问题 (The Problem)

Anybody dealing with tech products and data-focused services runs into the same fundamental problem: what you do is technical but non-technical people control the budget. In other words:

任何处理高科技产品和以数据为中心的服务的人都会遇到相同的基本问题：您要做的是技术但非技术人员控制预算。 换一种说法：

This is an incredibly tough hurdle to clear. I’ve seen so many people try to dumb down their tech, focus on features, etc. But we all know that painfully overused sales lesson “Sell benefits, not features”

这是一个难以克服的难题。 我见过很多人试图愚弄自己的技术，专注于功能等等。但是我们都知道，痛苦的过度使用销售课程“出售收益，而不是功能”

I’m going to explain how visualizations are the rocket fuel you need to leverage that concept.

我将解释可视化是如何利用这一概念的火箭燃料。

Let’s start with the old way:

让我们从旧方法开始：

Lead with the technology, focus on all the features and hope that people understand why it’s valuable.

引领技术，专注于所有功能，并希望人们理解它为什么有价值。

We know that approach doesn’t work. So I’m giving you an incredibly simple alternative:

我们知道这种方法行不通。 所以我给你一个非常简单的选择：

Build visualizations that tell a story. Let that story sell for you.

建立讲述故事的可视化。 让那个故事卖给你。

In other words: Make big beautiful dashboards!

换句话说：制作漂亮的大型仪表板！

Up until about 5 years ago, building a dashboard was an extremely complex process with multi-year timelines and huge budgets. Now you can spin one up in less than an hour using dozens of off-the-shelf tools. It’s easier than ever and can be applied to virtually any type of data.

直到大约5年前，建立仪表板是一个非常复杂的过程，需要多年的时间和庞大的预算。 现在，您可以使用数十种现成的工具在不到一个小时的时间内旋转一个。 它比以往任何时候都更容易，几乎可以应用于任何类型的数据。

I’ve been in the dashboard game for years. I’ve used them in sales roles, design roles, product roles, and as an independent consultant. They are almost entirely responsible for me closing deals with Google, Apple, Lego, Microsoft, Gatorade, Nectar, Emergent Health and many others.

我从事仪表盘游戏已有多年了。 我曾在销售角色，设计角色，产品角色以及作为独立顾问中使用过它们。 他们几乎完全负责我与Google，Apple，Lego，Microsoft，Gatorade，Nectar，Emergent Health等许多公司达成交易。

那么，仪表板为何如此出色？ (So why do dashboards work so well?)

The short version is that they force us to paint a picture of how our product/service will be used in the real world.

简短的版本是它们迫使我们描绘出我们的产品/服务将如何在现实世界中使用。

But it goes even deeper. I believe dashboards play into an archetypical fantasy we all share about running a business that leverages data and technology.

但它甚至更深。 我相信仪表板会成为我们所有人共享的关于利用数据和技术开展业务的原型幻想。

I call this the data-driven fantasy.

我称之为数据驱动的幻想。

数据驱动的幻想 (Data-Driven Fantasy)

What do you see in your head when you think about a company being data driven? How about a company leveraging technology to improve their operations?

当您想到一家公司由数据驱动时，您的想法会如何？ 一家公司如何利用技术来改善运营呢？

A lot of people imagine something like a command center:

许多人都想像一个命令中心：

Big screens, lots of charts, data streaming by and little dots showing up on big maps of the world.

大屏幕，大量图表，数据流以及在世界大地图上显示的小点。

For whatever reason this idea sells really well. So take advantage of it. The easiest way is to include a mockup of your product/service that matches with this archetype. A dashboard is the best way to do that.

无论出于什么原因，这个想法都卖得很好。 因此，利用它。 最简单的方法是包括与此原型匹配的产品/服务模型。 仪表板是执行此操作的最佳方法。

The secondary benefit is that it gives you a chance to leverage good visual design. Good visual design projects credibility. See the example below:

第二个好处是，它使您有机会利用良好的视觉设计。 良好的视觉设计项目信誉。 请参阅以下示例：

Pretty cool right? Well this is just a random collection of charts and metrics from one of my template kits. It’s far from being actionable but people rarely notice that because it’s so darn visually pleasing.

很酷吧？ 好吧，这只是我的一个模板工具包中的图表和指标的随机集合。 它远非可行，但人们很少注意到这一点，因为它在视觉上是如此讨人喜欢。

入门 (Getting started)

There are countless systems out there to help you build a dashboard with virtually any type of data. Many of them are incredibly easy to use (even if you’re a total novice) and either free or extremely low price.

那里有无数的系统可以帮助您使用几乎任何类型的数据构建仪表板。 他们中的许多人都非常易于使用(即使您是新手也是如此)，而且价格免费或极低。

Once you’ve chosen a system to use, you need to decide what to include. Here’s a quick rundown of my thought process when putting together a dashboard for a new client:

选择要使用的系统后，需要确定要包括的内容。 当为新客户组合仪表板时，这是我的思考过程的简要概述：

1. Dashboards are the shiny object

   仪表板是有光泽的对象

   We’re looking for the easiest and cheapest way to get a visualization into your sales cycle. It doesn’t need to replace your product. It doesn’t need to be super actionable. If done right, it should barely expand the scope of your project at all. It is simply the shiny object to get the client’s attention and close a deal.

   我们正在寻找最简单，最便宜的方法来可视化销售周期。 无需更换产品。 它不需要超级可行。 如果做对了，它几乎根本不会扩展项目的范围。 仅仅是吸引客户注意力并达成交易的闪亮对象。

2. Who are the stakeholdersFirst figure out who is actually going to be using what you sell.

   谁是利益相关者 首先弄清楚谁将真正使用您的销售产品。

   Who are the stakeholdersFirst figure out who is actually going to be using what you sell. Second figure out who is paying for whatever your selling.

   谁是利益相关者 首先弄清楚谁将真正使用您的销售产品。 第二，弄清楚谁为您的销售支付费用。

   They’re not always the same person.

   他们并不总是同一个人。

   For both of these people, figure out what need you’re addressing. Use this as your guide for whatever you include in your dashboard.

   对于这两个人，找出您要解决的需求。 使用此指南作为仪表板中包含的内容的指南。

3. Don’t just focus on the business need, focus on the personEveryone I’ve ever presented to wanted three things

   不要只关注业务需求，而是关注这个人我曾经介绍过的每个人都想要三件事

   •

   •

   To save time and skip the tedium: Does your dashboard make their life easier?

   为了节省时间而跳过繁琐的工作 ：您的仪表板会让他们的生活更轻松吗？

   •T

   •T

   o save or make more money: Does your dashboard get them a raise or increase their personal commissions?

   o节省或赚更多的钱 ：您的信息中心会增加他们的佣金还是增加他们的个人佣金？

   •

   •

   To build their career: Will your dashboard get them promoted or build their personal brand?

   建立自己的职业生涯 ：您的仪表板会让他们晋升还是建立自己的个人品牌？

4. Keep it simple. Set internal and external expectationsAt this stage the goal isn’t building a final set of perfect fully validated dashboards. It’s to aid in the process of closing a deal.

   把事情简单化。 设定内部和外部期望在此阶段，目标不是建立最终的，经过完全验证的完美仪表板。 这有助于完成交易。

   •We are illustrating possibilities

   •我们正在说明可能性

   •An imperfect dashboard mockup is better than showing no visual examples.

   •不完美的仪表板模型比不显示可视示例更好。

   •If you don’t have data access yet or don’t know where to start then just grab a template for a common data source you know you can access (e.g. social or google ads). Swap out your brand colors and add your logo. Show where you could include your new data side by side. Think

   •如果您还没有数据访问权限或不知道从哪里开始，那么只需获取一个您知道可以访问的通用数据源的模板(例如社交或Google广告)即可。 交换您的品牌颜色并添加徽标。 显示可以在何处并排包含新数据。 认为

   wireframes not final deliverables.

   线框不是最终的交付物 。

5. Don’t sweat the KPIs… yet

   不要汗水关键绩效指标...

   •In the spirit of illustrating possibilities, don’t worry about having the perfect KPI at this stage.

   •本着说明可能性的精神，在此阶段不必担心拥有完美的KPI。

   •If you’ve set expectations properly, your audience is going to understand that any data included in your project is a placeholder.

   •如果您已经正确设定了期望，那么您的听众将会理解项目中包含的任何数据都是占位符。

   •If you have a KPI you know will close a deal then manually pull it for now. Put that value in a spreadsheet. Every major visualization tool can use a spreadsheet as a data source. Figure out how to automate later.

   •如果您有一个KPI，您知道将完成一笔交易，然后暂时手动拉出它。 将该值放在电子表格中。 每个主要的可视化工具都可以使用电子表格作为数据源。 找出以后如何自动化。

6. Set up your stakeholders for success

   建立您的利益相关者以取得成功

   •Give them everything they need to sell the project internally to other teams or to their leadership.

   •向他们提供将项目内部出售给其他团队或领导所需的一切。

   •That means great screenshots, powerpoint slides and anything else they need.

   •这意味着出色的屏幕截图，PowerPoint幻灯片以及其他所需的内容。

7. Prioritize design — wow factor matters

   优先设计-哇因素很重要

   •This can be a struggle for those of us that have fought hard to help businesses make better decisions with their data — we know it’s all about choosing the right data and presenting it in a responsible way. Frills and vanity metrics can be dangerous…but right now we need immediate impact and are focused on perceptions. Save the nuance until after you’ve closed a deal.

   •对于我们中那些努力帮助企业利用其数据做出更好决策的人而言，这可能是一场斗争。我们知道，这全都在于选择正确的数据并以负责任的方式进行展示。 多余的装饰和虚荣度指标可能很危险……但是现在，我们需要立即产生影响，并专注于感知。 保存细微差别，直到达成交易为止。

   •Spend the money to hire a designer. Use freelancers if you need to. Have a professional polish your look & feel.

   •花钱雇用设计师。 如果需要，请使用自由职业者。 有专业的抛光您的外观和感觉。

That’s it! If you have any questions or want to discuss how to handle your own project feel free to contact me: cottrell (@) hey.com

而已！ 如果您有任何疑问或想讨论如何处理自己的项目，请随时与我联系： cottrell(@)hey.com

I love hearing from folks in the community and am always happy to point people in the right direction.

我喜欢社区中的人们，并且总是乐意为人们指明正确的方向。

If you got some value from this article you can support my work by checking out my Excel templates: https://exceldashboardtemplate.com/

如果您从本文中获得了一些价值，可以通过签出我的Excel模板来支持我的工作： https : //exceldashboardtemplate.com/

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