If you manage a sales team, you probably get pitched a new “game-changing” analytics tool every other week. The truth? Most dashboards just dump data on you and call it insight. But if you’re using Dealhub, there are actually some useful analytics baked in—if you know how to find the signals buried in the noise. This guide is for sales leaders, ops folks, and anyone tired of squinting at spreadsheets, looking for answers that never come.
Below, you’ll get a step-by-step walkthrough for using Dealhub’s analytics to track what matters about your team’s performance. No fluff, no buzzwords—just what works, what to skip, and how to actually get value from the numbers.
1. Get Your Bearings: What Dealhub Analytics Actually Tracks
Before you dive in, let’s get clear on what Dealhub analytics can and can’t do. Here’s the honest rundown:
Dealhub Analytics: The Good - Tracks deal progress (stages, velocity, conversion rates) - Shows rep activity (number of proposals sent, time to close, etc.) - Lets you segment by rep, team, region, or product - Integrates with Salesforce and other CRMs (if set up right)
The Limitations - Heavy on document and proposal analytics, lighter on things like call activity or pipeline forecasting - Garbage in, garbage out—your data’s only as good as your team’s discipline in using Dealhub - Not a miracle worker: won’t fix broken sales processes or magically motivate reps
Pro tip: Decide what you actually want to measure before you go dashboard-diving. Chasing every metric is a fast way to waste time.
2. Set Up Your Data for Clean Reporting
This is the step most folks skip, then wonder why their analytics look weird.
a. Make Sure Everyone’s Using Dealhub Properly - Are reps actually sending proposals via Dealhub—not just emailing PDFs? - Is every deal getting logged and updated through the right stages? - Are products, discounts, and other fields filled in consistently?
b. Sync With Your CRM - Connect Dealhub to your CRM (like Salesforce or HubSpot) so you’re not working with incomplete data. - Double-check that field mappings are correct. If “Closed Won” means something different in each system, your reports will be junk. - Set up regular syncs—daily is fine for most teams.
c. Clean Up Old Data - Archive or delete test deals and demo accounts. - Standardize naming conventions (no more “ACME CORP,” “Acme Corp.,” and “Acme”).
Why bother? If you skip cleanup, your analytics will be full of ghosts, duplicates, and stuff you can’t trust. It’s painful, but once you do it, future reporting gets way easier.
3. Decide What Metrics Actually Matter
Dealhub gives you dozens of metrics, but most teams should focus on a handful. Otherwise, you’ll drown in data and still not know where things stand.
Core metrics to track: - Deal velocity: How long does it take deals to move through each stage? - Win rate: What percentage of proposals actually close? - Average deal size: Are deals getting bigger, or are reps discounting too quickly? - Proposal activity: How many proposals are sent, viewed, and signed? - Rep leaderboard: Who’s crushing it—and who needs help?
Optional, but useful: - Discounting patterns: Are reps giving away margin just to close? - Product mix: What’s actually selling, and what’s gathering dust? - Bottleneck stages: Where do deals stall out the most?
Ignore these (mostly): - Total page views on proposals (vanity metric) - Time spent viewing proposals (interesting, but rarely actionable) - Any stat you couldn’t explain to your VP in 30 seconds
Pro tip: Pick 3–5 metrics that tie directly to your team’s goals. Track those religiously. You can always dig into the rest if you spot a problem.
4. Build Useful Dashboards (Not Just Pretty Ones)
Here’s where most analytics projects go off the rails. It’s easy to fill your screen with charts, but that doesn’t mean you’ll make better decisions.
How to build dashboards that actually help: - Start with questions, not charts. Ask: “Where are deals stalling?” “Who’s behind on activity?” “Are we discounting too much?” - Group by team/rep, not just totals. Totals hide underperformers and outliers. - Use filters. Want to see only Q2 deals, or just proposals over $50k? Filters are your friend. - Visualize trends, not just snapshots. A single week’s data is noisy—look for patterns over time. - Share with context. Add notes or quick explanations so people know what to do with the data.
What to avoid: - Pie charts for everything - “KPI overload” dashboards with 20+ widgets - Dashboards nobody ever looks at
Quick win: Set up a weekly dashboard email for your team. If people don’t open it, cut the fluff.
5. Review Regularly and Dig Into the “Why”
Tracking numbers is only useful if you actually act on them. Here’s how to turn data into decisions:
a. Set a Cadence - Weekly: Quick pulse checks (activity, pipeline movement) - Monthly: Deeper dives (win rates, deal size trends, bottlenecks)
b. Drill Down When You See Red Flags - Deal stuck in “Proposal Sent” for weeks? Find out why. - Rep’s win rate tanking? Is it bad leads, bad proposals, or something else? - Discounting up? Are we caving too early?
c. Don’t Blame—Diagnose - The data is a starting point, not a firing squad. - Ask reps for context before making changes or jumping to conclusions.
d. Share Wins and Lessons - Highlight what’s working (“Deals over $100k move fastest when X happens”). - Use real examples in team meetings, not just charts.
Honest take: You’ll never have “perfect” data. Look for trends, not absolute truths. If you’re constantly surprised by the numbers, your process—or your data entry—needs work.
6. Go Beyond the Basics (If You Actually Need To)
Once you’ve nailed the basics, Dealhub does offer some more advanced analytics. But don’t get sucked into complexity unless you have a real use case.
Advanced options: - Custom reports: Slice and dice by any field (region, product, segment) - Funnel analysis: Visualize where deals drop out at each stage - Integration with BI tools: Export data to Tableau, Power BI, or Google Sheets for heavy-duty analysis
When to bother: - Your execs need board-level slides and want deep dives - You’re running experiments and need to prove (or disprove) a hunch - You have a data analyst on staff—otherwise, keep it simple
When to skip: - You’re still struggling to get reps to update deals consistently - Your team just wants “the basics” to run their day-to-day
Biggest myth: More data doesn’t equal more insight. Most teams get more value from better habits than fancier charts.
7. Common Pitfalls (and How to Avoid Them)
1. Tracking everything, acting on nothing.
Pick your battles. If you’re not making decisions off a metric, drop it.
2. Letting dashboards replace real conversations.
Data is a tool—not a substitute for talking to your team or your customers.
3. Ignoring data quality issues.
Bad inputs = bad outputs. Regularly audit your data.
4. Confusing activity with results.
High proposal volume doesn’t mean high win rates. Focus on outcomes.
5. Expecting analytics to fix bad sales processes.
If your team’s process is broken, no dashboard will save you.
Keep It Simple, Iterate, and Trust Your Gut
Dealhub analytics can help you spot trends, coach your team, and make smarter decisions. But don’t fall for the myth that more dashboards mean more success. Start with a few key metrics, keep your data clean, and review things regularly—then tweak as you learn what actually moves the needle. The best analytics setup is the one your team actually uses. And if you’re ever in doubt, talk to your reps before trusting the numbers blindly. Data should help, not distract.
Now go cut the noise—track what matters, and get back to selling.