So you’ve got a product, a team, and a job to do: figure out what’s working (and what’s not) in your go to market strategy. Maybe your CEO is breathing down your neck for “actionable insights.” Maybe your sales team is flying blind. Or maybe you’re just tired of cobbling together reports from a mess of spreadsheets and half-baked dashboards. If any of that sounds familiar, this guide is for you.
I’ll walk you through how to use Solidroad analytics to build real go to market reports—ones that don’t just look pretty, but actually help you make decisions. I’ll call out what’s worth your time, what’s fluff, and how to avoid getting lost in the weeds.
Let’s get started.
Step 1: Get Clear on What You Actually Need
Before you touch a tool, figure out what questions your report needs to answer. Don’t just “track everything”—that’s a good way to end up with a 40-slide deck nobody reads.
Ask yourself: - Who is this report for? (Sales? Marketing? Execs?) - What decisions should it help them make? - What’s the minimum set of metrics that’ll move the needle?
Examples of useful questions: - Where are we losing deals in the sales funnel? - Which channels bring in the highest quality leads? - How long is our sales cycle, really? - Are there warning signs before deals stall out?
Pro tip: If you can’t explain why a metric matters in one sentence, leave it out.
Step 2: Get Your Data into Solidroad
Solidroad can’t magically analyze what it can’t see. So, first, connect your data sources. Most teams pull in:
- CRM data (like Salesforce or HubSpot)
- Marketing automation (Marketo, Mailchimp, etc.)
- Product usage stats
- Ad platform data
How to connect data: - Go to Solidroad’s “Integrations” section. - Follow the prompts to link your CRM, marketing tools, and anything else you care about. - Double-check: Are all the fields mapping over correctly? (Don’t assume. Garbage in, garbage out.)
Honest take: The first time you do this, expect a little friction—minor mismatches, missing fields, etc. Don’t sweat it. Clean it up as you go.
Step 3: Pick (and Build) the Right Reports
Solidroad comes with a pile of templates. Some are genuinely useful, some are just dashboard candy.
What’s usually worth building: - Pipeline Health: Tracks leads, conversions, and drop-offs by stage. - Channel Performance: Compares acquisition sources, cost per lead, and actual sales outcomes side by side. - Sales Velocity: Measures time from lead to close, broken down by segment or rep. - Deal Risk Indicators: Highlights stuck or “at risk” deals based on activity (or lack thereof).
How to do it: - Head to the “Reports” section. - Pick a template that fits, or start from scratch. - Drag in metrics and filters that answer your core questions (see Step 1). - Avoid the temptation to add every available chart—focus on clarity.
Ignore: Vanity metrics like “total leads generated” if they don’t lead to real revenue. Your execs will thank you.
Step 4: Slice the Data for Real Insights
A big raw number is almost never the answer. You want to break things down until patterns start to pop.
Useful ways to slice: - By channel (e.g., organic vs. paid vs. referral) - By customer segment (industry, company size, geography) - By deal size or product line - By sales rep or team
How to do it in Solidroad: - Use filters and group-bys in the report builder. - Compare cohorts over time (e.g., this quarter vs. last quarter). - Spot unusual outliers—then dig in.
Pro tip: If something looks weird (sudden spike, giant drop-off), don’t just report it. Check if it’s a data glitch or a real signal.
Step 5: Visualize Enough, But Not Too Much
Charts help, but only if they make the story clear. Solidroad offers a bunch: bar charts, funnels, timelines, scatterplots, and more.
Best practices: - Use simple, familiar chart types. (Pie charts are almost always a waste.) - Label axes and units—don’t make people guess. - Highlight what matters (e.g., stuck deals, fastest-moving channels). - Limit each report to a handful of key visuals.
Honest take: The temptation with analytics tools is to make dashboards that look impressive but are impossible to read. Resist. If you wouldn’t want to present it to your boss, rework it.
Step 6: Automate and Schedule Reports
Don’t make your team chase down numbers every week. Solidroad lets you schedule reports to hit inboxes on a regular basis.
How to set it up: - In each report, look for the “Schedule” or “Email” option. - Pick the right cadence (weekly, monthly, whatever fits your rhythm). - Set up different versions for different audiences—execs may want high-level, sales ops need the details.
Pro tip: Share the link to the live dashboard, not just static PDFs. That way, people can dig deeper if they want.
Step 7: Get Feedback and Iterate
You won’t get it perfect the first time—and that’s fine. The best go to market reports are living documents.
What to do: - After sending your first batch, ask the audience: What’s actually useful? What’s missing? What’s confusing? - Trim anything nobody cares about. - Add context—if a number jumps out, explain it in plain language. - Expect to revisit your reports as your team’s needs change.
Ignore: The urge to make a “one size fits all” report. Different teams need different views.
What Works (and What Doesn’t)
What usually works: - Sticking to the core questions. Less is more. - Slicing by segment or channel to find actionable patterns. - Using scheduled, reliable reports so people know where to look.
What doesn’t: - Tracking everything “just in case.” - Overloading dashboards with confusing charts. - Blindly trusting the data—always sanity check when something looks off.
What to ignore: - Any feature you don’t understand or can’t explain to your team. Flashy AI “insights” are often just noise.
Summary: Keep It Simple, Ship It, and Adjust
The goal isn’t to make a perfect report; it’s to make one that helps you (and your team) actually take action. Start with the basics, use Solidroad to automate the grunt work, and keep asking what’s actually useful. If you find yourself spending more time building reports than acting on them, that’s your cue to simplify.
Iterate as you go. The only bad report is the one nobody reads.