If you’re a sales manager, team lead, or just the unofficial “data person” trying to make sense of your company’s sales numbers, you know the pain: too many spreadsheets, not enough answers. Digging for the story behind the numbers can feel like panning for gold—tedious, messy, and you’re not even sure what you’re looking for half the time.
That’s where analytics tools like Verenia come in. But here’s the truth: these dashboards aren’t magic. They won’t turn bad data into good decisions by themselves. What they can do is help you see where you’re winning, where you’re stuck, and where you might actually grow—if you know what to watch for.
This guide will show you how to use Verenia analytics to track sales performance that matters and spot growth opportunities worth chasing.
Why Verenia Analytics Is Worth Your Time (and What to Ignore)
Let’s get real: not every number on a dashboard matters. Some look impressive, but they don’t help you take action. Here’s what Verenia analytics actually does well:
- Tracks the sales activities that drive revenue (not just busywork)
- Shows conversion rates and deal velocity, so you see what’s working
- Breaks down sales by product, region, or rep
- Lets you drill down into the details—if you’re willing to dig a little
What doesn’t it do? Well, it won’t fix bad sales processes, and it can’t read your mind if you don’t know what you’re looking for. Also, don’t waste time on “vanity metrics”—numbers that look good on a slide but don’t drive action, like total calls made or emails sent.
Step 1: Set Up Your Sales Data for Honest Reporting
Before you jump into the analytics, make sure the data you’re feeding into Verenia is clean and consistent. This is not glamorous work, but messy data in means garbage insights out.
Checklist: - Double-check that your sales stages in Verenia match your real-world process. If your team skips steps or calls things by different names, fix that first. - Make sure every deal has a clear owner, value, and close date. Otherwise, your pipeline will look better (or worse) than it really is. - Get buy-in from your team to log their activities—calls, demos, emails—honestly. Padding the numbers helps no one.
Pro tip: Pick a week every quarter to audit your pipeline for junk deals, duplicates, or “stuck” opportunities. This keeps your analytics honest.
Step 2: Track Sales Performance That Actually Matters
Not all activity is progress. Focus on metrics that tie to actual results.
The Short List of Metrics That Matter
- Win rate: What percent of qualified deals do you actually close?
- Average deal size: Is it growing, shrinking, or flat?
- Sales cycle length: How long does it take to close a deal, start to finish?
- Pipeline coverage: Do you have enough real opportunities coming in to hit your targets?
- Conversion rates by stage: Where do deals get stuck or drop off?
How to find these in Verenia: - Use the “Sales Performance” dashboard for win rates, average deal size, and cycle length. - Drill into “Pipeline” views for stage-by-stage conversions. - Filter by rep, region, or product to spot patterns.
What to ignore: Don’t obsess over raw activity counts (emails sent, calls logged). They’re only useful if you can connect them to actual sales outcomes.
Step 3: Slice and Dice Your Data to Spot Growth Opportunities
Once you have a handle on the basics, it’s time to look for places to grow. Here’s how to use Verenia analytics to find them—without getting lost in the weeds.
Look for Outliers, Not Just Averages
- Top reps: What are your best reps or teams doing differently? Is it process, product focus, or just more calls?
- Winning products: Which products close fastest or have the highest win rates? Push those more.
- Slow movers: Which deals linger too long in one stage? Figure out why, and see if you can speed things up.
Segment by Customer Type, Region, or Channel
- Use Verenia’s filters to separate new vs. repeat customers, different regions, or sales channels.
- Look for high-performing segments you can double down on, or underperforming areas that need a rethink.
Dig Into Lost Deals
- Run a report on closed-lost opportunities.
- Look for patterns: Are you losing to the same competitor? At the same stage? For the same reason?
- Sometimes, the clearest growth opportunity is fixing one bottleneck or common objection.
Pro tip: Don’t chase every “opportunity” the data suggests. Focus on one or two areas where you can move the needle, not a laundry list.
Step 4: Turn Insights Into Action (and Skip the Busywork)
Seeing a trend is nice. Acting on it is what actually grows sales.
- Share findings in plain English. Skip the 20-slide deck. Bring one chart and a clear point to your next sales meeting.
- Set one experiment at a time. For example: “Let’s try following up on stalled deals with a direct call instead of an email this month.”
- Automate reports that matter. Set up weekly or monthly dashboards in Verenia that hit your core metrics. Ignore the rest.
- Review, rinse, repeat. Every month or quarter, check if your changes actually made a difference. If not, tweak and try again.
What to ignore: Don’t get bogged down building custom dashboards for every possible scenario. Start simple. If something’s unclear, dig deeper—but don’t drown in data.
Common Pitfalls (and How to Dodge Them)
Even with good tools, it’s easy to trip up. Here are the traps I see most:
- Chasing every metric: You don’t need 30 KPIs. Pick a handful that drive action.
- Confusing activity with results: High activity doesn’t always mean high sales.
- Letting old deals clog your pipeline: Regularly close out dead opportunities so your analytics reflect reality.
- Relying on analytics alone: Data is just a tool. Ask your team what’s really going on—they often know before the numbers do.
Keep It Simple, Keep It Honest
You don’t need a PhD in data science to use Verenia analytics well. Focus on the few numbers that matter, use them to spot real bottlenecks or bright spots, and test one change at a time. Don’t let dashboards become a distraction or a crutch—let them be a flashlight.
Start small, keep your data clean, and adjust as you go. That’s how you actually get value from your analytics—and maybe, just maybe, find some real growth.