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How Does Client Sense Help You Run a Gap Analysis (Heat Map Report)

This article explains what a heat map report shows, how to run all three versions of the report, how to read the heat map for risk as well as opportunity, and what to do about the gaps it exposes.

In this article:

Short answer

A heat map, also called a white space or gap analysis report, is a color-coded grid showing the connections between your firm and the individuals at a client. Filled cells are relationships you have. Empty ones are the gaps. Client Sense builds it automatically from communication data, so it reflects who actually deals with whom rather than who is listed on a client team document.

Why it matters

Most firms can name their key clients. Far fewer can say, for a given client, which of that client’s decision-makers the firm has met, which partners hold those relationships, and where a single resignation would take the account with it.

The grid answers all three at once, and it does so visually, which matters more than it sounds. A table of contact counts gets skimmed. A grid with one dark column and a lot of white space gets discussed, because the risk is obvious to anyone reviewing the report.

What this looks like in practice

Allen Matkins, a California real estate firm with more than 200 attorneys across five offices, found that the firm consistently underestimated how many relevant relationships it already held. Once the data was visible it changed both how they targeted opportunities and how coordinated they appeared to clients, which their team describes as the firm looking to the outside world the way it actually is on the inside. Read the full account in the Allen Matkins case study.

A worked example: take a client where the relationship feels secure. Run a heat map with the client’s individuals down one side and your people across the other. In most firms the result shows a strong column for one partner, a scattering of associate-level contact, and several senior people at the client whom nobody has met. That is a secure-feeling relationship resting on one person, which is a different thing from a secure relationship.

How to do it in Client Sense

There are three versions of the report, and choosing the right one is most of the work.

What the heat map shows

Each cell represents contact between one person at your firm and one person at the client, shaded by how much contact there has been. The report can be produced with employees down the left or individuals down the left, and the date range is set when you export, which changes who appears based on whether they had contact in that period. Output is an Excel file, deliberately, so it can be opened and discussed in a meeting without anyone logging into the system.

For a whole company

The starting point for a client review. It returns everyone at the company your firm has been in contact with, and everyone at your firm who has contacted them. Steps are in How to Run a Heat Map Report for a Specific Company.

For specific individuals within a company

Use this when only part of the client matters, such as a buying group or a board.

  1. Click + Add and choose Favourite List to create a Static Favorite (Favourite) List. Name it and save.
  2. Search the company, open it, and click the Favourites button for each individual you want included.
  3. Close the company view, then right click your list and choose Heatmap Report.
  4. Click Export. Adjusting the date range alters which colleagues appear.

Full steps are in How to Generate a Heat Map Report for Specific Individuals within a Company.

For individuals across several companies

Use this for a sector review, a referrer network or a target group spanning multiple organizations. Build the list the same way, drawing individuals from wherever they sit. See Creating a Heat Map Report for Individuals across Multiple Companies.

Tip: The date range is the setting people forget. A short window shows current relationships and is right for judging present coverage. A longer one surfaces dormant relationships and is right when you are looking for someone who used to know the client well.

Turning the output into action

The heat map is an input to a conversation, not a document to circulate. Read it for four things.

  • Single points of failure. One dark column and nothing else means the account rests on one person. This is the finding that most often changes what a firm does next.
  • Seniority gaps. A row of relationships held entirely at associate level is fragile in a different way, because the client’s decision-makers have no counterpart at your firm.
  • White space worth closing. An unmet decision-maker is the specific gap a client review or an event invitation can address. Name who will close it and by when.
  • Coverage worth protecting. Wide coverage is the outcome you want, and it is worth saying so out loud when a grid shows it, rather than only discussing the problems.

Run it before a client review meeting rather than as a standing report, so the findings land somewhere a decision can be made.

Important: The grid shows who communicated with whom and how often. It does not show what was discussed or whether the relationship is warm. A strong-looking cell can be a billing exchange, and an empty one can be a person your partner plays golf with. Check with the relationship owner before treating a gap as a fact.

Common pitfalls

  • Leaving the date range at the default. The single most common cause of a grid that looks wrong. Widen it before concluding a relationship does not exist.
  • Running it for the whole company when you needed a buying group. A grid with eighty rows does not get read. Build a list of the people who matter and run it against those.
  • Reading white space as failure. Some gaps do not need closing. A client’s IT director may have no reason to know your firm, and that is fine.
  • Circulating it without interpretation. A partner who receives a grid with no covering explanation will read the worst possible version of it.
  • Treating it as a snapshot when the question is a trend. The heat map shows coverage at a point in time. For direction of travel over months, use the engagement view instead.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is a heat map report?

A color-coded grid showing connections between your firm and the individuals at a client, with filled cells representing contact and empty ones representing gaps. It is also referred to as a white space report or a gap analysis report. 

What is the difference between a heat map and the engagement view?

A heat map is a snapshot of who is connected to whom at one moment, laid out as a grid. Engagement is the same relationship viewed over time. Use the heat map for coverage and gaps, and engagement for direction of travel.

Which of the three versions of the report should I run?

For a client review, run it for the whole company. For a pitch or a board, build a list of the specific individuals and run it against those. For a sector or a referrer network, build a list spanning several organizations. The last two use the same method, differing only in where the people come from.

Why does a colleague I expected to see not appear?

Almost always the date range. Colleagues appear based on whether they had contact within the period you set, so a partner who has not corresponded recently drops out of a short window.

Does a dark cell mean a strong relationship?

It means a lot of communication, which is a strong signal and not a conclusion. High volume can reflect administration, billing or a difficult matter. Use the grid to find the questions and the relationship owner to answer them.

Can we run this for a prospect we have never acted for?

Yes. The relationship record covers everyone your firm communicates with rather than everyone it bills, so prospects, referrers and former colleagues all appear. This is what makes the report useful before a pitch as well as during a client review.

What format does it come out in?

Excel. That is deliberate, so the grid can be opened, sorted and discussed with practice leaders in a meeting without anyone needing access to the system.