Charts and Dashboards: Sales Funnel Chart – Part 2
8 October 2021
Welcome back to our Charts and Dashboards blog seriesThis week, I again create a Sales Funnel chart, but this time using Excel’s built-in features.
Until Excel 2016, Sales Funnel charts were not available as a standard chart. Last week, I looked at how to create the chart for users of older versions of Excel, and this week I compare that to the standard chart now available. The data I have selected for my chart is very simple: I am tracking down how many suppliers contacted by my salespeople actually end up delivering tent equipment to the company.
![](http://sumproduct-4634.kxcdn.com/img/containers/main/blog-pictures/2021/cd/076/image1.png/e774d10cbbb9450fc45efbe51abdf434.jpg)
To select the Excel Funnel chart, I can choose ‘Recommended Charts’ from the Insert tab.
![](http://sumproduct-4634.kxcdn.com/img/containers/main/blog-pictures/2021/cd/076/image2.png/f32e5a15e2cf9c3e4d2d058458ce054d.jpg)
I can see that the Funnel chart is on the ‘Recommended Charts’ tab, so I can pick this.
![](http://sumproduct-4634.kxcdn.com/img/containers/main/blog-pictures/2021/cd/076/image3.png/f1140ff857fc3b6f5f97a6a24f4a6fc7.jpg)
I can ‘Change Colors’ on the ‘Chart Design’ tab to quickly change the colour of all the bars so that it is the same as the manually created chart.
![](http://sumproduct-4634.kxcdn.com/img/containers/main/blog-pictures/2021/cd/076/image4.png/72aa864d2854c6fefb1083fba0ab5792.jpg)
Well this could be a very short blog. Having shown how easy it is to change the colour, let’s see what else I can change.
I can select each bar individually by double-clicking on it, and give it a different colour.
![](http://sumproduct-4634.kxcdn.com/img/containers/main/blog-pictures/2021/cd/076/image5.png/36776d1da4d05b45bb5a5d09375f407c.jpg)
Each bar may have a different colour:
![](http://sumproduct-4634.kxcdn.com/img/containers/main/blog-pictures/2021/cd/076/image6.png/23912d3b1671861e02bebcd5183f1607.jpg)
I can also change the shape of the bars, but this is more of a challenge. I go to the Insert tab, and choose SmartArt:
![](http://sumproduct-4634.kxcdn.com/img/containers/main/blog-pictures/2021/cd/076/image7.png/6f49c288a0d88a66b427eaf4ece923d6.jpg)
This opens a dialog.
![](http://sumproduct-4634.kxcdn.com/img/containers/main/blog-pictures/2021/cd/076/image8.png/b9ee28d90e6b5bc92ea4aeafdad51628.jpg)
I choose the Pyramid option:
![](http://sumproduct-4634.kxcdn.com/img/containers/main/blog-pictures/2021/cd/076/image9.png/0485ccbc83bdeec1d741bad442a1ea5f.jpg)
The second image looks like the Funnel chart, so I click this one:
![](http://sumproduct-4634.kxcdn.com/img/containers/main/blog-pictures/2021/cd/076/image10.png/daf8c4f0259ce428269c0d3d4badd32b.jpg)
Clicking OK gives me an Inverted Pyramid:
![](http://sumproduct-4634.kxcdn.com/img/containers/main/blog-pictures/2021/cd/076/image11.png/22c6daeb82d7d69ac88f878227e04b28.jpg)
It doesn’t have enough bars yet, so I can click on ‘Add Shape’ in the ‘SmartArt Design’ tab, until I have six [6].
![](http://sumproduct-4634.kxcdn.com/img/containers/main/blog-pictures/2021/cd/076/image12.png/a1537847463e660a31158c8032525438.jpg)
This is all very well, but how does it link to my table of data? I can right-click on the shape, and I have options:
![](http://sumproduct-4634.kxcdn.com/img/containers/main/blog-pictures/2021/cd/076/image13.png/917da985be13220165c8d2823e95344f.jpg)
I choose to ‘Convert to Shapes’.
![](http://sumproduct-4634.kxcdn.com/img/containers/main/blog-pictures/2021/cd/076/image14.png/8c3be7af9f73d031acae69ed85a2e148.jpg)
This shape would make a good Funnel chart. I can change the colours to match the Funnel chart I created:
![](http://sumproduct-4634.kxcdn.com/img/containers/main/blog-pictures/2021/cd/076/image15.png/e63c0a4c21afc9afb438aacc09a59317.jpg)
Now I want to copy each of the shapes in the Inverted Pyramid, and paste them into the Funnel Chart. To paste each shape in, I go to Fill in the ‘Format Data Point’ pane:
![](http://sumproduct-4634.kxcdn.com/img/containers/main/blog-pictures/2021/cd/076/image16.png/d082e3477129350b8a2a589156028e63.jpg)
When I choose ‘Picture or texture fill’ I have the option of using the Clipboard as the ‘Picture source’, so I do this:
![](http://sumproduct-4634.kxcdn.com/img/containers/main/blog-pictures/2021/cd/076/image17.png/a468c9c28195e8f18fdedfa59a0cf042.jpg)
I repeat this for the other bars, and add a title: my Funnel chart is finished!
![](http://sumproduct-4634.kxcdn.com/img/containers/main/blog-pictures/2021/cd/076/image18.png/61935f470d8b9f21b7b7683ffca40895.jpg)
That’s it for this week. Come back next week for more Charts and Dashboards tips.