If you’re a sales leader, chances are you’ve been promised “actionable insights” more times than you can count. But what you really need is one place to actually see what’s happening with your pipeline, team, and forecasts—without wading through a dozen screens. That’s where custom dashboards in Clari Co-Pilot can help. This guide is for folks who want to cut through the fluff and build dashboards that actually move the needle.
Let’s skip the hype and get straight to building dashboards that make sense for you and your team.
Step 1: Know What Matters (and Ignore the Rest)
Before you even open Clari Co-Pilot, take a minute to jot down what you really need to see. Not what looks fancy, not what some vendor said you “should” track—but what you actually need to run your sales team.
Questions to ask yourself: - Who is this dashboard for? (You, your reps, your boss?) - What decisions will you make with this info? - What’s missing in your current reports? - Is there a metric everyone obsesses over, but no one acts on? Cut it.
Pro tip:
Don’t try to cram in every metric. A dashboard that’s everything to everyone helps no one. Three to five core metrics is usually plenty to start.
Step 2: Get Familiar with What Clari Co-Pilot Can (and Can’t) Do
Clari Co-Pilot isn’t magic. It’s good at some things, and not so great at others.
What works well: - Tracking pipeline movement over time - Forecast snapshots and changes - Rep activity (calls, emails, meetings) - Deal risk and next steps (if your team uses the notes features) - Filtering by team, region, or deal stage
What’s a stretch: - Custom calculations that aren’t native (e.g., custom win-rate formulas) - Visuals outside of standard tables, bar charts, and line graphs - Pulling in data from other tools (unless you’ve got integrations set up)
Ignore: - Overly complex “AI insights” unless you know exactly how they’re calculated - Dashboards crammed with dozens of filters—no one keeps those updated
Bottom line:
If you want something super bespoke, you’ll probably hit some walls. But for most sales leaders, the built-in options cover 80% of what you need.
Step 3: Start with a Template (and Don’t Reinvent the Wheel)
Clari Co-Pilot comes with some out-of-the-box dashboards. They’re not perfect, but they’re a decent starting point.
To use a template: 1. Log in to Clari Co-Pilot. 2. Go to the “Dashboards” tab. 3. Click “Create Dashboard” and choose from any available templates (like “Sales Manager Overview” or “Forecast Tracker”). 4. Duplicate a template so you can edit without messing up the original.
Why templates help: - They include the most-used filters and layouts - You can gut what you don’t need - It’s faster than building from scratch (and easier to undo mistakes)
Pro tip:
Don’t spend hours pixel-pushing. The goal is quick visibility, not a design award.
Step 4: Add (Only) the Widgets You Need
Dashboards in Clari Co-Pilot are built from “widgets”—think of them as building blocks for charts, tables, and summaries.
What to add: - Pipeline Flow: Shows which deals are new, moved forward, pushed, or lost. - Forecast by Rep/Team: Who’s pacing ahead or behind this quarter. - Deal Risk: Surface deals with missing next steps or low activity. - Activity Metrics: Calls, meetings, emails—see who’s working the pipeline. - Custom Filters: Region, segment, time period—helpful, but don’t overdo it.
Skip or minimize: - “Leaderboard” widgets if they just create noise or unhealthy competition - Vanity metrics (“emails sent” means nothing if no one replies)
How to add widgets: 1. In your dashboard, click “Add Widget.” 2. Pick your data source (Forecast, Pipeline, Activities, etc.). 3. Choose the visualization type (table, bar chart, line graph). 4. Adjust filters—by team, time period, stage, etc. 5. Name the widget so it’s obvious what you’re looking at.
Step 5: Customize Filters and Views for Real-World Use
A dashboard only works if it shows what you need, when you need it.
Set up filters for: - Teams or regions you actually manage - Current vs. previous quarters (don’t get stuck staring at old data) - Deal stage (early vs. late pipeline)
Pro tip:
Save filtered views for quick access—no more clicking around every time.
Watch out for: - Too many filters making things confusing - Filters that default to “All Time”—almost never useful
If you need to share:
Set up a version with sensitive data hidden (like rep names or deal sizes) if you’ll circulate outside your team.
Step 6: Test, Refine, and Get Feedback
Don’t assume you nailed it on the first try. The whole point of a dashboard is to help people act faster, not just stare at pretty graphs.
Things to check: - Can you answer your top 3 questions in under 30 seconds? - Is anything unclear or misleading? - Are any metrics stale or not updating as expected?
Ask your team: - Is anything missing? - Is there info here you never use? - Did anyone misinterpret what a chart meant?
Pro tip:
Schedule 15 minutes every month to prune what’s not working. Otherwise, dashboards get cluttered fast.
Step 7: Automate Updates and Sharing (But Don’t Overdo It)
You can set up automated dashboard refreshes and email digests in Clari Co-Pilot. This is handy—until you start ignoring them.
Set up: - Daily or weekly email summaries (if your team will actually read them) - Slack or Teams alerts for key changes (deal at risk, big swing in forecast)
Don’t bother: - Hourly updates—no one needs real-time unless you’re running a call center - Sharing dashboards with people who won’t use them (it’s just noise)
What to Watch For: Common Pitfalls
- Vanity overload: More metrics ≠ more insight. Stick to what drives action.
- Neglected dashboards: If no one uses it for a month, archive or delete it.
- Data trust issues: If reps don’t update fields, your dashboard is just a pretty lie. Fix the process or the dashboard is pointless.
- Customization rabbit holes: Don’t spend hours tweaking colors or layouts. Clarity beats pretty every time.
Final Thoughts: Keep It Simple, Iterate Often
You don’t need a dashboard for everything. Start small, focus on what actually helps you (or your team) sell more, and tweak as you go. The best dashboards are the ones people actually use—not the ones with the most charts. Build, get feedback, adjust, and—most importantly—ignore the noise.
Now go build something that works for you.