Line charts in Tableau – Extracting Deeper Insights with Funnels, Maps, and Hybrid Visualizations

Advanced maps – Dealing with Complex Visualizations, Customizations, and APIs-3

Posted on 07/03/202408/22/2024 by Mary Kimberlin

At this point, your points will disappear to be replaced by a single circle. To fix this, drop the User ID onto Detail in the User Location Mark card, as can be seen in Figure 6.60:

Figure 6.60: Add detail

All of your circles are now back. But you may want to choose a more evocative shape. Click on Shape to open a menu, then click on More Shapes, as shown in Figure 6.61:

Figure 6.61: Open shape menu

From the Select Shape Palette menu, click on Gender.

Figure 6.62: Select Gender shapes

Click on one of the icon (in this case the first icon has been selected), then press OK, as shown in Figure 6.63:

Figure 6.63: Select first gender icon
Our map (Figure 6.64) now has little human figures showing where our sales representatives are present.

Figure 6.64: Figures for salespeople
Once we zoom into some of our states, the reasons for what we see in the data seem clearer. Take Texas, for example, as shown in Figure 6.65:

Figure 6.65: Texas
We have four sales representatives, two of which are reasonably far from each other and, although the performance of one of them is much worse than the other, it is still not as bad as the performance of the accounts where the sales representatives are close to each other. Looking at California (Figure 6.66) reveals a similar pattern.

Figure 6.66: California
Again, we see poor performance and sales representatives close to each other. We can show the extent of the problem in a more dramatic way by using the buffer function, which creates a radius around a specified point. In our case, this radius could act as the area we would expect a sales representative to cover.
In order to do so, create a new calculated field and use the following formula, as shown in Figure 6.67:

Figure 6.67: User location buffer calculation
In this case, we are asking Tableau to draw an area around each sales representative with a radius of 50 km.
Just as before, take the calculated field you have just created and drag it to the map on the Add a Marks Layer icon, as can be seen in Figure 6.68:

Figure 6.68: Add buffer layer
We can now see the extent of our problem more clearly. Let us start with California. All three sales areas overlap (Figure 6.69), which tells us that our sales representatives are pursuing the same accounts, which is possibly leading to frustration in our customers.

Figure 6.69: Buffer layer
Similarly, in Texas, where the sales representatives’ areas overlap, we see poor performance in sales.

Figure 6.70: Salespeople with buffer
This example shows the power of spatial analysis for cases in which geography plays a significant role in the data. While a combination of other charts may have led us to the same result, none would achieve the same immediacy as the map we just built together.

Advanced maps – Dealing with Complex Visualizations, Customizations, and APIs-1

Posted on 05/13/202408/22/2024 by Mary Kimberlin

We can convey several layers of information by using maps in Tableau. We started in the previous chapter with a simple filled map, and we will now take it one step forward by looking at the number of accounts and the revenues on the same map.
Before we do so, you will have to upload some additional data to your org that is required for this visualization. First, download the files available at the GitHub repository for the book.
Now follow these instructions to load the opportunities:

Login to Salesforce and navigate to the ‘Setup’ area by clicking the gear icon in the upper right corner.
In the Quick Find box, type and select Data Import Wizard.
Click on the Launch Wizard button within the Data Import Wizard.
Select the type of object that matches your CSV data, such as Opportunities for opportunity data.
Click on Choose a CSV file, browse to your tfs_opps.csv file, and upload it.
Review the field mappings. The wizard will try to auto-map CSV columns to Salesforce fields. Adjust manually if necessary.
After verifying the field mappings, click Next.
Review your import settings in the summary page and click Start Import.
Monitor the import progress. Salesforce will indicate when the import is complete.
Once the import is complete, check the relevant object in Salesforce, like Opportunities, to ensure the data is correctly imported.
Review any error reports generated by Salesforce and address any issues highlighted.

Repeat this process for the tfs_accs.csv file, the Account object, the tfs_users.csv file, and the Users object.
For this chart, the Account object was used as a primary data source, and the Opportunity object as a secondary data source. Please refer to Chapter 3, Building and Integrating Data Pipelines for details on how to blend data sources.
To create our map, follow these steps:

Double-click on the Billing State/Province field (from the Accounts object). This will create a map, as shown in Figure 6.49:

Figure 6.49: Add Billing State to view

From the Marks menu, change the mark type to Circle, as shown in Figure 6.50:

Figure 6.50: Change mark type to circle

Right-click on Account ID and drag it onto the Size card, choose Count Distinct from the menu that opens, as shown in Figure 6.51:

Figure 6.51: Size by Account count

From the Opportunity object drag Expected Amount to Color (make sure to have set the blend correctly), as shown in Figure 6.52:

Figure 6.52: Color by Expected Revenue

Click on the Color card, then choose Edit Colors, as can be seen in Figure 6.53:

Figure 6.53: Edit colors

Choose the Red – Blue Diverging palette, as shown in Figure 6.54:

Figure 6.54: Change color palette

Funnel charts– Dealing with Complex Visualizations, Customizations, and APIs

Posted on 04/03/202408/22/2024 by Mary Kimberlin

One of the most indicative charts for Salesforce data is the funnel chart, which is the chart in which we can follow the progression of our sales pipeline from initial contact to final conclusion.
For this chart, we will use the custom dataset Opportunity History that comes with this book. If you are working with real Salesforce data, you should be able to replicate this chart using the Opportunity History object from your Salesforce environment or your data warehouse, following the instructions in Chapter 3 – Building and Integrating Data Pipelines.
To create a funnel chart, follow these steps:

Filter out “Closed Lost” by using Stage Name as a filter and excluding “Closed Lost”.
Drag Stage Name onto Rows, as shown in the following figure:

Figure 6.24: Drag Stage Name to Rows

Right-click on Opportunity ID and drag it to Columns. In the menu that opens, choose Count Distinct (Figure 6.25).

Figure 6.25: Count distinct Opportunities by Stage

Sort Stage Names in descending order according to the number of opportunities.

Figure 6.26: Sort Stages by count descending
We now need to trick Tableau into creating our funnel chart. To do so:

Right-click on Opportunity ID, drag it to Columns, and drop it next to the green pill you already have there, as shown in Figure 6.27:

Figure 6.27: Copy Opportunity Id to Columns
You should now have two identical bar charts which look like the chart below:

Figure 6.28: Two identical bar charts

Right-click on the left axis and click Edit Axis from the menu that opens, as shown below:

Figure 6.29: Copy Opportunity Id to Columns

Select Reversed, as shown in Figure 6.30:

Figure 6.30: Reverse left axis
Your chart should now look like the one below, already much more like a funnel.

Figure 6.31: Funnel

Drag Stage Name to the Color mark in the All card, as shown in Figure 6.32:

Figure 6.32: Color Stages

Press Ctrl on your keyboard and drag the CNTD (Opportunity ID) field to the Label mark in the All card, as shown in Figure 6.33:

Figure 6.33: Add label

Click on the Label mark on the top CNTD (Opportunity ID) card, as shown in Figure 6.34:

Figure 6.34: Select label

In the Alignment menu, choose left, as shown in Figure 6.35:

Figure 6.35: Align labels left
A funnel would not be a proper funnel without percentages, so we will create a new calculated field and paste the following formula:
This formula divides the number of opportunities at each stage by the number of opportunities in the first stage, thus giving us a view of the percentage of opportunities that continue to the next stage of our sales pipeline.

Give your calculated field a name. The one below, for example, is called “Share of total”.

Figure 6.36: Share of total calculation

Drag your new calculation onto the Label mark in the bottom CNTD (Opportunity ID) card, as can be seen in Figure 6.37:

Figure 6.37: Add calculation to label

Drag CNTD (Opportunity ID) away to remove it from the chart, as can be seen in Figure 6.38:

Figure 6.38: Remove count

Click on the Label mark on the bottom CNTD (Opportunity ID) mark, as shown in Figure 6.39:

Figure 6.39: Select bottom label

In the Alignment menu, choose left, as shown in Figure 6.40:

Figure 6.40: Align bottom labels left

Right click on the calculation you have created and select Default Properties from the menu that opens, next click on Number Format.

Figure 6.41: Open number formatting

In the pane that opens, select percentage, decrease the decimal places to 0, and click on OK, as shown in Figure 6.42:

Figure 6.42: Set percentage format
We are almost there, but we need some cosmetic adjustments for this chart to look like a funnel, follow the below steps to do so:

From the Format menu, click on Borders, as can be seen in Figure 6.43:

Figure 6.43: Open Borders menu

Select None from each menu in Sheet, Rows and Columns (if it does not say so already), as can be seen in Figure 6.44:

Figure 6.44: Select no borders

Click on the Lines icon (Figure 6.45).

Figure 6.45: Open Lines menu

Select None from each menu in Sheet, Rows and Columns (if it does not say so already), as shown in the figure below:

Figure 6.46: Select no lines

Right click on the left axis and untick “Show Header”, as shown in Figure 6.47:

Figure 6.47: Hide left axis header
Your chart should look something like the one below:

Figure 6.48: Funnel final

Pareto charts– Dealing with Complex Visualizations, Customizations, and APIs-1

Posted on 02/06/202408/22/2024 by Mary Kimberlin

There is a rule in business (and sometimes in other areas of life) that states that 80% of consequences can be attributed to 20% of causes. It is called the Pareto rule and can be applied in a business context, too. For example, it is not uncommon for 80% of the revenues to be driven by only 20% of the accounts. Whether your business abides by this rule can be proven with a Pareto chart, which also allows you to identify the accounts driving your sales.
For this chart, we will be using the Account object joined with the Opportunity object in Salesforce, but you can also do it only with the Opportunity object.
We will start by selecting only the data we need and the opportunities that have turned into revenues. To do this:

Drag Stage into the Filters tab, as shown in Figure 6.1:

Figure 6.1: Add Stage filter for Closed Won

Select Closed Won, as can be seen in Figure 6.2:

Figure 6.2: Stage filter set to Closed Won

Click Ok.
Now it is time to start creating the chart. The steps are as follows: 1. Drag Id from the Accounts object to columns, as shown in Figure 6.3:

Figure 6.3: Drag ID to Columns

Drag Amount into the Rows, as can be seen in Figure 6.4:

Figure 6.4: Drag Amount to Rows

Click on the caret on the ID pill and select Sort, as shown in Figure 6.5:

Figure 6.5: Sort the ID field

A new menu will now appear. Follow the steps in the order below:
a. On this menu, choose to sort by field.
b. Select Descending.
c. Select Amount from Field Name.
d. Select Sum, if not already selected.
e. Close the menu.
Your chart should look similar to the one below:

Figure 6.6: Chart sorted by Amount descending

Click on the caret on the SUM(Amount) pill and select Add Table Calculation.

Figure 6.7: Add Running Total table calculation
A new menu will appear (Figure 6.8), follow the steps in the order below:

Select Running Total from the Primary Calculation Type.
Select Sum, if not already selected.
Select Specific Dimensions from the Compute Using menu; make sure Id is selected.
Tick Add Secondary calculation.
Select Percent of Total from the Secondary Calculation Type.
Select Specific Dimensions from the Compute Using menu; make sure Id is selected.
Close the menu.

Figure 6.8: Running Total and Percent of Total calculations added
Your chart should look much different, as shown in the following figure.

Figure 6.9: Cumulative chart
We will use a reference line to understand where 80% of our sales line is. To add a reference line, follow these steps:

Click on the Analytics tab next to Data, as shown in Figure 6.10:

Figure 6.10: Click on Analytics tab

Select Constant Line, as can be seen in Figure 6.11:

Figure 6.11: Select Constant Line

Drag it to the Table menu which now hovers on your chart, as shown in Figure 6.12:

Figure 6.12: Drag Constant Line to chart

Type 0.8 in the menu that opens, as seen below:

Figure 6.13: Set value to 0.8

Filled map– Extracting Deeper Insights with Funnels, Maps, and Hybrid Visualizations

Posted on 12/02/202308/22/2024 by Mary Kimberlin

To create a filled map:

Double click on the Billing State/Province field.
Drag Expected Revenue on the Colors mark.
Change the mark type to Maps, as shown in Figure 5.65.

Figure 5.65: Creating filled map

The result should look something like the map in Figure 5.66:

Figure 5.66: Final filled map visualization

We can use the tools mentioned above to zoom in and bring to the center of the view exactly the section of the map we want to show. From here we can see there is a distinct geographic pattern to the revenue we expect, with clusters of states that are close geographically and also present higher revenues.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this chapter has provided you with the knowledge and tools needed to create more advanced visualizations like donut charts, bar-in-bar charts, and maps. You’ve also learned how to harness the power of filters and calculated fields to customize and improve your data analysis. By following the steps outlined in this chapter, you can now dive deeper into your Salesforce data using Tableau, and more effectively communicate your insights to stakeholders.

Understanding geographical patterns, funnel analysis, and performance tracking are just a few of the many insights you can gain from the techniques discussed in this chapter. With this knowledge in hand, you can leverage the full potential of Tableau and Salesforce to make better-informed decisions for your organization. Keep experimenting with different visualizations and techniques as you continue to explore these powerful tools and uncover new insights into your data.

In the next chapter, we will move on to discussing advanced topics for visualization with Tableau.

Bar-in-bar chart – Extracting Deeper Insights with Funnels, Maps, and Hybrid Visualizations

Posted on 09/06/202308/22/2024 by Mary Kimberlin

A useful case for Salesforce and Tableau is to compare sales performance across time and against a target. To showcase this, we will create a bar-in-bar chart that tracks the Expected Amount for each Opportunity Owner.
In the following example, User table has been added to the Opportunities standard connection in order to show the names, rather than the IDs of the opportunity owners. We will now proceed to build the bar-in-bar chart, using the following steps:

To start with, drag First Name to Rows, as shown in Figure 5.45:

Figure 5.45: Adding First Name to Rows shelf

Next drag SUM(Expected Amount) to Columns, as shown in Figure 5.46:

Figure 5.46: Adding Expected Revenue to Columns shelf
We want to choose only Opportunities that relate to Q1 2022 or Q1 2023. Furthermore, for Q1 2022, we only want to look at Closed Won Opportunities.
We will, therefore, use a calculated field to look only at relevant opportunities. To add the calculated field, follow these steps:

First, use one of the methods shown in the previous section to create a new calculated field. In the window that opens, we will write:
([Fiscal Year]=2023
AND
[Fiscal Quarter]=1)
OR
([Fiscal Year]=2022
AND
[Fiscal Quarter]=1
AND
[Stage]=”Closed Won”)
Then we will give it a name, say Relevant Opportunities.
Finally, we will click on OK, the final result is shown in Figure 5.47:

Figure 5.47: Creating relevant opportunities calculated field

Now that the field has been created, drag it onto the Filters card and select True from the menu that opens, then click OK, as shown in Figure 5.48:

Figure 5.48: Filtering data to relevant opportunities

Tableau will now filter all the opportunities to show only the ones that meet our criteria, as shown in Figure 5.49:

Figure 5.49: Data filtered to specified opportunities

Now drag the Fiscal Year to the Size mark, as shown in Figure 5.50:

Figure 5.50: Adding Fiscal Year to Size mark

Drag the Fiscal Year to the Color mark, as shown in Figure 5.51:

Figure 5.51: Adding Fiscal Year to Color mark

Right now, Tableau is putting the amount for 2022 after the amount for 2023, but that is not what we want for a bar-in-bar chart. To change that, click on the Analysis menu at the top of your screen, as shown in Figure 5.52:

Figure 5.52: Accessing Analysis menu

Click on Stack Marks in the menu that opens now, as shown in Figure 5.53:

Figure 5.53: Turning off Stack Marks option

Select Off, as shown in Figure 5.54:

Figure 5.54: Stack Marks set to Off

Your bar chart should look something like the chart below, as shown in Figure 5.55:

Figure 5.55: Final bar-in-bar chart

As you can see, Doroth and Charlotte’s performance this year is better than last. Everybody else, however, seems to be having a much tougher time.

Donut charts – Extracting Deeper Insights with Funnels, Maps, and Hybrid Visualizations-2

Posted on 06/12/202308/22/2024 by Mary Kimberlin

As usual we want to make it more informative. We will start by dragging our measure in the Label menu for our white pie chart, as shown in Figure 5.15:

Figure 5.15: Adding measure to label mark of main pie chart

We will repeat the same step, but for the other menu, as shown in Figure 5.16:

Figure 5.16: Adding measure to label mark of secondary pie chart

Next we will hide both axes, as they are not needed for our chart. To do so, right click on your left axis, and a menu will open, as shown in Figure 5.17:

Figure 5.17: Right clicking on vertical axis to access menu

Click on Show Header, as shown in Figure 5.18:

Figure 5.18: Selecting “Show Header” option to hide axis

To remove all unnecessary lines from the chart, click on Format at the top of your workbook and then on Lines, as shown in Figure 5.19:

Figure 5.19: Accessing Format | Lines menu

The Format Lines menu will open, as shown in Figure 5.20. Open each menu and select None. Repeat this step for the Sheet, Rows and Columns menu:

Figure 5.20: Setting line formatting to None

If you want to also remove the border lines, click on the square icon and select None, as shown in Figure 5.21, for all the menus in Sheet, Rows and Columns:

Figure 5.21: Removing chart border lines

Your donut chart should look, as shown in Figure 5.22. In the center, you can see the full amount and next to each slice, its relative amount.

Figure 5.22: Final customized donut chart

We can also change the absolute amounts into percentages. To do so, we select the menu for our colorful pie chart and click on the measure we have previously added to the Labels mark, as shown in Figure 5.23:

Figure 5.23: Selecting measure pill

Click on Add Table Calculation. A new menu will open, as shown in Figure 5.24:

Figure 5.24: Adding table calculation

In the menu that opens, select Percent of Total from the Calculation Type menu, as shown in Figure 5.25:

Figure 5.25: Setting calculation to Percent of Total

The absolute numbers have now changed into percentages, as shown in Figure 5.26:

Figure 5.26: Measure values converted to percentages

It is possible to have both percentages and absolute numbers by dragging your measure on the Label mark in the colored pie menu, as shown in Figure 5.27:

Figure 5.27: Adding second measure pill for both values

To further aid comprehension, we will add the dimension to the Label as well, and proceeded to format the menu as shown in Figure 5.28:

Figure 5.28: Formatting label marks
The final donut chart should look similar to the one in Figure 5.29:

Figure 5.29: Final informative donut chart

Introduction – Extracting Deeper Insights with Funnels, Maps, and Hybrid Visualizations

Posted on 03/01/202308/22/2024 by Mary Kimberlin

In this chapter, we will dive deeper into the world of Tableau visualizations, particularly focusing on intermediate-level charts and features that will help you gain valuable insights from your Salesforce data. We will explore donut charts, funnels, maps, and hybrid visualizations while also learning about filters and calculated fields. By the end of this chapter, you will be well-equipped to create more complex and informative visualizations that can provide powerful insights and help guide business decisions. So, let us get started and take your Tableau and Salesforce skills to the next level!

Structure

The chapter covers the following topics:

Introduction to deeper insights
Donut charts
Filters and calculated fields
Bar-in-bar charts
Maps

Objectives

In this chapter, we will get to know how to use different types of charts like donut charts and funnel charts. We will learn what they are good for and what their limits are. You will learn how to make donut charts that show your data clearly. We will also go over how to change your data with filters and special calculated fields to make it just right for your needs.

Next, we will cover how to put together bar-in-bar charts. These let you see two sets of data at the same time in one chart, which can give you better insights. Then, we will explore how to use Tableau’s tools to make maps with your data. This can help you see where things are happening in the world.

We will also make sure you know how to tweak these maps so people using them can interact with them easily. You will learn to create filled maps that add color to different areas based on your data. Lastly, we will look at different ways to use maps to spot trends and patterns that have to do with locations. This chapter will give you the skills to turn your data into maps and charts that tell a clear story.

Introducing intermediate visualizations

In the previous chapter, we learned to create several types of visualizations and put them together in a dashboard to help our audience understand our insights more quickly. We will now discuss some more complicated types of charts, use filters, and create calculated fields to bring our ability to gain insight from Salesforce data to the next level.

Bringing all your insights together in a dashboard – Exploring Charts, Graphs, and Dashboards

Posted on 12/04/202208/22/2024 by Mary Kimberlin

The previous example shows that sometimes the full extent of our analysis can only be achieved by comparing several charts. However, we would not want our users to keep switching back and forth between tabs to follow our conclusions. This is where Tableau’s dashboard functionality comes in handy.

To create a dashboard, click on the New Dashboard button as shown in Figure 4.53:

Figure 4.53: Clicking on ‘New Dashboard’ button to create a dashboard

This is the dashboard area. It displays the following as shown in Figure 4.54:

Preview menu: This menu allows you to see how your dashboard will look on different devices.
Size: From here, you can choose your dashboard size among a list of preset ones or define your own.
Sheets: From here, you can choose which sheets to drag to the dashboard.
Objects: From here, you can choose additional objects like images and text boxes to add to the dashboard.
Layout: The layout tab allows you to finetune the way your dashboard looks.
Dashboard: It is the actual dashboard, your canvas on which you will add your charts.

Figure 4.54: Turning data into visual insights on your dashboard

To add a sheet to the dashboard, select it from the sheets list, drag it, and drop it onto the dashboard as shown in Figure 4.55:

Figure 4.55: Adding a sheet to the dashboard by dragging and dropping from the sheets list

As you can see, Tableau has added the chart so that it takes the entire dashboard and added on the right a color and size legend. Now add the second chart on the right of the first one. Tableau will grey out the area which will be covered by your chart as you drag it as shown in Figure 4.56:

Figure 4.56: Tableau dashboard with enlarged chart and size legend, ready for placement of second chart

Figure 4.57: Second chart

Next, add your third chart underneath the first one (Figure 4.57) as shown in Figure 4.58:

Figure 4.58: The third chart is added below the first chart

Finally, add your last chart, in the bottom right quadrant as shown in Figure 4.59:

Figure 4.59: Bottom right quadrant chart added as final touch

This dashboard is not particularly informative therefore some adjustments are required. First, the size should be increased to obtain more space to work with. To change size, click on the Size menu as shown in Figure 4.60:

Figure 4.60: Adjusting dashboard size for enhanced working space

Click on Desktop Browser (1000 x 800) as shown in Figure 4.61:

Figure 4.61: A desktop browser displayed on a screen

Choose your preferred size. Here, we have chosen Generic Desktop, as shown in Figure 4.62:

Figure 4.62: Selecting Generic Desktop size for customized experience

You can also alter the Width and Height values directly to your preferred values, as shown in Figure 4.63:

Figure 4.63: Customize dimensions effortlessly by directly inputting preferred Width and Height values

Next, we will add the dashboard title by clicking on the Dashboard menu as shown in Figure 4.64:

Figure 4.64: The Dashboard title is added by clicking on the Dashboard Menu

And we will click on Show Title as shown in Figure 4.65:

Figure 4.65: Click “Show Title”

Dashboard 1 is not a very insightful title. To change a title, double-tap on it, to open a menu as shown in Figure 4.66:

Figure 4.66: Changing the title of Dashboard 1 using the menu.

Type in your desired title as shown in Figure 4.67:

Figure 4.67: Title input field on a digital screen

Click on OK as shown in Figure 4.68:

Figure 4.68: Confirming user action with a simple click of ‘OK’

Following the same method, we will change the titles of each chart as shown in Figure 4.69:

Figure 4.69: Chart titles undergo transformation with consistent approach

Since we have added labels to all my charts, the legends are unnecessary, so we will remove them to give more space to my charts. To do so, click on a legend as shown in Figure 4.70:

Figure 4.70: Removing legends to create more space for charts

Next click on the x button in the top right corner, as shown in Figure 4.71:

Figure 4.71: Closing the opportunity score popup

Repeat for all the legends you do not wish to show. The dashboard looks more professional now, as can be seen below:

Figure 4.72: Dashboard with hidden legends

Your users can now see all your charts at a glance and quickly absorb the knowledge you wish to impart.

Treemaps in Tableau – Exploring Charts, Graphs, and Dashboards

Posted on 11/05/202208/22/2024 by Mary Kimberlin

The process to create treemaps in Tableau using the Show Me menu is the same as for creating pie charts. The only difference is that rather than clicking on the pie chart icon, you should click on the treemaps icon as shown in Figure 4.38:

Figure 4.38: Creating treemaps in Tableau is just like creating pie charts, but with a treemaps icon

In this case, rather than using Expected Amount, we will be using Amount. Following the same steps as before, this is the final chart, as shown in Figure 4.39:

Figure 4.39: Final chart showing the usage of “Amount” instead of “Expected Amount”

Just as before, we will change from the total amount to the average amount and add more information to the chart to benefit the reader. The final result is shown in Figure 4.40:

Figure 4.40: Chart displaying total and average amounts, enhanced with additional information

Just as in the previous case, it would seem that average amount is the same, but some sources generate more opportunities.

Scatterplots in Tableau

Looking at Opportunities Source gave us some insights, but we want to understand more about where our revenues are coming from, so we will look at Lead Source instead and compare expected revenues with nominal revenues in a scatter plot.

To create a scatter plot in Tableau, start by dragging one of your measures to Rows as shown in Figure 4.41:

Figure 4.41: Scatter plot creation in Tableau: Dragging a measure to Rows

Drag the other measure to Columns as shown in Figure 4.42:

Figure 4.42: Drag the measure to Columns

Drag the dimension used to breaking down your measures to Detail. In this case, we want to compare revenues by Lead Source, so Lead Source is the field we will add to Detail as shown in Figure 4.43:

Figure 4.43: Breaking down measures by Lead Source in a dimension drag

You now have your scatterplot as shown in Figure 4.44:

Figure 4.44: Visualization of the scatterplot

Just as before, to better aid comprehension, the chart can be customized. To add the name of the lead source to the chart, drag Lead Source to the Label mark as shown in Figure 4.45:

Figure 4.45: Adding lead source to the chart for better comprehension

To further differentiate, drag Lead Source to the Color mark. Each circle now has a different color as shown in Figure 4.46:

Figure 4.46: Differentiating lead sources by dragging to the mark, resulting in varying circle colors

It is also possible to choose which shape to display in the chart. To do so, click on the Shape mark. You will now see a selection of shapes from which you can choose your favorite as shown in the Figure 4.47:

Figure 4.47: Choosing a shape for the chart

Here, we chose to replace circles with dots as shown in Figure 4.48:

Figure 4.48: Circular shapes transformed into dots

When comparing totals, unsurprisingly, there is a strong positive correlation between expected revenues and nominal revenues, so the higher the amount in our pipeline, the higher the amount we expect to convert into actual revenues. We can further confirm this by adding a trend line to the chart. To add a trend line, click on the Analysis menu as shown in Figure 4.49:

Figure 4.49: Analysis menu

Hover on Trend Lines as shown in Figure 4.50:

Figure 4.50: Visualizing trends

Click on Show Trend Lines as shown in Figure 4.51:

Figure 4.51: Analyzing trends with the click of a button

This is not the full story though, so we will now compare the average expected amount with the average nominal amount. Following the same steps as before, including the customization, the final chart can be seen in Figure 4.52:

Figure 4.52: Comparing average expected and nominal amounts

Comparing these two charts reveals that some sources bring in higher quality opportunities than others. For example, the two sources that bring in the largest amounts of opportunities, tell a different story when comparing averages. Trade shows bring in more opportunities which are also more likely to realize as concrete revenues. However, opportunities brought in via employee referrals, while many, are less likely to close than they should be. Finally, opportunities brought in via Public Relations are fewer and less likely to close, so we may want to review our strategy there.