If you’ve ever stared at a sales dashboard and wondered, “Now what?,” you’re not alone. Sales analytics tools are everywhere, but most just throw charts at you and call it a day. This guide is for people who want to squeeze real, useful insights out of GetAia—not just gawk at graphs. Whether you’re a sales manager, rep, or just the person everyone expects to “figure out the numbers,” here’s how to actually make GetAia’s dashboards work for you.
Step 1. Start with a Simple Question—Not the Dashboard
Before you even log in, get clear about what you want to know. Dashboards are tempting rabbit holes. If you just poke around, you’ll drown in data and miss the actual story.
Ask yourself: - Where are deals getting stuck? - Are certain reps or products lagging? - Which activities actually close deals?
Write your main question down. If you don’t, you’ll get lost. Trust me.
Pro tip: Stick to one question at a time. Multitasking in analytics is a myth.
Step 2. Get Oriented—What’s on the GetAia Dashboard Anyway?
First time in GetAia? Here’s what you’ll usually see:
- Pipeline Overview: Stages, deal size, win rates.
- Activity Metrics: Calls, emails, meetings, follow-ups.
- Rep Leaderboards: Who’s closing, who’s not.
- Customer Segments: What types of customers are converting.
Ignore the widgets that don’t connect to your question. There’s always a “cool” chart that’s just noise. Focus only on the sections relevant to what you wrote down in Step 1.
What to skip: Vanity metrics like “number of logins” or “emails sent” unless you’re specifically investigating activity levels.
Step 3. Dig into the Right Data—Don’t Get Distracted
Let’s say your question is, “Why are deals stalling in the proposal stage?” Here’s how you’d dig in:
- Filter for proposal-stage deals. Don’t look at the whole pipeline. Narrow it down.
- Check time-in-stage metrics. Is this happening across the board or just with certain reps, products, or customer types?
- Compare activity data. Are stalled deals getting fewer follow-ups? Is there a pattern in who owns those deals?
Pro tip: GetAia lets you drill down by rep, product, and customer segment. Use that. If you can’t slice the data easily, export it and run a quick pivot table in Excel. Don’t let tool limitations stop you.
Step 4. Look for Patterns—Not Just Outliers
Everyone loves chasing outliers (“Look, one rep closed in two days!”), but most insights come from patterns.
Ask:
- Do stalled deals share a customer profile?
- Are certain reps consistently faster—or slower?
- Is there a drop in activity right before deals stall?
Chart it out if you need to, but don’t mistake a fancy heatmap for a real answer. If you can’t explain the pattern to a coworker without showing them the chart, you probably don’t have an insight yet.
What works: Side-by-side comparisons—e.g., average time in stage for top reps vs. bottom reps. GetAia’s comparison features are actually decent for this.
What doesn’t: Relying on averages alone. Averages hide more than they reveal. Look at the spread.
Step 5. Turn Insights into Actions—Be Specific
Here’s where most people get stuck. You found that deals handled by Rep A stall twice as long in the proposal stage. Now what?
- Talk to Rep A. Maybe there’s a process issue.
- Check communication logs. Are follow-ups missing?
- Adjust training or resources. If it’s a pattern, not a fluke.
Frame every insight as “Do X to solve Y.” If you can’t write an action like that, you’re not done.
Examples: - “Increase follow-ups for healthcare clients in proposal stage.” - “Standardize proposal templates for new reps.” - “Auto-flag stalled deals after 7 days.”
Pro tip: Test changes with one team or segment first. GetAia’s dashboards update quickly, so you’ll see results (or lack thereof) in days, not months.
Step 6. Avoid the Common Traps
A few honest warnings:
- Don’t mistake correlation for causation. Just because deals close faster when more meetings are logged doesn’t mean more meetings cause closes. Sometimes it’s the other way around.
- Beware of dashboard “insights” that don’t lead to action. If you can’t do anything with it, it’s trivia, not insight.
- Ignore shiny new widgets unless they help answer your core question. GetAia, like every platform, loves to add new features. Most are distractions.
Step 7. Share (and Stress-Test) Your Insights
Don’t build your action plan in a vacuum. Before you roll out a new process or coaching tip:
- Share your findings with the team. See if the folks on the ground agree with your diagnosis.
- Ask for counterexamples. Maybe there’s context you missed—a big deal that skewed the numbers, or a process you didn’t know about.
- Refine your actions. If your recommendation doesn’t survive basic pushback, it wasn’t actionable enough.
Pro tip: Screenshots beat explanations. Show the relevant GetAia dashboard, highlight the key stat or chart, and keep it short.
Step 8. Revisit and Iterate—Don’t Set It and Forget It
Once you’ve made a change, check the same metrics again in a week or two. Did stalled deals move faster? Did win rates change? If not, don’t be afraid to admit it and try something else.
- Sales is messy. Sometimes your “insight” just isn’t that useful in the real world. That’s normal.
- The real value comes from quick cycles: question → data → action → review.
What Actually Works (and What Doesn’t)
Works: - Starting with a specific question. - Ignoring vanity metrics. - Comparing groups side-by-side. - Turning every finding into a concrete action.
Doesn’t Work: - Wandering through dashboards hoping to be inspired. - Trusting averages without looking for outliers or spread. - Acting on “insights” that don’t drive a behavior change.
Keep It Simple—Then Iterate
Sales dashboards like GetAia are only as good as the questions you bring to them. Don’t overthink it. Start simple, act fast, and keep refining. The best insights usually come when you cut the noise and focus on what’s actually slowing down your team—or what’s helping them win. And if you ever feel like you’re just spinning your wheels in analytics, you probably are. Step back, simplify, and try again.