If you’re tired of canned dashboards that don’t tell you whether your go-to-market is working, you’re in the right spot. This guide is for anyone using Rhetora who wants hands-on control over what gets measured, reported, and actually matters. You don’t need to be a data scientist, but you do need to care about real results—not vanity metrics.
Let’s cut through the noise and walk through how to create custom reports in Rhetora that give you straight answers about your go-to-market (GTM) performance.
Why Custom Reports? (And What to Ignore)
Before you dive in, ask yourself: What do you really want to know? Rhetora’s built-in reports are fine for the basics, but “one-size-fits-all” rarely fits anyone well. Custom reports let you:
- Track what you care about (not what some template says you should)
- Combine data from different parts of your funnel
- Spot bottlenecks or bright spots across teams
- Ignore the fluff—no more reporting on pageviews if you actually care about sales pipeline
What to ignore:
Don’t waste time building reports for the sake of reporting. If your team isn’t going to act on a number, skip it.
Step 1: Get Clear on Your Go-To-Market Questions
Before you even open Rhetora, jot down what you want to measure. Some examples:
- Which channels are actually creating qualified leads?
- How fast are leads moving from demo to closed-won?
- Where do deals get stuck—and why?
- What’s the ROI on that new campaign?
Pro tip: Stick to 3–5 questions. More than that, and you’ll drown in data.
Step 2: Map Out Your Data Sources in Rhetora
Rhetora pulls in data from different places—CRM, marketing automation, customer success tools, maybe others. Here’s what you need to check:
- Is your CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot, etc.) connected and syncing?
- Are marketing sources (Google Ads, email, events) coming through cleanly?
- Do you have access to the fields you care about (lead source, deal stage, campaign name, etc.)?
If you can’t find a data source in Rhetora, don’t assume it’s there—go check. Missing data now will mean broken reports later.
Heads up:
Don’t get fancy importing new fields unless you’re sure you’ll use them. More data isn’t always more insight.
Step 3: Start a New Custom Report
Now, let’s get our hands dirty.
-
Navigate to the Reporting Section:
In Rhetora’s sidebar, click on “Reports” or “Custom Reports” (the name may vary by workspace). -
Click “Create New” or “Build Report”:
You’ll see options for report types. If you’re tracking GTM, you’ll likely use Pipelines, Funnels, or Conversion reports. -
Name Your Report:
Use a name that actually means something, like “Q2 Demo-to-Close Funnel” instead of “Report 1.” Trust me, future-you will thank present-you.
Step 4: Select Metrics and Dimensions (Don’t Overdo It)
This is where people get stuck. Here’s how to keep it simple but useful:
- Metrics: Think things you can count (e.g., Number of Qualified Leads, Conversion Rate, Time in Stage, Revenue Won)
- Dimensions: These are your “by what?” variables (e.g., Channel, Owner, Industry, Campaign)
What works:
Start with the fewest metrics and dimensions possible. Too many splits and you’ll get “insights” nobody understands.
Example:
Say you want to know which marketing channels create the most pipeline. Pick:
- Metric: “Pipeline Amount”
- Dimension: “Channel”
That’s it. Don’t add more until you’ve looked at the basic cut.
Pro tip:
Avoid “vanity” metrics like total impressions or open rates unless you know how they feed the next stage of your funnel.
Step 5: Filter Ruthlessly
Filters are your friend. They let you zero in on what matters and ignore the noise.
- Filter by date range (last quarter, this month, etc.)
- Filter by campaign, product line, or region
- Exclude unqualified or junk leads
Reality check:
If your report is showing everything, you’ll see nothing useful. Be aggressive with filters—if it’s not relevant, cut it.
Step 6: Choose Visualization Wisely
Rhetora offers charts, tables, and funnel views. Here’s the honest truth: Fancy visuals rarely beat a clean table or a simple bar chart.
- Use tables for detail and when you’ll export data
- Use bar or line charts for trends over time
- Use funnel diagrams only for simple, linear flows (don’t try to make a spaghetti funnel)
What to ignore:
Don’t spend time tweaking colors or chart types. If people can read it, it works.
Step 7: Share, Schedule, and Get Feedback
Once your report looks good:
- Share it with your team—either by adding them in Rhetora or exporting as CSV/PDF
- Set up a schedule (weekly, monthly) if you want regular updates
- Ask for feedback: Does it answer the original question? Is anything missing or confusing?
Pro tip:
If people aren’t using the report, don’t be afraid to kill it. Reporting should serve action, not just fill a Slack channel.
Step 8: Iterate and Improve
No report is perfect the first time. Over the next few weeks:
- Watch for “zombie” reports nobody uses—delete them
- Update filters or metrics as your GTM motion changes
- Add context (short notes, definitions) for anything ambiguous
What works:
Keep reports lean and focused. The best reports are the ones people check regularly and use to make decisions.
What Not to Do (Common Pitfalls)
- Don’t just copy last quarter’s report: Your GTM motion will change. Your reporting should adapt, too.
- Don’t overload on data: If it takes more than a minute to explain, it’s too complicated.
- Don’t ignore the “so what?” test: If you can’t answer “What will we do if this number changes?”—drop the metric.
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple, Ship It, and Iterate
Custom reporting in Rhetora isn’t rocket science, but it does take discipline. Start with the business questions, pull in only the data you need, and filter out the rest. Don’t chase “perfect” reports—chase useful ones.
Keep it simple. Ship your first version. See what sticks. The goal isn’t a beautiful dashboard—it’s making better decisions, faster. If you’re doing that, you’re winning.