If you’re running go-to-market (GTM) programs, you know the pain: too many tools, too many dashboards, and none of them quite fit what you actually need. This guide is for marketers, sales ops folks, and product managers who want to cut through the noise and track what matters—without getting lost in vanity metrics or clunky setups.
We’re going to walk through how to create custom dashboards in Hublead that actually help you measure GTM performance. No fluff, no “transformative insights”—just a practical guide for getting real answers.
Why Custom Dashboards (and Why Hublead?)
Let’s be honest: most default dashboards are either too basic or crammed with stuff you don’t care about. You want something tailored—showing your real GTM progress, your actual bottlenecks, and what’s working, not just a parade of KPIs for the sake of it.
Hublead stands out because it lets you build dashboards your way, without needing to beg IT or learn a new BI tool. But it’s not magic—if you don’t know what you want to track, it’ll be just as messy as anything else. So, first, get clear on your goals.
Step 1: Decide What to Track (Seriously, Don’t Skip This)
Before you even open Hublead, write down the top three questions you want your dashboard to answer. Not “what metrics can I see?” but “what do I actually need to know to make a decision?”
For GTM, some real-world examples:
- Where in our funnel are leads dropping off?
- Which campaigns are bringing in qualified pipeline, not just clicks?
- Are we hitting our sales velocity targets, or just spinning our wheels?
If you can’t answer these with your current dashboards, you’re not alone.
Pro Tip: Ignore “impressions,” “likes,” or anything you’d be embarrassed to report to your CFO. Stick to metrics that connect to revenue or real progress.
Step 2: Map Your GTM Data Sources
Custom dashboards are only as good as the data you feed them. Hublead can pull from a bunch of sources—CRMs, ad platforms, website analytics, and even spreadsheets.
Take inventory:
- CRM: Are you tracking deals, leads, stages, and owners? (If not, fix that first.)
- Marketing: Which campaigns, channels, or UTMs do you want to see?
- Product/Website: Are you measuring actual usage, signups, or trial activations?
- External: Do you need data from paid ads, webinars, or other tools?
What works: Connecting your CRM and main marketing tools gives you the foundation.
What doesn’t: Trying to integrate every possible data source—pick what moves the needle.
Pro Tip: If your data is a mess (duplicates, inconsistent naming, missing fields), clean it up first. No dashboard can save you from garbage-in, garbage-out.
Step 3: Connect Your Data to Hublead
Now, log in to Hublead and head to the Integrations section.
To connect data sources:
- Navigate to Integrations: Find the “Integrations” tab in the left sidebar.
- Choose Your Sources: Start with your CRM (like HubSpot or Salesforce) and marketing platforms (Google Ads, LinkedIn, etc.).
- Authenticate: Follow the prompts. Sometimes you’ll need admin access or API keys.
- Map Fields: Hublead may auto-map some fields, but check them yourself—especially lead stages, campaign names, and custom fields.
What to ignore: Don’t connect every possible source “just in case.” Start with the essentials; you can always add more later.
Step 4: Create Your Custom Dashboard
Here’s where you actually build the thing. Don’t try to do everything at once—start simple.
To create a dashboard:
- Go to Dashboards: Click the “Dashboards” tab, then “Create New Dashboard.”
- Name It Clearly: Use a name like “GTM Overview – Q2” or “Marketing to Sales Funnel.”
- Set Permissions: Share with just your team at first. No need to show the whole company until it’s dialed in.
- Add Widgets/Reports: Hublead lets you drag-and-drop from a library of widgets (charts, tables, etc.).
Best practice: Start with 3–5 widgets that answer your top questions from Step 1.
What to ignore: Don’t add a widget for every single metric—nobody reads dashboards with 20 charts.
Step 5: Choose the Right Visualizations
Not every metric needs to be a pie chart. Choose the simplest visualization that answers the question.
- Funnel Drop-offs: Horizontal bar chart or funnel diagram.
- Campaign Performance: Table with filters, or a straightforward line chart.
- Sales Velocity: Simple number widget with trend arrow.
- Pipeline by Stage: Stacked bar chart or summary numbers.
What works: Clean, focused charts with clear labels.
What doesn’t: Over-designed charts, 3D graphics, or charts without context.
Pro Tip: If you can’t explain what a chart means in one sentence, you probably don’t need it.
Step 6: Filter and Segment Your Data
A dashboard is only useful if you can slice it the way you work. Hublead lets you add filters for:
- Date ranges (last 30 days, quarter-to-date, etc.)
- Owner or team
- Campaign or channel
- Lead type or industry
What works: Setting default filters that match how your team actually operates.
What doesn’t: Overloading with so many filters nobody knows what’s being shown.
Pro Tip: Save a few key filter views (like “Current Quarter” or “Enterprise Leads”) so you don’t have to rebuild them every time.
Step 7: Share, Iterate, and Actually Use It
Once your dashboard looks good, share it with the people who need it—but don’t blast it to everyone. Get feedback, see what people actually use, and tweak as you go.
- Schedule Reports: Hublead can send automatic snapshots via email or Slack on a schedule.
- Set Alerts: For key metrics (like pipeline below target), set up alerts so you’re not just staring at charts.
- Iterate: Every couple of weeks, ask what’s useful and what’s ignored. Prune the junk.
What works: Fewer dashboards, updated regularly, owned by someone who cares.
What doesn’t: Dozens of dashboards nobody checks, or dashboards that never get updated.
What to Avoid (Common Mistakes)
- Overcomplicating: More data ≠ better dashboard. Stick to decision-driving metrics.
- Ignoring context: Numbers alone don’t tell a story—add a note or annotation if something big changed (like a product launch or campaign).
- Chasing “real-time” for everything: Some metrics only need weekly updates. Don’t stress about second-by-second data unless you’re running ads with huge budgets.
- Letting dashboards go stale: Set a reminder to review and clean up dashboards at least once a quarter.
Keep It Simple and Iterate
You don’t need a dashboard that does everything. You need one that helps your team answer real questions and spot problems early. Start small, see what actually helps, and add as you go. If you’re not sure whether something’s useful, hide it for a week—if nobody notices, you didn’t need it.
And remember: no tool, not even Hublead, can fix a strategy problem or messy data. But with a clear goal and a bit of discipline, you can finally have dashboards that work for you, not the other way around.