If you’re running a B2B go-to-market motion, you already know: dashboards can be a blessing or a dumpster fire. Most end up cluttered, ignored, or worse — they mislead your teams. This guide is for people who actually want to use their dashboards to get answers, make decisions, and move faster. If you’re using Bullseye, or thinking about it, keep reading. We’ll cut through the noise and walk through how to get dashboards that actually help you sell.
Step 1: Decide What “Actionable” Means for Your Team
Before you even log in, pump the brakes. Too many dashboards get built around “what data do we have?” instead of “what decision do we need to make?” You want Bullseye dashboards that answer the actual questions your marketing and sales teams have.
Ask: - What are the 2-3 biggest decisions we make every week or month? - What do we wish we knew earlier? (Think: pipeline changes, campaign flops, sudden ICP shifts.) - Who’s using this dashboard, and do they actually care about all these metrics?
Pro tip: If nobody can name a decision they’ve made from your dashboard in the last month, it’s time to start over.
Step 2: Keep It Stupid Simple — Ruthless Prioritization
It’s tempting to show off all the data Bullseye can track. Don’t. The more noise, the less anyone pays attention.
Focus on: - Fewer, better metrics. Three numbers your team checks daily beat fifteen nobody remembers. - Leading indicators. Lagging data (like closed deals) is nice, but it’s old news. Find early signals — demo requests, pipeline velocity, top-of-funnel conversions. - Clear goals. Every chart should answer, “Are we ahead or behind?” Use targets and trend lines.
What to ignore: - Vanity metrics like “website sessions” if they have zero link to pipeline. - Pages of pie charts — they look cool, but rarely drive action.
Example: Instead of tracking five different lead sources, focus on which channel moves the most qualified leads into pipeline. Less is more.
Step 3: Build for the Real Workflow, Not the Ideal One
Dashboards die when they’re divorced from how people actually work. If your sales VP lives in email, don’t make her log into Bullseye every day. If marketers never check the “monthly summary” view, stop updating it.
Tips: - Embed or automate: Most tools (including Bullseye) let you send dashboard snapshots via Slack, email, or even embed in your CRM. - Set up alerts: Instead of hoping someone sees a dip in pipeline, trigger a notification. - Mobile matters: If execs check stats between meetings, make sure your dashboard works on a phone.
What doesn’t work: - Assuming people will “just remember” to check the dashboard. - Designing for quarterly board reviews and ignoring daily users.
Step 4: Use Bullseye Features That Actually Help
Bullseye is packed with options, but you don’t need to use them all. Here’s where to focus:
Must-use Features
- Custom filters: Slice your data by segment, sales stage, or campaign. This helps spot what’s actually moving the needle.
- Goal tracking: Set targets and see real progress, not just raw numbers.
- Drilldowns: Let power users go deeper, but keep the top-level view clean for everyone else.
Nice, but not essential
- Data blending: If you have clean data from other sources (like Salesforce or HubSpot), great — but don’t get bogged down trying to make everything perfect.
- Advanced visualizations: Use sparingly. If a chart needs an instruction manual, skip it.
Skip (unless you’ve got a massive team)
- Heavy customization for every user. Most teams need 1-2 core dashboards with minor tweaks, not 15 versions.
- Widgets for the sake of widgets. They slow things down and clutter the view.
Step 5: Get Buy-In by Solving Real Problems
If your dashboards aren’t used, it’s not a data problem — it’s a people problem. The fastest way to get traction is to make someone’s job easier.
How to do it: - Ask sales what’s missing. If they want to see “stalled deals by rep,” build it and show them. - Share quick wins. Did marketing spot a dead channel before wasting more budget? Call it out. - Train, but don’t overdo it. Quick loom video > hour-long Zoom call.
Watch out for: - Forcing everyone onto dashboards just because you built them. Meet teams where they are.
Step 6: Review and Iterate — Don’t “Set and Forget”
Even perfect dashboards get stale. Your B2B go-to-market motion will change — new products, new ICPs, new channels. Make regular reviews a ritual.
Checklist: - Kill unused dashboards every quarter. - Check if anyone actually looks at each report (Bullseye has usage stats). - Update targets, especially if you blew past them or missed them by a mile. - Rotate ownership — let someone new poke holes and suggest improvements.
What to ignore: - “Dashboard bloat” — nobody needs a report for every metric under the sun. - Making things perfect before you launch. You’ll learn faster by shipping and tweaking.
Pro Tips for Actionable Bullseye Dashboards
- Context is king: Add short notes or annotations. “Spike due to April campaign” beats guessing.
- Don’t hide bad news: If pipeline’s tanking, make it obvious. Sugar-coating helps nobody.
- Automate next steps: Link dashboards to playbooks or action items wherever possible.
- Less pretty, more useful: A bare-bones chart your CRO checks beats a fancy dashboard nobody opens.
Wrapping Up
If you take one thing away: dashboards should answer real questions, fast — not show off your data warehouse. Keep it simple, listen to your users, and don’t be afraid to delete charts nobody uses. Get the basics right, then iterate. The best dashboards aren’t static; they evolve as your business does. Now go build something your team actually wants to use.