Running a sales team is a lot of work. You want a constant flow of leads and prospects through your sales pipeline, but it can be a lot to manage, especially if you don’t know how well you’re performing. That’s why it’s good to have a customer relationship management (CRM) tool.
A CRM lets you gather your customer data into a central location, categorize it, and analyze it to learn more about your audience. You can then use the insights you gain to improve your marketing and sales campaigns.
But even a CRM can be a lot to deal with if you’re just trying to keep up with the most important info without wading through all the other data stored there. That’s why most CRMs come equipped with CRM dashboards.
What is a CRM dashboard, though? Keep reading to find out!
What is a CRM dashboard?
A CRM dashboard is a component of many CRM systems that presents the most important CRM info on one screen for your convenience. Think of it as a snapshot of your sales pipeline—your recent sales, valuable sales metrics, and more.
Dashboards usually consist of around 5–7 cards or blocks, which show images and graphs rather than detailed chunks of text. Some CRMs might already have a premade dashboard while others let you build your own however you want it.
Benefits of a CRM dashboard
So, why might you want to build a CRM dashboard? The answer comes down mostly to convenience. Having a dashboard makes it incredibly easy for you to get large-scale sales info at a glance rather than having to dig through multiple forms and charts in your CRM.
With info on recent sales activity so readily available, your team can work much faster. They’ll save time that would otherwise be spent searching for data, and having the information right there in front of them helps keep them on track and accountable.
It’s also worth noting that CRM dashboards usually update in real-time, ensuring that all the information you see there is perfectly up-to-date.
What should a CRM dashboard include?
Not all CRM dashboards include the same components. There are usually a lot of customization options, where you get to choose what your dashboard shows. That said, there are a few things every good dashboard will need. Here are three of those things.
1. Latest leads and sales
One of the first things to include when you build a CRM dashboard is your most recent leads and sales. Having that data on your dashboard helps you see how productive you’ve been in the short term and also works as a source of motivation by showing off what you’ve achieved. Plus, it lets you identify which new leads need attention from the sales team.
2. Most recent team activity
Another item to include on your dashboard is the most recent team activities, including things like phone calls and emails. This lets you keep an eye on what your team is doing and how they’re doing it.
Maybe you notice that certain strategies are producing particularly good results, or maybe you see flaws in the team’s overall approach. Whatever it is, you can then respond accordingly.
3. Key performance indicators (KPIs)
The third thing every CRM dashboard should have is a handful of key performance indicators (KPIs), which are useful metrics that give you insight into how effective your sales efforts are. There are plenty of different metrics you can include, and it’s up to you which ones you choose.
Either way, showing those metrics on your dashboard gives you a quick look at the overall performance of your sales.
Best dashboard KPIs to track
There are countless sales metrics out there, so which ones should make the cut for your CRM dashboard? Well, that’s entirely up to you. That said, here are a few sales metrics you might want to include.
1. Return on investment (ROI)
One of the most obvious metrics to include is return on investment (ROI). ROI shows you how much money you’re earning from your sales, as compared to how much you’re spending on your sales efforts. It’s a great way to measure the efficiency of your marketing.
2. Cost per acquisition (CPA)
Cost per acquisition (CPA) measures how much money you spend on each sale you drive. Needless to say, you want your CPA to be as low as possible. If it’s particularly high, that tells you that you should find a way of revising your sales efforts to be more effective.
3. Net promoter score (NPS)
Net promoter score (NPS) is a measure of how satisfied customers are with your business. You typically find this metric by having customers answer a survey question where they rate their satisfaction from 1 to 10. The survey data is imported into your CRM and then displayed on your dashboard.
4. Customer lifetime value (CLV)
Customer lifetime value (CLV) refers to how much revenue you can expect to make from a given customer as long as they continue to buy from you. This is great for any company that maintains long-term clients rather than relying on single-time purchases.
For the purposes of your dashboard, you can automate your CRM to calculate the average CLV across all your existing customers. Including your average CLV in your dashboard KPIs allows you to see how much value you’re getting from your sales. A higher average CLV indicates a more effective sales process.
5. Average sales pipeline duration
Finally, it’s worth tracking the average sales pipeline duration on your CRM dashboard. Average sales pipeline duration is simply the average length of time your customers spend in the sales pipeline before converting. If your average pipeline duration is too high, that indicates you should work to streamline it and speed up the process.
Nutshell offers the ideal CRM dashboard for your company
Still trying to find the right CRM for your company? Nutshell is the answer. On top of excellent sales automation and analytics features, Nutshell provides a top-tier CRM dashboard that you can customize to your heart’s content with different cards and KPIs.
Of course, you might be hesitant about jumping right into Nutshell, and that makes total sense. That’s why we provide a 14-day free trial. Check it out today to see what Nutshell can do for your business!
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