So you want a dashboard that actually tells you what’s working in your go-to-market (GTM) efforts—not a sea of useless pie charts and vanity metrics. This guide is for anyone who’s tired of wrestling with clunky analytics tools and wants a straightforward way to set up custom GTM dashboards in Sheppardd. Whether you’re in sales, marketing, or ops, I’ll walk you through every step—warts and all.
Let’s keep it simple, honest, and focused on what’ll actually help you make decisions.
Why Custom Dashboards (and Why Not)
Before you lose a day tinkering with widgets, let’s get clear on what custom dashboards can—and can’t—do for GTM analytics:
What works: - Combining sales, marketing, and customer data in one spot - Tracking progress toward real business goals (not just “impressions”) - Catching problems early (e.g., deals stalling, pipeline drying up)
What doesn’t: - Measuring everything just because you can - Overengineering with endless filters or “cool” charts nobody uses - Expecting dashboards to magically fix bad processes or data
Pro tip: Start with the questions you actually want answered. Dashboards are only as good as the decisions they help you make.
Step 1: Get Your Data Straight
You can’t build a dashboard on shaky data. Sheppardd connects to a bunch of sources, but you need to know what you’re plugging in.
1.1. Decide What Matters
- Are you tracking pipeline health? Campaign ROI? Lead response times?
- Pick 3-5 metrics you actually care about. (More, and you’ll tune it out.)
Example metrics: - New qualified leads/week - Pipeline value by stage - Win rates by source - Average deal cycle - Campaign-driven revenue
1.2. Connect Your Data Sources
Sheppardd plays well with most CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot), marketing (Marketo, Google Ads), and sales tools (Outreach, Gong). But the integrations aren’t magic.
How to connect: - Go to the “Integrations” section in Sheppardd. - Use OAuth or API keys to link your accounts. - Double-check data permissions—if you’re missing fields, your dashboards will be a mess.
What to ignore: Don’t connect every tool you own “just because.” If a data source isn’t relevant to your GTM questions, skip it for now.
Step 2: Sketch Your Dashboard (Don’t Build Yet)
It’s tempting to dive into the app and start dragging widgets. Resist that urge for 10 more minutes.
2.1. Map Out the Flow
- What’s the first thing you want to see each morning?
- Which numbers do you need weekly, and which are “nice to have”?
- Do you need to slice by team, segment, or region—or is that overkill?
Quick sketch: On paper or a whiteboard, draw rough boxes for each chart/metric. If you can’t explain why it’s there, kill it.
Pro tip: Fewer, bigger charts beat a wall of tiny, unreadable ones.
Step 3: Build Your Dashboard in Sheppardd
Now you’re ready to get your hands dirty.
3.1. Create a New Dashboard
- In Sheppardd, hit “Dashboards” > “Create New.”
- Name it something obvious. (“GTM Overview,” not “Q3 Initiative 7.2b”)
3.2. Add Widgets for Your Chosen Metrics
Sheppardd offers widgets for KPIs, tables, bar/line charts, funnels, and more.
For each widget: - Choose the data source and fields you want. - Pick the chart type that makes sense. (Don’t force a pie chart just because it’s flashy.) - Set filters only if you’ll actually use them.
Real talk: Don’t get sucked into “custom colors” or pixel-perfect layouts—focus on clarity.
3.3. Tweak Layout for Clarity
- Put the most important numbers up top.
- Group related charts together (e.g., pipeline metrics as a block).
- If something looks confusing, it is confusing. Simplify or cut it.
3.4. Set Up Alerts (Optional)
If Sheppardd supports threshold-based alerts, use them sparingly—for things you don’t want to miss, like: - Pipeline drops below $X - Lead response times spike over Y hours
But don’t turn on every possible alert, or you’ll start ignoring them all.
Step 4: Share and Automate (But Don’t Overdo It)
You want people to see and use this dashboard—not just you.
4.1. Share with Your Team
- In Sheppardd, invite users or share dashboard links.
- Decide if people can edit, or just view. (Default to view-only unless you trust them not to break things.)
4.2. Automate Reports
- Set up scheduled email reports if you need regular check-ins.
- Weekly or monthly is usually enough. Daily is overkill for most teams.
Skip: Don’t create dashboards for every possible audience—one well-designed, shared dashboard beats a dozen ignored ones.
Step 5: Review, Fix, and Repeat
No dashboard survives contact with reality. It’s normal for things to break, or for people to ignore charts they said they needed.
5.1. Get Feedback
- Ask: “What’s actually useful here? What’s noise?”
- If nobody looks at a metric for a month, cut it.
5.2. Audit Your Data Regularly
Sheppardd is only as good as your inputs. Set a monthly reminder to check for: - Broken integrations - Outdated fields - Data that doesn’t match your CRM/reality
5.3. Iterate (But Don’t Tinker Forever)
Make changes based on real needs—not just because you’re bored. Don’t fall into the trap of “dashboard gardening.”
Honest Pitfalls and Traps to Avoid
Even the best tools can’t fix bad habits. Here’s what to watch out for:
- Vanity metrics: If it doesn’t drive a decision, don’t track it.
- Analysis paralysis: More data isn’t always better. Make your dashboard answer fewer, more important questions.
- Integration headaches: If a data source is unreliable, don’t include it until it’s fixed.
- Over-sharing: Not everyone needs access. Too many cooks spoil the dashboard.
- Ignoring adoption: If nobody is looking at your dashboard, you’ve built the wrong one.
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple and Useful
A good GTM dashboard in Sheppardd is about clarity, not complexity. Start with what matters, keep it lean, and don’t be afraid to cut what’s not working. Focus on helping your team make better decisions, not impressing them with fancy charts.
You can always add more later—just get the basics right, and iterate from there.