The Manager's Dashboard: Finally Answer "Strategy or Execution?"
Every sales leader faces the same frustrating question when a deal stalls:
"Is this a strategy problem or an execution problem?"
Did the rep fail to follow the playbook? Or is the playbook itself flawed?
Without clear visibility, you're guessing. And guessing leads to:
- Wasted coaching time on the wrong issues
- Blaming reps when the process is broken
- Ignoring process problems because you think it's just "bad reps"
You need a way to see the truth. And that's exactly what a proper manager's dashboard does.
The Two Questions You Must Answer
To run a high-performing sales team, you need answers to two critical questions:
Question 1: Are my reps following the playbook?
- Are they asking the right questions?
- Are they covering all the key topics?
- Are they skipping critical stages?
This is execution. It's about adherence and discipline.
Question 2: Is the playbook working?
- Are reps who follow the playbook winning more?
- Which stages have the biggest impact on win rate?
- Where are high performers deviating—and should that become the new standard?
This is strategy. It's about continuous improvement of your methodology.
Most CRMs only answer Question 1 (barely). And they don't answer Question 2 at all.
What You're Missing in Your CRM
Your CRM tells you:
- Is the deal in the right stage? ✅
- Did the rep log their activity? ✅
But it doesn't tell you:
- Did the rep ask about budget? ❌
- Did they identify the decision-making process? ❌
- Did they cover all the MEDDIC criteria? ❌
And it definitely doesn't tell you:
- Which playbook steps correlate with wins? ❌
- Where are high performers diverging from the playbook? ❌
- Should we update the playbook based on recent wins? ❌
You're flying blind on the questions that actually matter.
What a Real Manager's Dashboard Looks Like
A proper dashboard gives you instant visibility into strategy and execution:
1. Playbook Adherence by Rep
See at a glance:
- % of playbook completed per deal
- Which reps are consistently following the process
- Which reps are winging it
What this tells you:
- Who needs coaching on execution
- Whether poor performance is a skills issue or a discipline issue
2. Playbook Adherence by Stage
See which stages are most/least followed:
- Discovery: 85% adherence
- Qualification: 60% adherence ⚠️
- Demo: 90% adherence
What this tells you:
- Where reps are struggling or cutting corners
- Where you need to simplify the playbook or provide more support
3. Topic Coverage Heatmap
See which playbook topics are covered most/least:
- Budget: Covered in 70% of calls
- Decision Process: Covered in 40% of calls ⚠️
- Pain Points: Covered in 90% of calls
What this tells you:
- Which critical questions are being skipped
- Exactly where to focus coaching efforts
4. Win Rate by Adherence
This is the money chart:
- Deals with >80% playbook adherence: 45% win rate
- Deals with 50-80% adherence: 28% win rate
- Deals with <50% adherence: 12% win rate
What this tells you:
- Is the playbook actually working?
- Should you enforce stricter adherence?
- Or do you need to revise the playbook?
5. High Performer Analysis
See where your top reps diverge from the playbook:
- Top performers spend 30% more time on Discovery
- Top performers ask about competitors 2x more often
- Top performers skip the "features overview" in Stage 2
What this tells you:
- What should become the new standard?
- Should you update the playbook based on what's working?
How to Use This Dashboard
For Weekly 1:1s
Before your 1:1, pull up the rep's dashboard:
- See exactly which deals are off-track
- Identify which playbook steps they're skipping
- Coach on specific, observable behaviors
Old way:
"How's the pipeline looking?"
New way:
"I see you've covered 60% of the Discovery playbook in the Acme deal. Let's talk about why you haven't asked about their decision process yet."
Specific. Data-driven. Actionable.
For Team Meetings
Share the team-wide dashboard:
- Celebrate high adherence: "Our team is covering Budget 85% of the time—great job!"
- Identify gaps: "We're only covering Decision Process 40% of the time. Let's talk about why."
- Share the win rate correlation: "Deals where we complete >80% of Discovery have a 45% win rate vs. 12% when we skip it."
This builds accountability and shared standards.
For Playbook Iteration
Every quarter, review the data:
- What's the adherence rate? (If <70%, the playbook may be too complex)
- What's the win rate by adherence? (If there's no correlation, the playbook may be wrong)
- Where are high performers diverging? (Should that become the new standard?)
Use the data to continuously improve your methodology.
The Strategy vs. Execution Framework
Here's how to use the dashboard to diagnose problems:
| Symptom | Likely Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Low adherence, low win rate | Reps aren't following playbook AND playbook may be flawed | Start with coaching on adherence; if still low win rate, revise playbook |
| High adherence, low win rate | Playbook is being followed but it's not effective | Revise the playbook; look at high performer deviations |
| Low adherence, high win rate | Playbook is too rigid or irrelevant; reps are succeeding despite it | Simplify playbook to reflect what actually works |
| High adherence, high win rate | 🎉 Everything is working! | Keep doing what you're doing; scale it |
Now you're not guessing—you're diagnosing with data.
Real-World Impact
One Director of Sales used the manager's dashboard to identify a critical issue:
- Adherence on "Qualification" stage: 55%
- Win rate on deals with full Qualification: 42%
- Win rate on deals with partial Qualification: 18%
The problem wasn't the playbook—it was execution.
She ran a 30-minute coaching session on Qualification best practices. Adherence jumped to 78%. Win rate climbed to 38% (overall).
ROI of one coaching session: $240,000 in additional closed revenue over the next quarter.
She wouldn't have known where to focus without the dashboard.
How to Build This Dashboard
If you want this level of visibility, you need:
-
A structured playbook
- Define stages, objectives, key topics, and questions
- Make it specific enough to be measurable
-
A way to track adherence
- Are reps covering the key topics?
- Which topics are being skipped?
- This can't be manual—it must be automated
-
Analytics that connect adherence to outcomes
- Win rate by adherence
- Cycle time by adherence
- High performer deviations
-
A simple, visual dashboard
- Managers are busy—make it easy to see the insights
- Heatmaps, charts, and filters
- Mobile-friendly for on-the-go reviews
Most sales tools give you #4 (the dashboard) without #1-3 (the underlying data).
That's why their dashboards are full of vanity metrics: calls logged, emails sent, activities completed.
None of that tells you if the playbook is working.
The Bottom Line
The question "Is this a strategy problem or execution problem?" should never be a mystery.
With the right dashboard, you know:
- Are reps following the playbook? (Execution)
- Is the playbook working? (Strategy)
- Where should you coach? (Specific, actionable)
- How should you improve the playbook? (Data-driven)
Stop guessing. Start seeing.
Want to see the manager's dashboard in action? Book a demo and we'll show you how SmartCues.ai gives you complete visibility into strategy and execution.