If you’re in sales, enablement, or revops, you know the drill: leadership wants numbers, reps want quick feedback, and you want something that actually makes sense. Out-of-the-box dashboards in sales tools are usually a mix of “kinda useful” and “who asked for this?” If you’re using Highspot and want real answers about what content is working, who’s engaging, and what’s just noise, you probably need a custom dashboard.
This guide will walk you through setting up custom analytics dashboards in Highspot focused on sales engagement. No fluff—just what you need to get actual insights and skip the vanity metrics.
Why bother with custom dashboards in Highspot?
Highspot’s default analytics are fine for basic stuff, but if you want to know what really moves the needle—like which decks close deals or if your new playbook is getting any love—you’ll need to roll up your sleeves. Custom dashboards let you:
- Track what your team actually uses (not just what’s uploaded)
- See buyer engagement, not just internal activity
- Filter out the noise—nobody needs a chart about who uploaded the most PDFs
- Build reports your execs might actually read
If you want to skip the manual spreadsheet grind or stop guessing what’s driving revenue, it’s worth the time to set this up.
Step 1: Figure out what you actually want to track
Before you click anything, get honest about what you need:
- Engagement by Content: Which decks, one-pagers, or videos are getting opened, shared, and actually viewed by prospects?
- Rep Activity: Who’s sharing what, and with which accounts?
- Buyer Signals: Are prospects opening, re-opening, or forwarding what you send?
- Deal Influence: Is there a pattern between certain content and closed deals?
Pro tip: Don’t try to track everything. Focus on the 2-3 metrics that drive action. If a stat won’t change what you do next week, skip it.
Step 2: Get access (and the right permissions)
You’ll need Analytics Admin or equivalent permissions in Highspot to build dashboards. If you can’t see the Analytics tab or “Dashboards” section, talk to your Highspot admin. Don’t waste time building reports in a test sandbox unless you want to redo it all later.
Step 3: Get familiar with Highspot’s analytics options
Highspot offers three main analytics tools:
- Standard Dashboards: Pre-built, not customizable. Good for a quick look, not for real analysis.
- Custom Dashboards: You build these. This is where you want to be.
- Spot Reports: For ad-hoc, detailed reports—fine for exports, but not ongoing dashboards.
We’re focusing on Custom Dashboards, which live under the Analytics tab. They’re drag-and-drop but have quirks, so don’t expect Tableau-level flexibility.
Step 4: Build your first custom dashboard
Here’s the meat of it:
4.1 – Go to Analytics > Dashboards > Create Dashboard
- Navigate to the Analytics section from your Highspot sidebar.
- Click on “Dashboards,” then the “+” or “Create Dashboard” button.
- Give your dashboard a name that’s actually descriptive (e.g., “Sales Engagement – Q3” not “Test 1”).
4.2 – Add your first widget
Widgets are the building blocks—charts, graphs, or tables. To add:
- Click “Add Widget.”
- Pick a type (bar, line, table, etc.). Don’t get fancy; clarity beats pretty colors.
- Select a data source. For sales engagement, you’ll want:
- Content Usage (internal sharing)
- External Engagement (prospect views, shares)
- Spotlight Activity (if you use playbooks)
- Filter to only the teams, reps, or content types you care about.
Example: Want to see which case studies were viewed by prospects in the last 30 days? Add a table widget, filter by “Content Type = Case Study” and “External Views > 0” in the last 30 days.
4.3 – Set filters to avoid info overload
- Date range: Keep it tight (last 30/60/90 days). Annual data is mostly noise.
- Teams or roles: Filter to sales or SDRs, not all company users.
- Content types: Focus on what’s used in deals. Ignore old assets.
4.4 – Repeat for 2-3 core metrics
Don’t try to cover everything. A good dashboard usually has:
- Top Shared Content (by reps): Who’s sharing what?
- Top Engaged Content (by prospects): What’s actually being opened?
- Rep Leaderboard: Who’s driving engagement?
Add each as its own widget. You can always add more later, but too many widgets = nobody uses the dashboard.
Step 5: Polish and share your dashboard
Once you’ve got your widgets set:
- Check for broken filters. Make sure you’re not showing empty charts.
- Rename widgets. “Widget 6” doesn’t help anyone.
- Remove duplicates. If two widgets show the same thing, kill one.
When you’re happy:
- Click “Share” or set visibility. You can make dashboards public (for anyone with access) or private (just for you or specific teams).
- Set up scheduled exports if you want to push data to execs or your CRM. (Warning: Exports are CSVs, not fancy PDFs.)
Step 6: Avoid common mistakes
Here’s where most people screw up:
- Too many metrics. If your dashboard looks like a flight simulator, nobody will use it.
- Tracking only internal activity. What reps upload isn’t as important as what buyers engage with.
- Ignoring context. A spike in views might just mean someone sent a deck to a huge email list.
- Building for leadership only. Reps and managers need actionable info, not just “look how busy we are” charts.
What to skip: Don’t bother with metrics you can’t act on. If you’re tracking “likes” or “downloads” but never use that info, cut it.
Step 7: Iterate—don’t let it get stale
The first version of your dashboard won’t be perfect. Check back in a couple weeks:
- Are people actually using it? If not, ask why.
- Is it driving real conversations? If not, cut out the fluff.
- Are you getting new questions? Add or tweak widgets as needed.
There’s no medal for the fanciest dashboard—just the one people use.
Real talk: What works, what doesn’t, and what to ignore
- Works: Focusing on external engagement (real buyer views, shares, re-visits). Trends over time are more useful than one-off spikes.
- Doesn’t: Tracking only uploads or shares within your company. Vanity metrics like “top uploader” don’t drive revenue.
- Ignore: Anything you can’t explain in a sentence to your VP. If it takes a paragraph, it’s not dashboard material.
Keep it simple and keep improving
Custom dashboards in Highspot can save you time and arguments—if you keep them focused. Start with a few metrics, share with the people who’ll actually use them, and don’t be afraid to trim what isn’t useful. Most of the value comes from acting on what you see, not staring at charts.
Remember: you can always tweak the dashboard as your team or execs ask smarter questions. Don’t wait for perfect—just build, share, and refine. That’s how you get analytics that actually help.