If you're running or leading a B2B sales team, you know deal reports aren't just “nice to have”—they're your early-warning system and your reality check. If you're using Kleo, you've got a decent toolkit, but unlocking real insight (not just pretty charts) takes some work. This guide is for sales leaders and managers who want honest, actionable reports, not just more dashboards to ignore.
1. Know What You Actually Need From a Deal Report
Before you even log into Kleo, get clear on what you—and your team—really need from a deal report. Otherwise, you'll just drown in data. Here’s what most B2B sales leaders actually care about:
- Deal progression: Where things are getting stuck, who’s moving deals forward, and who isn’t.
- Forecast accuracy: Not just the pipeline total, but what’s actually likely to close.
- Win/loss reasons: Not “vibes,” but genuine patterns—pricing, competitors, feature gaps.
- Rep and segment performance: Who’s crushing it, who needs help, and in what types of deals.
- Slipping or at-risk deals: So you can intervene before it’s too late.
- Custom fields that matter: Every sales org has unique data—don’t ignore your own process.
Pro tip: If your current reports aren’t driving any action (or if no one reads them), you’re probably tracking too much or the wrong stuff.
2. Clean Up Your Data (Sorry, But You Have To)
Deal reports are only as good as the data behind them. If your team’s not updating stages or logging notes, the fanciest report won’t save you. Here’s what to check before building reports in Kleo:
- Deal stages: Are they up-to-date? Are reps moving deals forward properly, or just leaving them in “Proposal” for months?
- Required fields: Make sure fields like “Close Date,” “Deal Value,” and “Next Step” are always filled in.
- Consistent tagging: If you use tags or custom fields (like “Product Line” or “Lead Source”), make sure there’s a clear process.
- Old deals: Close out or clean up stale deals. “Rotting” pipeline skews everything.
What doesn’t work: Hoping that reporting will magically fix bad habits. Garbage in, garbage out.
3. Build Your First (Useful) Deal Report in Kleo
Once your data’s in decent shape, you can actually use Kleo’s reporting tools for insight—not just decoration. Here’s a practical step-by-step:
Step 1: Choose the Right Report Type
Kleo offers a few standard templates (pipeline summary, forecast, activity, etc.) plus custom report options. For detailed deal reviews, skip the “big picture” dashboards and start with a Deals (Table) or Deals (Custom Table) report. Why?
- You can see each deal, not just totals.
- Easier to filter, sort, and export for deeper analysis.
- More control over which fields you see.
Step 2: Select the Fields That Matter
Don’t add every possible column—just the ones you’ll actually discuss in a pipeline review. Typical must-haves:
- Deal Name
- Owner (rep)
- Stage
- Amount
- Close Date
- Last Activity Date
- Next Step
- Win/Loss Reason (if available)
- Custom fields (industry, segment, etc.)
Pro tip: If you can’t act on a field or don’t even know what it means, leave it out.
Step 3: Filter Ruthlessly
Filter out the noise. Some key filters to consider:
- Active deals only: Exclude closed/won and closed/lost unless you’re specifically reviewing those.
- Date range: Focus on this quarter or month, not all time.
- Deal size: Sometimes it’s helpful to filter for deals above a certain value.
- Owner or team: Zero in on a particular group or segment.
Step 4: Save and Share the Report
Give your report a clear name (“Q2 Active Deals Over $50k”) and save it for quick access. Share it with your team—ideally, set permissions so reps only see their own deals, while managers get the full view.
What doesn’t work: Sending out a massive spreadsheet every week. Reports should be interactive—otherwise, details get lost and nobody reads them.
Step 5: Schedule Regular Review
Don’t just build the report and forget it. Use it as the backbone of your weekly or bi-weekly deal review calls. Make sure everyone knows you’re looking at the same source of truth.
- Live review: Pull it up during calls, so everyone’s on the same page.
- Assign follow-ups: Note next steps, blockers, or deals to dig into offline.
- Update in real-time: Encourage reps to update fields as you go—keeps things honest.
4. Digging Deeper With Kleo’s Advanced Features
If the basics are working and you want to go further, here’s what’s worth your time—and what isn’t.
What’s Actually Useful
- Custom fields and tags: If your sales process is unusual (multi-product, long sales cycle, etc.), custom fields can help you segment deals by what matters to you.
- Conditional filters: Layer filters (e.g., “Deals over $100k in Healthcare, closing this quarter”) to spot patterns.
- Export to CSV: Sometimes you just need to dump the data and slice it in Excel or Google Sheets for ad hoc analysis.
- Deal aging reports: Kleo can highlight deals that have been stuck in a stage for too long—these are often the ones at risk.
What To Ignore (Unless You Love Wasting Time)
- Overly complex dashboards: If you’re not using a metric to make decisions, it’s just noise.
- Vanity metrics: Big pipeline numbers look nice, but “real” deals are what matters. Don’t let impressive totals distract you from likely-to-close deals.
- Automated “insights” that don’t make sense: If a report spits out an “action item” that’s not actionable, skip it.
Pro tip: No tool (including Kleo) can replace regular, honest conversation with your team about deals. Reports should inform, not replace, human judgment.
5. Common Pitfalls (And How to Avoid Them)
Every reporting tool has its quirks. Here’s what to watch out for in Kleo:
- Default settings aren’t always your friend: Customize before you trust the numbers.
- Permission headaches: Double-check who can see what, especially sensitive deal data.
- Report sprawl: Too many saved reports? Archive or delete old ones regularly.
- Data decay: Set reminders for reps to update their deals. Out-of-date info kills report usefulness.
If something feels off—numbers look too good (or too bad) to be true—dig into the details before sharing up the chain.
6. Making Reports Actionable
A report that doesn’t drive action isn’t worth your time. Here’s how to make sure your deal reports in Kleo actually move the needle:
- Use them in every pipeline meeting.
- Spot trends, not just snapshots: Are win rates dropping in a segment? Are deals stalling at the same stage?
- Assign ownership: If a deal’s at risk, make it someone’s job to fix it.
- Iterate: If a field isn’t helping, drop it. If you keep asking for a data point, add it.
7. Quick Checklist: Building Better Deal Reports in Kleo
- [ ] Have you decided what questions you want your report to answer?
- [ ] Is your data clean and up-to-date?
- [ ] Did you pick only the fields that matter?
- [ ] Are filters set to focus on the right deals?
- [ ] Is the report saved, shared, and used in meetings?
- [ ] Are you reviewing and updating the report regularly?
Keep It Simple, Iterate Often
It’s tempting to build massive, all-seeing dashboards. Resist. The best deal reports in Kleo are focused, up-to-date, and used in real conversations. Start small, use what works, and tweak as you go. As your team and deals evolve, so should your reports—just don’t let complexity get in the way of clarity. If a report isn’t helping you run a better sales team, ditch it or fix it. That’s the real secret.