If your sales pipeline feels like a black box, you’re not alone. For sales ops folks, revenue leaders, or anyone trying to actually see what’s moving the needle, exporting and visualizing pipeline data is the best way out of spreadsheet hell. This guide covers exactly how to get your pipeline data out of Getcorrelated, break it down into something useful, and build visuals that don’t suck. If you need real insight—not just another pretty chart—read on.
1. Understand What You’re Getting from Getcorrelated
Before you start mashing the export button, let’s be honest: not all pipeline reports are created equal. Getcorrelated is built to make sales analytics easier, but its reports can only be as good as your CRM hygiene and sales process. Garbage in, garbage out.
What You’ll Typically Get: - Deal lists: Names, owners, stages, values, projected close dates. - Funnel summaries: How many deals at each stage, conversion rates. - Activity logs: Emails, meetings, touches per deal. - Forecast snapshots: Weighted pipeline based on your stage probabilities.
What’s Missing (Usually): - Custom fields that aren’t mapped correctly. - Notes or context that live outside CRM fields. - Real explanations for why deals get stuck. (No tool can export that.)
Pro Tip:
Check your CRM fields and pipeline stages before you export. If reps are sloppy about updating deal stages, your report will be, too. It’s worth five minutes.
2. Exporting Pipeline Reports: Step-by-Step
Let’s get the actual data out. Getcorrelated’s interface makes this simple, but there are a few quirks to know.
Step 1: Log into Getcorrelated and Navigate to Reports
- Go to your Getcorrelated dashboard.
- Click “Reports” or “Pipeline” (sometimes this is under “Analytics”).
- Select the report type you want—most folks start with “Pipeline Overview” or a custom deal report.
Step 2: Set Your Filters
- Choose the date range. Don’t just grab “all time”—pick the period that matches your analysis (this quarter, last month, etc.).
- Filter by team, owner, region, or other fields if you need to focus in.
- Double-check any custom filters you use. It’s easy to accidentally hide deals with a stray filter.
Step 3: Export the Data
- Hit “Export” (usually a button at the top right).
- Choose your format: CSV is safest for analysis; Excel is fine if you’re only using Office.
- Download and stash the file in a folder you’ll remember. (Seriously, name it something you’ll recognize later.)
What Can Go Wrong: - Sometimes exports cut off after a certain number of rows. If your pipeline is big, check that all deals made it. - Date and currency formats can be weird, especially if your CRM settings don’t match your local settings. Watch for DD/MM vs. MM/DD, or commas vs. periods.
3. Cleaning and Preparing Your Data
Nobody wants to clean data, but you’re asking for trouble if you skip this. Getcorrelated’s exports are usually tidy, but double-check for:
- Blank Fields: Deals with missing owners, stages, or values.
- Duplicate Deals: Sometimes sync errors will spit out twins.
- Weird Characters: Non-standard characters in names or notes can mess up imports to other tools.
- Date Formats: Standardize to YYYY-MM-DD for sanity.
Quick Fixes: - Use Excel or Google Sheets “Filter” and “Sort” to spot blanks and weirdness. - If you see a lot of missing fields, go back and fix them in your CRM—don’t just patch it in the sheet every time.
Pro Tip:
Save a master copy of your raw export. If you mess something up while cleaning, you’ll thank yourself.
4. Analyzing the Pipeline Data
Here’s where you can actually learn something—if you ask the right questions. Don’t just look at “total pipeline value” or “number of deals.” Dig deeper:
Key Things to Analyze
- Stage Distribution: Where do most of your deals sit? Are they bunched up at the top, or leaking out at a particular stage?
- Conversion Rates: What percent of deals move from one stage to the next?
- Average Deal Size: Are you chasing lots of tiny deals, or mostly whales?
- Sales Velocity: How long does it take deals to move through each stage?
- Win/Loss Reasons: If you track this, sort and tally it—patterns often jump out.
How to Slice the Data
- By rep or team (who’s crushing it, who’s stuck)
- By segment (SMB, mid-market, enterprise)
- By lead source (where do the best deals start?)
- By date (deal progression over time)
What Not to Waste Time On: - Overly complex derived metrics. If you can’t explain it to your VP in 30 seconds, it’s not worth building. - “Vanity metrics” like total activities or emails sent—unless you can tie them to outcomes.
5. Visualizing the Pipeline: Tools and Tactics
Let’s be real: a good bar chart beats a rainbow-colored funnel any day. Don’t get seduced by fancy visuals—clarity wins.
Your Options
a) Basic: Excel or Google Sheets
- Import your cleaned export.
- Use Pivot Tables for groupings (by stage, owner, etc.).
- Build simple charts: bar, line, or funnel.
- Highlight bottlenecks (e.g., stage with most stuck deals).
b) Intermediate: BI Tools (Tableau, Power BI, Looker Studio)
- Connect to your exported CSV or better yet, automate data pulls.
- Build dashboards with filters by team, stage, date.
- Set up alerts for sudden changes (e.g., pipeline drops).
c) Within Getcorrelated (if your plan supports it)
- Use built-in visualizations for quick looks.
- Custom dashboards may be available, but don’t expect miracles—these are often less flexible than external BI tools.
Visualization Best Practices
- Keep it simple: One chart, one story.
- Focus on change: Trends over time are more useful than static snapshots.
- Don’t over-label: Too many colors or fields = confusion.
- Annotations > Legends: Add plain-English notes to explain spikes or drops.
Pro Tip:
Always sanity-check your visuals. If a chart looks weird, go back to the data—you’d be shocked how often there’s a simple export or filter error.
6. Automating the Boring Stuff
If you need to run the same report every week, automate it. Here’s how:
- Scheduled Exports: Some Getcorrelated plans let you schedule exports to email or cloud storage.
- Zapier, Make, or Similar Tools: Connect Getcorrelated with Google Sheets or Slack for semi-automatic updates.
- BI Tool Integrations: Some platforms pull data directly via API or connectors—worth setting up if you’re reporting regularly.
What to Skip: - Overbuilding automation before you know what reports are actually useful. Start manual, then automate what matters.
7. Common Pitfalls (and How to Dodge Them)
- Dirty CRM Data: No export tool can fix bad input. Get your reps to update stages and close dates. Bribes, threats, or just relentless nagging—whatever works.
- Misaligned Metrics: Don’t assume “pipeline value” means the same thing to everyone. Define what counts as pipeline—and stick to it.
- Overcomplicated Dashboards: If it takes 10 minutes to explain a chart, it’s too much. Stick to what drives action.
- Analysis Paralysis: Don’t wait for “perfect” data or visuals. Even a rough snapshot is better than nothing.
8. Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple, Iterate Fast
Exporting and visualizing pipeline reports from Getcorrelated isn’t rocket science, but it does take some real-world habits: clean your data, focus on insights that matter, and don’t overthink the visuals. The first run will always feel a bit messy—that’s normal. Start simple. Share your findings, get feedback, and tweak your approach as you go.
The most useful pipeline report is the one you actually use. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of done.