If you run B2B marketing, you know the drill: tons of leads in, a trickle of deals out, and a mountain of data that’s supposed to tell you how to fix things. But it rarely does—at least, not without a fight. This guide is for marketers who want to actually see what’s happening in their funnel and make decisions that move the needle, using Packedwithpurpose dashboards.
Forget vanity metrics and endless spreadsheets. We’ll walk through setting up a dashboard that gives you real answers (not just “more data”), so you can stop guessing and start improving.
1. Get Clear on What You Actually Need to Track
Before you start clicking around in any dashboard tool, pause. The biggest mistake? Tracking everything because you can, not because you should.
Here’s what actually matters in a B2B funnel:
- Lead sources: Where are leads coming from (paid, organic, referrals)?
- Lead quality: Are they the right fit? (e.g., company size, industry, decision-maker)
- Conversion rates: At each stage—visitor to lead, lead to MQL, MQL to SQL, SQL to deal.
- Deal velocity: How long does it take to move from one stage to the next?
- Drop-off points: Where are leads stalling or disappearing?
Ignore for now:
- Social likes/follows (unless they drive actual leads)
- Website “engagement” metrics with no tie to pipeline
- Anything you can’t or won’t act on this quarter
Pro tip:
If you can’t name what you’d do if a metric changes, it probably doesn’t belong on your dashboard.
2. Map Out Your Funnel Stages—For Real
Every company says they have a funnel, but most just have a list of leads and a hope. To make your dashboard work, you need to define your stages clearly. No hand-waving.
Typical B2B funnel stages: - Visitor: Anyone landing on your site - Lead: Filled out a form or otherwise identified - Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL): Meets your “worth pursuing” criteria - Sales Qualified Lead (SQL): Sales agrees to work the lead - Opportunity: Real sales conversation happening - Closed/Won (or Lost): The deal’s fate
What to do:
- Write down exactly what moves a lead from one stage to the next. Be picky.
- Get buy-in from marketing and sales on these definitions.
- Don’t make up stages because you saw them in a blog post. If you don’t use it in real life, don’t track it.
3. Connect Your Data Sources to Packedwithpurpose
Now that you know what you want to track, you need to get the right data into your dashboard.
Most B2B teams use a mix of: - CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot, etc.) - Marketing automation (Marketo, Pardot) - Website analytics (Google Analytics) - Ad platforms (LinkedIn, Google Ads)
In Packedwithpurpose: - Use the integrations to pull in data from your CRM and marketing tools. - Double-check field mapping—bad data in means bad data out. - If there’s a gap (e.g., missing UTM tracking), fix it now. Otherwise, your source reporting will always be off.
Common issues to watch out for: - Duplicate leads (showing up as new every time they fill a form) - Inconsistent stage names across tools - “Unknown” sources—usually a sign your tracking links are broken
Don’t bother:
Don’t connect every tool just because you can. If you haven’t looked at a data source in six months, it probably won’t add value now.
4. Build Your Funnel Dashboard (The Stuff That’s Actually Useful)
This is where most tools promise magic. Reality? Most dashboards are either overwhelming or so vague they’re useless. Here’s how to build one that works.
Focus on these core charts:
- Funnel visualization: Shows how many leads make it through each stage, and where they drop off.
- Lead source breakdown: See which channels actually drive MQLs or deals (not just clicks).
- Conversion rate trends: Month-over-month or quarter-over-quarter. Are you getting better or worse?
- Deal velocity: Time in each stage—so you spot bottlenecks.
- Lost deal reasons: If your CRM tracks this, show it. If not, start now.
Keep it simple:
If your dashboard takes more than 30 seconds to “get,” it’s too complicated. You want signal, not noise.
Pro tip:
Set up filters for sales region, lead source, or campaign. It matters if paid search leads convert faster than trade show leads—but only if you can see it.
5. Use the Dashboard to Actually Diagnose (Not Just Report)
A dashboard isn’t an end in itself. Here’s where you use it to spot problems and opportunities.
What to look for: - Where is the biggest drop-off? That’s your first place to dig. - Are certain sources producing junk leads? Cut budget or fix targeting. - Is one sales rep (or team) crushing it—or struggling? Dig into why. - Are deals getting stuck in one stage for too long? Something’s broken in your process.
Avoid the trap:
Don’t just stare at charts in meetings. Pick one or two things to investigate each month, based on what you see. Then actually go talk to the people involved—sales, SDRs, marketing ops.
6. Iterate and Keep It Honest
No dashboard is perfect out of the gate. The best teams treat this as a living process.
What works: - Review your dashboard monthly. Cut metrics no one uses. Add what’s missing. - Keep a parking lot for “we might want this someday”—don’t clutter the main view. - If a metric never changes, or no one cares when it does, kill it.
What doesn’t: - Chasing “best practices” just because some SaaS company said so. - Making dashboards for the C-suite that no one in the trenches uses.
Pro tip:
Your dashboard should make people say, “Aha, now I know what to do next”—not, “Wait, what does this mean?”
7. Common Pitfalls (and How to Dodge Them)
You’ll run into these—everyone does.
- Death by data: More charts ≠ more insight. Ruthlessly prioritize.
- Frankenstein funnels: If marketing and sales don’t agree on definitions, your numbers will always be wrong.
- Blaming the tool: Packedwithpurpose (or any software) won’t fix broken processes or missing data. That’s on you.
- Analysis paralysis: Don’t wait to have “perfect” data. Start with what you have and improve over time.
Quick Reference: What to Ignore
- Metrics that don’t tie to revenue or real pipeline movement
- Data no one trusts (double-check your integrations)
- “Feel-good” stats that never drive decisions
Summary: Keep It Simple, Keep Moving
Dashboards are only as good as the decisions they help you make. Start with a clear funnel, track what matters, and use your Packedwithpurpose dashboard to spot real problems—not just to admire your data. Don’t get hung up chasing every metric or tool feature. Get something useful up fast, see what you learn, and tweak as you go. That’s how you actually get better—without drowning in data.
Now, go build the dashboard you wish you had last quarter. And remember: simple beats perfect, every time.