If you're running B2B sales, you probably have more data than time. Maybe you're getting pressure to "prove what's working" or just want to stop guessing which deals are real. Good news: if you use Ring for your CRM, its custom reporting features can help you pull out the signal from the noise—if you set them up with a little care. This guide is for sales leaders, ops folks, or honestly anyone who's tired of downloading CSVs and cobbling together pipeline reports in spreadsheets.
Let's get into how to use Ring's custom reporting to actually answer the questions your team (and your boss) cares about.
1. Figure Out What You Need—Before You Touch a Report Builder
First, step away from the dashboards. Don’t let Ring (or any tool) dictate what you track. Write down, on paper if you have to, the actual questions you need answered. Some classics:
- How many qualified deals are really in the pipeline?
- Where are deals getting stuck?
- What’s our average sales cycle length by segment?
- Who’s pushing deals from stage to stage but never closing?
- Which activities actually move the needle?
Pro tip: Don’t try to track everything. Pick 2–4 metrics that drive your pipeline decisions, not a dozen vanity stats.
If you skip this, you’ll end up with pretty charts that nobody uses. Decide what matters, then move on.
2. Get Your Data House in Order
Custom reports are only as good as your data. Before you start slicing and dicing, check:
- Are deal stages up to date? If reps aren’t moving deals, your pipeline reports will be a fantasy novel.
- Are fields filled in? If you want to segment by industry but half your deals have “Unknown,” you’re sunk.
- Are activities logged consistently? If your team’s not entering calls or meetings, activity-based reports are useless.
What works: Set up some basic rules (and maybe some gentle nagging) so your team keeps data tidy. Automate what you can.
What doesn’t: Hoping people will suddenly start entering perfect data just because you build a report. Garbage in, garbage out.
3. Dive Into Ring’s Custom Reporting Features
Ring’s reporting tools are more flexible than the built-in dashboards, but not always obvious. Here’s how to approach them:
3.1. Accessing the Custom Report Builder
- Go to the “Reports” section from the main menu.
- Look for a “Create Custom Report” or “New Report” button. (Ring changes UI sometimes—if it’s not obvious, check their help docs or poke around.)
3.2. Pick the Right Report Type
Ring usually offers options like:
- Pipeline/Deals Reports: Focus on deals by stage, owner, value, etc.
- Activity Reports: See who’s doing what, and how it relates to deal movement.
- Custom Object Reports: For anything you’ve set up outside of default deals/contacts (think: custom fields, product lines).
Honest take: Don’t overthink your first choice. Start with a pipeline or deals report, since that’s where most B2B pipeline analysis lives.
3.3. Define Your Filters
Filters separate “all deals ever” from “deals we actually care about.” Common filters:
- Deal stage: Only show deals in certain stages (e.g., “Qualified” and up).
- Close date: Focus on this quarter or next.
- Owner: Break out by rep or team.
- Custom fields: Segment by vertical, deal size, or whatever you track.
Pro tip: Save filters as presets—if you’re always running “This Month’s Pipeline” don’t rebuild it every time.
3.4. Choose Your Columns and Metrics
Ring lets you pick which data fields show up in the report. Some ideas:
- Deal name, stage, value, close date
- Days in stage or days in pipeline
- Activities linked (calls, meetings, emails)
- Custom fields (region, product, source)
What works: Less is more. Only add columns you’ll actually use. If you need more detail, drill in—don’t cram it all onto one page.
3.5. Visualization: Table, Chart, or Both?
- Tables = best for detail work and spot-checking data.
- Charts = good for trends, bottlenecks, and presentations.
Ring will try to auto-generate charts, but sometimes you’ll need to tweak the settings to get a useful view. Don’t be afraid to stick with a table if the chart is just noise.
4. Build Reports That Tell You Why, Not Just What
Lots of reports show you “what’s happening.” The best ones help you figure out why.
4.1. Example: Bottleneck Report
- Goal: See where deals get stuck
- How: Build a report that shows average days in stage by stage
- Filters: Only open deals, segmented by owner/team
- Insights: If “Pilot” stage takes 2x longer than the rest, you know where to dig in
4.2. Example: Activity-to-Close Report
- Goal: See if certain activities predict closed deals
- How: Report on deals with at least X meetings/calls before close
- Filters: Closed-won deals only
- Insights: Maybe deals with 3+ demos close faster. Or maybe demos are overhyped and it’s follow-up calls that matter. Now you know.
4.3. Example: Win Rate by Source
- Goal: Find out which lead sources actually convert
- How: Filter by lead source and deal outcome
- Insights: If you’re pouring money into a channel that never closes, time to rethink your spend.
What to ignore: Reports that exist only to make people feel busy. If you don’t know what action you’d take based on a metric, junk it.
5. Share, Schedule, and Automate (But Don’t Overdo It)
Once you’ve built something useful, share it. But don’t flood everyone’s inbox.
- Share in-app: Add key team members so they can view or comment.
- Schedule email exports: Set up weekly or monthly sends for critical reports, but resist the urge to “set and forget.” Too many auto-emails and people will just hit delete.
- Automate follow-up: If Ring supports it, set alerts for when certain thresholds are hit (e.g., too many deals stuck in one stage).
Pro tip: Review reports at your regular pipeline meeting. Don’t just send them out and hope people read—they won’t.
6. Audit and Refine: Reports Are Never “Done”
Your pipeline, team, and priorities will change. Set a recurring reminder (quarterly works for most) to:
- Drop reports nobody uses
- Add new filters as your process evolves
- Make sure data is still clean (see Step 2; it’s a forever battle)
- Get feedback from the people actually using the reports
What works: Treat reporting as a living thing. If a report isn’t helping you make a decision, kill it.
Quick Hits: What to Avoid
- Don’t chase every possible metric. Focus on a few that drive action.
- Don’t build for the CEO’s pet question unless it’s actionable. If they just want a number, send them a quick screenshot.
- Don’t assume more data is better. Simpler reports get used. Overbuilt ones get ignored.
- Don’t skip the data hygiene. If people don’t trust the numbers, you’re sunk.
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple, Iterate Often
Custom reporting in Ring can actually make your life easier—if you keep it practical. Start with the questions you care about, build the simplest report that answers them, and don’t be afraid to scrap what isn’t working. Iterate as you go, and don’t let the tool (or the data) run your process.
The best pipeline insights come from a mix of good data, useful reports, and a healthy dose of common sense. Keep it simple, and you’ll get more value out of Ring—and your pipeline—than any dashboard wizard ever will.