Small businesses are the lifeblood of America. Without them, almost 50% of US workers would be unemployed. Small businesses also account for 99.9% of all firms in the country. However, they face a growing number of threats, including the inability to accurately set goals and develop growth-related strategies. Why is that? It’s simply because they lack access to critical tools.
Tracking sales performance is a lot easier when you have the right tools. Every business has goals, after all, and you can’t meet those goals unless you are properly tracking metrics and taking action with the data that you are finding. In many instances, you cannot set accurate goals without access to this information.
When you have that data, you’ll be that much closer to understanding and achieving your goals, as well as what it will take to get there. You can even find places to tweak campaigns and sales strategies, thanks to these tools.
Given how important small businesses are, it’s essential to understand the threats they face today. Here’s a quick look:
As you can see, small businesses are crucial to American workers and the US economy. However, without the right tools, they lack the ability to make informed decisions and achieve sustainable growth. The good news is that sales performance dashboards can shed insight on critical matters, like demand, seasonality, and more, which can drive profitability and success. How do you choose the right sales performance platform? What goes into creating these tools in the first place?
A sales dashboard is usually an app or software platform designed to deliver metrics and reporting for your sales team. Often, it provides a visual representation of sales, leads, conversion rates, sales outreach, etc. in an easy-to-digest format (think pie charts, graphs, and more). A dashboard is an essential tool because instead of having to scour through endless piles of data, it’s all organized for you right there, and it’s easy to understand. Plus, a sales dashboard will save time, effort, and reduce the risk of human error.
Anyone can use a sales dashboard, but they’re most commonly used by sales reps and sales leaders. They should be checked regularly and monitored by supervisors, too, so that everyone gets a full picture of how things are working and can improve individual performance at the same time.
You can make your own sales dashboard or performance tracking platform, but that’s a lot of work. Plus, today, it’s largely unnecessary. Most modern CRM platforms include a sales dashboard that you can use any way that you’d like. The better the platform, the more customization you’ll find.
A sales dashboard can show you:
These are essential tools for business success. And you don’t have to make your own because there are already plenty out there to choose from. Here are some of the best.
Zendesk Sell offers a unique dashboard that’s easy to navigate and customize. You can get metrics and widgets for revenue, sales forecasts, top deals, new deals, and more. You can even make smart lists, set appointments, and track revenue goal attainment over time. This platform can be used on its own or with the entire suite of Zendesk CRM tools and software.
Plans start at just $19 per user, per month, or you can get a custom quote for other pricing needs.
HubSpot offers an impressive sales rep dashboard that’s simple, straightforward, and easy to see. The columns on the left make navigation a breeze and you can even track the length of the sales cycle and monitor forecasts. The HubSpot CRM is among the best because it offers so much for free, and when you do pay, the prices are reasonable.
This is a monthly tracking board, but it also includes daily wins, open potentials, and other stats that can help sales teams improve performance. The bold colors make it easy to follow and custom setup ensures you can create the dashboard that works for you.
One of our favorite things about this platform is that it’s free and you get unlimited metrics and dashboards with up to two editors and 4-hour refresh increments.
Salesforce has long been a leader in sales and reporting, with innovations in technology that are completely changing the sales game. Of course, they’re going to make our list of the best sales dashboards. This is just one of the many options they offer, and they’ll ensure that your sales team is always on track.
Salesforce has free versions available, but most of their SMB products are delivered by a custom quote, ensuring you get only what you need (and don’t pay for anything extra, either!).
This sales pipeline management platform makes monitoring sales easy. You’ll find activities and performance overviews, opportunities, organic traffic tracking, a leaderboard, and even the deals that were lost with a list of reasons. You can customize the dashboard any way that you like, too.
Pipedrive is a great dashboard for driven sales teams that want to get results. Plus, plans start at just $12.50 per user, per month.
These are the top five picks for sales dashboards right now when you’re trying to track performance. We know what you’re thinking—we said top 10. Well, in addition to the five above, here are five quick-fire examples of performance dashboards that definitely take the cake:
Sales tracking is a lot easier and more efficient than it used to be. However, as a small business owner, you’ve still got a lot on your plate. When you’re setting up the perfect sales performance dashboards, who is managing the phones, chats, and more? Perhaps you just need someone to help with all those new leads.
Whatever the case may be, the 24/7 virtual receptionists at Smith.ai have you covered. We can take care of all your needs for after-hours answering, live website chat, scheduling and lead intake, and even inbound and outbound sales and support.
Schedule a consultation now to find out what our 24/7 virtual receptionists can do to assist your business with sales, service, support, and more. You can also find us at hello@smith.ai or (650) 727-6484.