If you work in B2B sales, you know the pain: deals stall, buyers go dark, and you’re stuck guessing whether that “interested” prospect is actually going to buy. You’ve probably got a CRM full of notes and tasks, but translating all that into real insight on buyer engagement and deal health? That’s a different story.
This guide is for anyone who wants a clearer, more honest view of how buyers are actually engaging—and whether deals are truly alive or just wishful thinking. We’ll break down how to use Dealpad to get those answers, what metrics matter, and which numbers you can safely ignore.
1. Why Tracking Buyer Engagement and Deal Health Matters
Let’s get real: most sales teams track way too many things, and half of it doesn’t move the needle. What you really want is to:
- Spot deals that are going cold before they die
- Focus your effort where it counts
- Avoid chasing ghosts or wasting time on “happy ears” deals
Buyer engagement isn’t just about opening emails. It’s about seeing who’s involved, how much momentum you’ve got, and whether buyers are really moving forward. If you’re just looking at pipeline value or activity counts, you’re missing the forest for the trees.
2. What is Dealpad, and What Does It Actually Do?
Dealpad is a sales tool that promises to give you real visibility into buyer engagement and deal health. In plain English: it’s a workspace where you and your buyer collaborate, share next steps, and keep all deal activity in one place. More importantly, it tracks what your buyer actually does—so you’re not just guessing based on your own notes.
What’s useful: - Real signals of buyer activity (not just your own emails/tasks) - Visibility into who’s involved on the buyer side - A simple, shared plan so everyone’s on the same page
What to ignore: - Any feature that’s just “activity for activity’s sake” (e.g., counting your own calls/emails as engagement) - Vanity metrics like “number of page views” without context
3. Setting Up Dealpad to Track the Right Metrics
You can set up Dealpad in under an hour, but don’t just click through the prompts and call it a day. Here’s what you actually want to do:
a. Define What "Engagement" Means for Your Team
Not all engagement is equal. Have a quick team chat about what really signals buyer interest: - Inviting more stakeholders - Completing tasks (e.g., sharing security docs, scheduling demos) - Commenting or asking questions in the workspace - Actually showing up to meetings
Avoid counting things like “clicked a link” or “opened a document” as strong signals—those are easy to fake or automate.
b. Map Out Your Typical Buying Process
List the key steps buyers usually take from first call to close. Plug these into your Dealpad workspace as milestones or mutual action plan steps. Don’t overcomplicate it—4-7 steps is enough for most B2B deals.
Pro tip: If you’re not sure what your real process is, look at a few deals you’ve actually won and write down what happened. Ignore what marketing says should happen.
c. Set Up Notifications (But Don’t Overdo It)
Dealpad can ping you when buyers complete steps, invite colleagues, or go quiet. Pick the notifications that matter: - Buyer adds a new stakeholder (strong signal) - Buyer completes a key step - 7+ days of buyer inactivity
Skip notifications for low-impact stuff—you’ll just tune them out.
4. Tracking Buyer Engagement: Metrics That Matter
Here’s what you should actually care about:
a. Stakeholder Involvement
Are buyers adding more people into the Dealpad workspace? Real purchase decisions almost always involve a group. If it’s just your champion and nobody else, be skeptical.
- Healthy sign: Multiple buyer-side users join and participate.
- Red flag: Only one contact, or nobody logs in after the first meeting.
b. Progress on Mutual Action Plan (MAP)
Is the buyer moving through the actual steps, or are things stalling? Dealpad surfaces this as a percentage or visual progress bar. Ignore “percentages complete” if the steps aren’t meaningful.
- Healthy sign: Steps are checked off on time, with buyer input.
- Red flag: Steps linger unfinished, or you’re the only one updating them.
c. Engagement Frequency (But Not Activity Spam)
How often is your buyer interacting in Dealpad? Regular, purposeful activity is good; lots of random clicks or your own updates are not.
- Healthy sign: Buyers log in to comment, upload docs, or move steps forward.
- Red flag: All activity is from your side, or buyers go dark for a week+.
d. Recency of Engagement
The longer a buyer is silent, the lower your odds. Dealpad can highlight when a deal’s gone cold. Don’t trick yourself into thinking “no news is good news.”
- Healthy sign: Last buyer activity was recent (within a few days).
- Red flag: No buyer-side activity for 7-10 days, especially after a key meeting.
5. Spotting Healthy vs. Dying Deals
You’ll never have perfect visibility, but you can get close. Here’s how to use Dealpad insights to separate real deals from the walking dead:
a. Look for Patterns, Not One-Offs
A single missed deadline isn’t the end of a deal, but a pattern of buyer silence or skipped steps is a warning. Don’t overreact to one quiet week, but don’t ignore repeated disengagement.
b. Use Dealpad’s Insights as a Conversation Starter
If you see a deal going cold, don’t just watch the numbers—reach out. “Hey, I noticed we haven’t moved forward on the next step. Is there something blocking you?” is often more effective than another generic “just checking in” email.
c. Don’t Fool Yourself with Vanity Metrics
Dealpad can show you lots of data. Focus on what buyers do, not just what you send. If you see lots of your own activity but nothing from the buyer, you’re probably pushing rope.
6. What to Ignore (and Why)
Every tool throws a bunch of numbers at you. Here’s what you can safely ignore in Dealpad (or any sales tool):
- Your own email/call activity: This shows your effort, not buyer interest.
- Views without action: If someone clicks but doesn’t actually participate, it means very little.
- Automated “engagement” from bots or email open trackers: These are notoriously unreliable.
Stick to metrics that reflect real buyer-side action and progress.
7. Making Dealpad Insights Work for You (Not the Other Way Around)
Tools are only useful if they fit your workflow. Here’s how to make Dealpad work for you:
- Customize the action plan steps to fit your real process. Don’t just use the defaults.
- Review deal health weekly, not just at quarter-end. It’s easier to save a deal early than to resurrect it later.
- Share insights with your team. If you see patterns (like deals dying at the same stage), talk about it.
- Don’t be afraid to walk away from dying deals. The numbers help you spend time where it matters.
8. The Honest Truth: No Tool Is Magic
Dealpad can give you a real window into buyer engagement, but it won’t close deals for you. The best use? Cut through the noise, spot risks early, and focus on buyers who are actually moving forward.
Don’t obsess over every metric. Track what matters, keep your process simple, and use the insights to have smarter conversations—not just prettier dashboards.
Bottom line: Keep it simple. Set up Dealpad, focus on real buyer activity, and iterate as you learn what works for your team. Most of all, don’t let the tool become the work. The best metric is still “Did the deal close?”—everything else is just helping you get there faster.