If you're a sales leader sick of slogging through generic dashboards that never show you what you actually need, you're not alone. Most out-of-the-box reports either drown you in detail or gloss over the real story. This guide is for sales managers and leaders who want to cut through the noise and build custom dashboards in Trycaddie that actually help you coach reps, spot pipeline issues, and hit your number—without wasting your life in settings menus.
Let’s skip the pep talk and get to the good stuff.
Step 1: Know What You Really Want to Track
Before you even log in, get clear on what you care about. Too many dashboards end up as cluttered messes because folks try to track everything. Get ruthless:
- Start with your goals. Are you trying to improve rep activity? Shorten sales cycles? Flag stuck deals?
- Pick 3-5 metrics max. Examples: pipeline coverage, win rate, new opportunities created, deal velocity, or forecast accuracy.
- Ignore vanity metrics. If you can’t use a number to make a decision, leave it out.
Pro Tip: If you’re not sure, ask yourself, “What do I wish I could see on one screen every Monday morning?” That’s your dashboard.
Step 2: Get Your Data in Order
Trycaddie is only as smart as the data you feed it. Garbage in, garbage out, as the saying goes.
- Check your CRM integrations. Make sure Trycaddie is hooked up to your CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot, or whatever your team uses).
- Audit your fields. Are your reps filling out required fields? Are stages and owner assignments consistent? If your CRM is a mess, your dashboards will be too.
- Set up regular syncs. Data should update at least daily, if not in real-time. If you see big lags, fix that first.
What to skip: Don’t waste time trying to “clean up everything” before you start. Focus on the key fields and records that actually feed your reports.
Step 3: Navigate to the Dashboard Builder
Once your data’s sorted, let’s get building.
- Log in to Trycaddie.
- In the main sidebar, look for “Dashboards” or sometimes “Reports & Dashboards” (the UI changes occasionally—yeah, that’s annoying).
- Click “Create New Dashboard.” You’ll usually see a blank canvas or a choice of templates.
Pro Tip: If you’re new to Trycaddie, poke around some of the default dashboards first. Sometimes you can clone and tweak one, instead of starting from scratch.
Step 4: Add the Right Widgets and Visuals
This is where most dashboards go off the rails. Keep it simple:
- Choose chart types that make sense. Bar charts for comparisons, line charts for trends, tables for details. Don’t get fancy unless you have a reason.
- Drag in your chosen metrics. Use the search bar to find pipeline value, new opps, close dates, etc.
- Apply filters. Want to see just your team? Only this quarter? Use filters to keep things focused.
What works:
- Visualizing pipeline by stage helps spot stuck deals.
- Trend lines for new opportunities show if prospecting is paying off.
- Rep leaderboard widgets can drive some healthy competition.
What to ignore:
- Pie charts (almost always useless in sales).
- “Fun” widgets like word clouds or random activity feeds—they clutter the view.
Step 5: Customize for Your Team
No two sales teams are exactly the same, so don’t settle for the default views.
- Group by what matters. Region, product line, AE—whatever matches your org structure.
- Set up team vs. individual views. Some dashboards should show the whole team, others should break things down by rep.
- Use conditional formatting. If Trycaddie lets you set colors for thresholds (e.g., red for low pipeline coverage), use it. It makes problems pop visually.
Pro Tip: Less is more. If you have to scroll, you have too many widgets. Aim for a dashboard you can glance at and instantly spot what needs attention.
Step 6: Schedule and Share Your Dashboards
Building a dashboard no one sees is a waste. Make it part of the team’s rhythm.
- Schedule email reports. Trycaddie can send dashboards as a PDF or link on a schedule—say, every Monday at 8am.
- Share with the right people. Give access only to those who actually use the dashboard. More viewers isn’t always better.
- Embed in meetings. Use your dashboard as the agenda for pipeline reviews or forecast calls. No more tab-flipping or “let me pull that up”—it’s all there.
What works:
- Short, focused dashboards in team meetings.
- Scheduled emails for execs who won’t log in themselves.
What doesn’t:
- Slack notifications for every metric change. That’s a fast track to notification fatigue.
Step 7: Tweak and Improve Over Time
Your first dashboard won’t be perfect. That’s normal.
- Review what’s useful. After a couple weeks, ask the team: What do we actually use? What’s just noise?
- Kill unused widgets. Ruthless pruning is a good thing. If a metric isn’t driving action, remove it.
- Add as needed. If you spot gaps (say, you keep manually pulling win/loss reasons), add a widget for it.
Pro Tip: Calendar a quick dashboard review every quarter. Needs change as your team, targets, or process evolve.
A Few Honest Takes
- Don’t chase “real-time” unless you need it. For most sales leaders, daily updates are enough.
- Beware dashboard sprawl. One great dashboard beats five mediocre ones every time.
- Get buy-in. If no one’s looking at your dashboard, it’s not their fault—you might be tracking the wrong stuff.
Keep It Simple, Iterate Often
Custom dashboards in Trycaddie can seriously up your sales game, but only if you stay focused. Start small, get feedback, and don’t be afraid to kill what isn’t working. The best dashboards make your life easier, not busier. Stick to what actually helps you make decisions—and remember, you can always tweak things as you go.