I was recently asked how I approach designing dashboards—particularly for sales teams—and, to my surprise, I found it harder to explain than expected. Not because the process is overly complex, but because it feels intuitive. Upon reflection, I realized that many people get stuck focusing on rare or temporary scenarios (edge cases) that obscure the bigger picture. If you clearly understand the task at hand, the available data, and how to present it in a way that drives the right actions, the resulting dashboard will almost always be effective.
One of the biggest challenges in dashboard creation is a lack of data or unclear requirements. Many struggle because they don’t fully understand what needs to be displayed or don’t know the right questions to ask. This is where having both a deep knowledge of the data and industry expertise provides a significant advantage over someone with experience in only one area.
The following article outlines my approach to designing dashboards and working with stakeholders to ensure clarity, effectiveness, and impact.
Understanding the End User
Experience is crucial in discovering what the end user really needs. You have to put yourself in their shoes and ask the right questions. My background includes being on the receiving end of dashboards and having my pay tied to the data presented, which taught me a lot about what upper management finds important.
When someone requests a new dashboard, I start by confirming if the request truly reflects the underlying business questions. For example, if I’m asked to create a dashboard tracking only sales, I’ll push back to explore what actions led to those sales. Do we want to focus on luck (being in the right territory at the right time), or do we want to highlight repeatable activities that generate revenue? By asking follow-up questions about which sales were actually driven by specific interactions, we uncover what’s most important and what truly needs to be displayed.
Identifying Essential Metrics
Identifying essential metrics requires both a deep understanding of the end user and a strong grasp of the underlying data. It’s not just about tracking surface-level metrics that every firm monitors—it’s about translating raw data into meaningful insights that drive action. The role is to distill complex inputs into the key activities, behaviors, and trends that truly impact the business.
One of the best ways to develop this skill is by studying how other industries use data and KPIs. I had originally wanted to include other sources of where I draw inspiration from (war, sports, venture capital), but I ultimately decided against doubling the word count of this article. Understanding these parallels helps refine your ability to choose the right metrics, structure dashboards effectively, and spo
By exploring how different industries leverage similar data, you gain a broader perspective that strengthens your ability to build impactful dashboards. This ensures that the insights provided aren’t just relevant—they’re actionable and forward-thinking.
Data Accuracy and Relevance
The foundation of any effective dashboard is accurate, reliable data. If data sources are incomplete, outdated, or pulled from incompatible timeframes, the resulting insights are flawed. No amount of visualization can fix bad data.
This is the part I’m most passionate about because incorrect or selectively used data is useless—and worse, it can be misleading. It drives me crazy when people cherry-pick data to confirm their pre-existing beliefs. While it’s human nature, it’s a terrible way to run a business and undermines fairness.
Understanding data isn’t just about identifying missing values or null fields; it’s about recognizing gaps in representation. If the data doesn’t reflect the full picture, the final product should include context to prevent misinterpretation. Transparency is key.
Since I have the final say in how data is presented, I view it much like a sales presentation: the goal is to highlight the most impactful insights. This is where the art of visualization comes in. Too much data can create noise and overwhelm users, while well-structured data storytelling ensures clarity and drives action.
Designing for Clarity and Impact
This is where experience, art, and research converge. Edward Tufte’s The Visual Display of Quantitative Information illustrates the power of well-crafted visualizations, exemplified by the famous graphic of Napoleon’s march to Russia. This single snapshot tells a complete story, seamlessly integrating multiple data points.
The graphic is effective because it prioritizes key insights, presenting the most important information upfront. Its clean design ensures that the audience immediately understands its message without unnecessary colors or extraneous data points. Clear labels provide context, while the color and line thickness effectively convey the scale and impact of the campaign.
Creating Actionable Insights
Even the most visually stunning and perfectly accurate data won’t matter if end users don’t—or can’t—take action based on what they see. Often, the “obvious next step” isn’t so obvious to a busy or inexperienced user.
To create actionable insights, dashboards must clearly connect the data to business goals. If the objective is to identify which activities drive sales, the answer should be immediately apparent. A number in isolation is meaningless without context—users need benchmarks, targets, and historical comparisons to interpret its significance.
When a clear winner emerges, the visualization should make it obvious why. Text annotations, tooltips, and callouts help guide users toward key takeaways and next steps. Beyond presenting the right information, a great dashboard also ensures users can access it effortlessly, minimizing friction in decision-making.
Feedback Loop
Lastly, there needs to be a mechanism to verify that the dashboard is making a positive impact. Tracking usage rates and collecting feedback from users will reveal:
- How Often the dashboard is used.
- Which Features people find most valuable.
- What’s Missing or causing confusion.
Regular check-ins and updates ensure the dashboard remains relevant and continues driving meaningful action. If something isn’t used or understood, that’s a clear signal to refine your approach.
Conclusion
Designing effective dashboards for sales organizations involves more than just piecing together pretty charts. It requires:
- Understanding the end user’s real needs.
- Identifying the essential metrics that reflect organizational goals.
- Ensuring data accuracy and reliability.
- Designing visuals that tell a clear story.
- Empowering users to take action.
- Continuously improving through feedback.
The impact of a well-designed dashboard can be immediate. One day, the CEO singing your praise because of how they see it impacting the firm, amazed at how something that once required manual effort is now automated. The next, you’re fielding questions about where to find the dashboard—despite it being live for months.
Building and maintaining dashboards is a rollercoaster, but when they are widely used and understood, they can transform a firm’s decision-making. A recent example: without any prompting from managers, users immediately understood the data that was being presented and action was taken right away. When insights are clear and actionable, dashboards become indispensable. If they aren’t, they risk being ignored entirely. Such is the life of a one-man army in dashboard creation.