If you’re managing sales, you know how easy it is for deals to fall through the cracks. Maybe you’re cobbling together spreadsheets, or maybe you’re trying to wrangle whatever your CRM spits out. Either way, you want real answers—fast. If your team is using Discolike, the good news is, its reporting features are actually built for tracking deal progress without a ton of busywork. But there are a few tricks to making the most of what’s there, and some stuff you can safely ignore.
This guide is for folks who actually use their CRM and want to make sense of their pipeline—sales managers, founders, or anyone whose job depends on not being surprised by deals that go sideways.
Why reporting matters (and where it goes wrong)
Let’s be honest: most sales reporting is either too basic (“Here are your deals, good luck”) or so complicated you need a PhD to decode it. Both are bad. You want to know:
- Which deals are moving, stalled, or at risk
- What’s stuck in the pipeline (and why)
- Where your team’s energy is going—and if it matches your priorities
Discolike’s reporting is better than most, but it won’t magically fix bad data or a messy sales process. Garbage in, garbage out. Still, if you’re willing to set things up thoughtfully, you’ll get a real look at your deals without spending all day in the weeds.
Step 1: Get your data house in order
Before you start poking around reports, make sure your deal data’s not a dumpster fire. Here’s what’s worth double-checking:
- Deal stages actually mean something. Don’t use vague labels like “In Progress” for everything. Map out clear, actionable stages: e.g., “Qualified,” “Proposal Sent,” “Negotiation,” “Won/Lost.”
- Required fields are set up. Make it impossible to skip the info you need for reporting (like value, close date, assigned rep).
- Close dates aren’t just fantasy. If your team is using “end of quarter” for every deal, your pipeline reports will be useless. Push for realistic dates.
- Old deals get closed out. No “zombie” deals lingering for months. If it’s dead, mark it lost. You want a pipeline, not a graveyard.
- Owners are assigned. Every deal needs a clear owner, or you’ll never know who’s accountable.
Pro tip: Take an hour to clean up before you build reports. It’ll save you days of frustration later.
Step 2: Understand Discolike’s reporting features
Not all CRMs are created equal, and Discolike is no exception. Here’s what’s worth knowing about its reporting toolkit:
The Good
- Pipeline view: Gives you a snapshot of deals by stage, value, and owner. This is your “where’s the money?” dashboard.
- Custom reports: You can filter by just about anything—stage, date, rep, source. Useful for slicing and dicing.
- Velocity reports: Shows how long deals spend in each stage. Great for spotting bottlenecks.
- Lost reason analysis: Lets you see why deals are lost (if your team actually fills this out—see Step 1).
The Not-So-Good
- Visualization can be clunky. Some charts are more style than substance. Stick to what helps you make decisions.
- Exporting options are limited. If you live in Excel, you might need workarounds.
- No magic forecasting. Discolike guesses at forecasts, but it’s only as good as your input. Don’t trust it blindly.
Step 3: Build reports that actually help you
Fancy dashboards are nice, but what matters is “Can I quickly see what needs attention?” Here’s how to set up reports that do the job:
1. Pipeline Health Report
Shows you open deals by stage, value, and expected close date. This is your “Is this pipe healthy or clogged?” check.
- Set up: Filter deals by “Open” status. Group by stage and owner. Add columns for deal value and close date.
- Look for: Stages that are overloaded (or empty), deals with overdue close dates, reps with nothing in later stages.
2. Stalled Deals Report
Find deals that have been stuck too long—before they rot.
- Set up: Filter deals that haven’t moved stages in X days (usually 14 or 30, depending on your cycle).
- Look for: Deals that are always stuck at “Proposal” or “Negotiation.” Dig into why: Is it pricing? Decision-maker vanished? Technical holdups?
3. Win/Loss Analysis
You can’t improve if you don’t know why you’re winning or losing.
- Set up: Pull closed deals from the last quarter. Group by “Win/Loss Reason.” Add deal size and rep.
- Look for: Patterns—are you losing to competitors, budget, timing, or something fixable? Are certain reps better at closing specific types of deals?
4. Sales Velocity
How long does it actually take to close a deal?
- Set up: Use the velocity report. Break down average days per stage, and total cycle time by deal type or owner.
- Look for: Stages that drag (e.g., “Legal” always takes a month). Fix the bottleneck, don’t just nag your reps.
Pro tip: Don’t drown in dashboards. Pick two or three core reports and review them weekly. Make changes based on what you see, not just what looks pretty.
Step 4: Avoid the reporting rabbit hole
It’s easy to get sucked into tweaking reports instead of actually selling. Here’s what to skip (or at least, don’t obsess over):
- “Activity” reports that just count calls or emails. Quality beats quantity every time.
- Forecasts based on wishful thinking. If your team sandbags or inflates numbers, the forecast is a fairy tale.
- Overly complex charts. If it takes more than 10 seconds to explain, it’s not helping.
- Data for data’s sake. More isn’t better—focus on what drives decisions.
Focus on the reports that answer, “What should I do next?” If a report doesn’t give you a clear action, it’s probably not worth your time.
Step 5: Make reporting part of your routine
Reports are only useful if people actually look at them—and act on what they see. Here’s how to keep it real:
- Review as a team. Make reports part of your weekly sales meeting, not something you just check at quarter-end.
- Spot-check data quality. If you see weird numbers, dig in. Don’t let bad habits creep back in.
- Iterate. If a report isn’t helping, change it or kill it. Don’t be precious.
Pro tip: Automate sending the key reports to your team’s inbox every Monday. That way, there’s no excuse not to take a look.
Staying sane: Keep it simple, fix as you go
Discolike’s advanced reporting can actually help you stay on top of deals—if you don’t overthink it. Clean data, a few focused reports, and regular gut checks beat fancy dashboards every time. Don’t try to track everything at once. Set up what matters, ignore the noise, and tweak as you learn.
Sales moves fast. Your reporting should help you keep up—not slow you down.