Dashboard—Keep it Tight
Now that your reports are ready, you can build the actual dashboard.
To make a dashboard in Salesforce: 1. Go to the Dashboards tab, click “New Dashboard.” 2. Name it something obvious. (“Sales Team Performance Q2” beats “Dashboard 3.”) 3. Pick a folder. If your org has 50 dashboards floating around, use folders to keep things findable. 4. Click “+ Component” to add a report. Pick a chart type (bar, donut, table, etc.). 5. Configure the component—choose which fields to display, set filters, adjust the chart as needed. 6. Repeat for other reports you want to include.
What works: - Limit to 5-8 widgets. Any more and people’s eyes glaze over. - Use charts for trends, tables for details. Pie charts are rarely helpful for sales data—don’t let them sneak in. - Put the most important stuff at the top left. That’s where people look first.
What doesn’t: - Overly busy dashboards with a dozen filters no one understands. - Stacking similar charts with barely different filters—just pick one. - Building dashboards for every possible scenario. Focus on what’s actually used.
Pro tip: Add a text widget with notes, goals, or “what to look for” so new users aren’t lost.
Step 4: Share and Set Permissions (Without Turning It Into a Free-For-All)
A dashboard nobody sees is a waste. A dashboard everyone can edit is a recipe for chaos.
Best practices: - Share with viewers, not editors. Unless you want people accidentally breaking things. - Use folders for access control. Put dashboards in folders with the right sharing settings—for example, only managers can see team dashboards. - Set schedule emails. Salesforce lets you send dashboards as emails on a schedule. Weekly summaries work well; daily is usually overkill unless you’re in a high-velocity environment.
Pro tip: Always double-check who has access. You don’t want sensitive pipeline or quota data floating around to the wrong folks.
Step 5: Keep It Up to Date—And Don’t Be Afraid to Kill Bad Dashboards
Dashboards aren’t “set and forget.” Here’s how to keep yours useful:
- Review dashboards quarterly. Are people still using it? Are the numbers accurate? Are the filters still right?
- Archive what’s not used. Clutter is the enemy. If nobody’s looked at “APAC Q1 2019 Pipeline,” just archive it.
- Update for process changes. If your sales stages or territories change, update the underlying reports and dashboards.
- Ask for feedback. What’s missing? What’s confusing? Fix and iterate.
What to ignore: - Requests for endless one-off dashboards. Push back and ask, “What question are you really trying to answer?”
What About Dashboard Apps or Add-Ons?
You’ll see a ton of tools, Lightning components, or AppExchange add-ons promising “next-level dashboards.” Here’s the reality:
When they can help: - If you need advanced visuals, like funnel charts or territory heatmaps Salesforce can’t do natively. - If your execs want mobile-optimized or embedded dashboards.
When to skip them: - If you haven’t maxed out what standard Salesforce dashboards can do. - If you’re just papering over messy data or unclear processes.
Honest take: Fancy dashboards won’t fix bad data or unclear goals. Nail the basics first.
Quick Tips for Dashboard Success
- Keep it simple. The fewer widgets, the more likely people actually look at them.
- Favor trends over snapshots. Show changes over time, not just “right now” numbers.
- Don’t trust the data blindly. Garbage in, garbage out. Dashboards reflect your CRM habits.
- Educate your team. Show them how to use what you’ve built—don’t assume they’ll just “get it.”
Wrap-Up: Start Simple, Iterate Often
The best Salesforce dashboards aren’t the flashiest—they’re the ones your team actually uses. Start with the basics, get feedback, and tweak as you go. Don’t be afraid to cut what’s not working. The goal isn’t dashboard perfection—it’s helping your team see where they stand, what to do next, and where to focus their energy.
Keep it simple, check back often, and remember: a dashboard is only as good as the questions it helps you answer.