how to make a sales pipeline sales funnel excel chart

How-to Make a Sales Pipeline or Sales Funnel Excel Chart

04/08/2023 2

How-to Make a Sales Pipeline Funnel Excel Chart Template

• You probably have seen this type of Funnel Chart in Business Intelligence (BI) software packages and wondered how to make this type of chart in Excel. In this presentation, I will show you how to make a graphical view of a Sales Pipeline for use in an Executive Dashboard.


04/08/2023 3

Problems with Funnel Charts

• First, we should discuss issues with this type of chart.

• Many of the data visualization experts in the industry dislike, sorry, I should have said HATE funnel charts.


04/08/2023 4

Why Data Visualization Experts Don’t Like a Funnel Graph?

• Data visualization experts do not like a Funnel Graph or Funnel Chart because the chart may have the potential to mislead readers.

• The area of each section may not represent the data proportionally to other sections. For instance, if your values for each section/category are the same, then the size of the top section is not proportionally equal to the bottom section even though they are the same value.


04/08/2023 5

Why Data Visualization Experts Don’t Like a Funnel Graph?

• In this graphic, it can be deceiving to readers that the Sales in the Prospecting phase are much larger than those in the Negotiation phase, when in reality, they are exactly equal. The graphic is basing the height on the category value, not the width or volume of the section.

• So be careful when using this as a representation of your data.


04/08/2023 6

• Many organizations and companies use the funnel graphic as a standard to convey a pipeline affect for the data.

• That means that it is started at the top category and it moves to the bottom category, but not all of the entries at the top makes it to the bottom.

• Even though this may be a bad graphic from all design and data visualization perspectives, you may be asked to create this type of graphic for your Executive Dashboard.

• Your first step should be to talk with the powers that be about the issues with this type of chart. If your client or executives or managers still want this as part of the Company Dashboard, then give the people what they want. That is why you will see this type of chart in many well-known software packages like Salesforce.com.


04/08/2023 7

Now lets say you are the Dashboard Designer for your sales organization and this is your data in Excel:


http://www.exceldashboardtemplates.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/image3.png

04/08/2023 8

• Lets say that your sample data has categories from your sales organization on how the sales pipeline looks for the company.

• Presently there are 652 sales opportunities in the Prospecting stage worth $33.6M. This is the start of the sales cycle for your company and each sales opportunity may be at a different level in the sales cycle.

• Typically there are less and less at each progressive stage of the sales cycle because deals are not always a done deal. Some people in the prospecting stage may change their mind and not purchase anything.

• Another potential sale that is in the Presentation stage may not get closed because the buyer chose another company.


04/08/2023 9

• However, not all sales fall out of the pipeline and your organization may be able to calculate the likely percentage that any given opportunity may close from each stage of the sales cycle.

• This is why organizations like to see this data in a pipeline or funnel format because each stage fills the next stage in the cycle. And if you don’t have enough sales in each part of the pipeline, your company will have uneven cash flows as each sale will most likely have an average closing time from start to finish.


04/08/2023 10

I don’t see a Sales Funnel or Sales Pipeline Chart or Graph in Excel

• Okay, that is enough about why organizations and people love Funnel Charts and the dangers about what they are showing you.

• Lets get to the nuts and bolts of How-to make a Sales Funnel chart in Excel.

• Using the data points above for our pipeline, lets build the chart. However, I don’t see a sales funnel chart or pipeline chart as an option in Excel. That is the good and bad about Excel.

• Not everything is there and built for you, but with the standard tools, you can make a funnel or pipeline chart on your own.


04/08/2023 11

• So looking at the standard set of charts that are available in Excel, the closest representation of what we are looking for is a Stacked Pyramid chart.

• More specifically, a 100% Stacked Pyramid chart since our data represents 100% of the sales pipeline data and we are not trying to compare the data from one pyramid to another.

• You will find the 100% Stacked Pyramid chart under the Column Chart menu in the Insert Ribbon. This is what we are going to base or Sales Funnel or Sales Pipeline and here is how.


04/08/2023 12How-to Make a Sales Pipeline Funnel Excel Chart Template


04/08/2023 13

The Breakdown

1) Create a 100% Stacked Pyramid Chart

2) Flatten it to 2D

3) Flip it upside down

4) Label and Clean it up


04/08/2023 14

STEP-BY-STEP TUTORIAL ON HOW-TO MAKE A SALES FUNNEL OR SALES PIPELINE CHART OR GRAPH IN EXCEL


04/08/2023 15

1) Highlight the Data from A2:B6 (From “Prospecting” to Negotiation Value of “45”) and from the Insert Ribbon, choose the Column Menu from the Charts Group and then select 100% Stacked Pyramid.



04/08/2023 16

The resulting chart will look like this:



04/08/2023 17

2) In the chart, select the data series for Series one by clicking on the pyramids. Then from the “Design Ribbon”, select “Switch Row/Column” from the Data Group.



04/08/2023 18

The resulting chart will look like this:

The funnel chart is starting to take shape.




04/08/2023 19

3) Right click on the chart and select “3D Rotation…” from the menu or you can also see this as a choice from the Layout Ribbon in the Background Group.


http://www.exceldashboardtemplates.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/SNAGHTML2508561d.png

04/08/2023 20

4) Change the Rotation Settings as follows:

• X=0




04/08/2023 21

• Y=0

Now we are getting really close to the Final Sales Funnel Chart in Excel.




04/08/2023 22

5) Right click on the chart’s Vertical Axis and select “Format Axis…” from the menu or you can also see this as the Primary Vertical Axis choice from the Layout Ribbon in the Axis Group.• And choose “Values in reverse order” from the Axis

Options Dialog Box.




04/08/2023 23

Looking like we want, now we just need to clean up the Chart and give it some Data Labels.



04/08/2023 24

6) Clean up:

a) Remove the Vertical Axis – Click on the Vertical Axis and press your delete key.

b) Remove the Legend – Click on the Legend and press your delete key.

c) Remove the Horizontal Gridlines – Click on the horizontal Gridlines and press your delete key.

d) Remove the Category Label – Click on the #1 at the top of the Sales Funnel and press your delete key.

e) Add Data Labels – Click anywhere in the chart and change Data Labels to “Show” from the Layout Ribbon in the Labels Group.



04/08/2023 25

7) Admire your handy work:

Your Sales Funnel for Excel should now be completed and should look like this:



http://www.exceldashboardtemplates.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/SNAGHTML30b9b9fb.png

04/08/2023 26

Sample File & Video Tutorial

• You can watch a video demonstration and also get a FREE sample download template for the sales pipeline with instructions here:

• http://www.exceldashboardtemplates.com/SalesFunnelChart



how to make a sales pipeline sales funnel excel chart

Self Improvement

data visualization

sales funnel

sales pipeline

sales funnel

sales pipeline

software packages

insert ribbon

delete key