Buying Group Heatmap
The buying group heatmap visualizes engagement velocity by role, helping sales teams spot which stakeholders are actively engaged, which are cooling off, and which have "gone dark." This is a critical early-warning system for deals at risk.
What the Heatmap Shows
The heatmap displays each buying group member as a card with:
- Role and confidence (e.g., "Likely Economic Buyer (87% confidence)")
- Current engagement score for the rolling window
- Velocity indicator showing whether engagement is increasing, steady, or declining
- Status badge --- Active, Cooling, or Dark
Members are sorted by velocity descending, so the most active members appear first and dark members appear last.
Engagement Velocity
Velocity measures how a member's engagement is changing over time by comparing activity scores across two consecutive rolling windows.
Rolling Windows
The system divides recent time into two windows:
| Window | Time Range | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Current Window | [referenceDate - windowDays, referenceDate) | Recent engagement level |
| Previous Window | [referenceDate - 2*windowDays, referenceDate - windowDays) | Baseline for comparison |
The default window size is 30 days, configurable per tenant.
Velocity Formula
velocity = currentWindowScore / previousWindowScore
Special cases:
| Current Score | Previous Score | Velocity | Status | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 0.0 | Dark | No engagement at all |
| > 0 | 0 | 2.0 | Active | New engagement |
| Any | Any | ratio | Varies | Standard computation |
Status Thresholds
| Status | Velocity Threshold | Color | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active | >= 0.8 | Green | Engagement is steady or increasing |
| Cooling | >= 0.3 and < 0.8 | Yellow | Engagement is declining but still present |
| Dark | < 0.3 | Red | Engagement has dropped significantly |
When a member who was previously "Active" transitions to "Dark," this is a critical signal. It often indicates the stakeholder has disengaged from the evaluation, which can derail a deal. Sales teams should prioritize re-engagement outreach to dark members.
Member Engagement Cards
Each member card in the heatmap displays:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Name and title | Person name and job title |
| Role | Detected buying group role with confidence percentage |
| Status badge | Active (green), Cooling (yellow), or Dark (red) |
| Velocity | Numeric velocity value (e.g., "1.2x" or "0.4x") |
| Current score | Sum of activity scores in the current window |
| Previous score | Sum of activity scores in the previous window |
| Activity count | Total number of activities across both windows |
| Trend arrow | Visual indicator of direction (up, flat, down) |
Interpreting the Heatmap
Healthy Buying Group
A healthy buying group shows:
- Multiple members with Active status
- The champion and economic buyer are both active
- Activity spread across different engagement types (not just email opens)
At-Risk Buying Group
Warning signs:
- Champion has gone Dark --- the internal advocate has disengaged
- Economic buyer is Cooling --- budget authority is losing interest
- Only one member is Active --- deal is single-threaded and fragile
- All members showing declining velocity --- collective disengagement
New Opportunity
For recently created buying groups:
- Members may show velocity of 2.0 (new engagement, no prior window)
- This is expected and will normalize after the first full window cycle
Heatmap by Role View
The heatmap can be grouped by role to show aggregate velocity across all buying groups:
| Role | Active | Cooling | Dark | Avg Velocity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Champion | 12 | 3 | 2 | 1.1 |
| Economic Buyer | 8 | 5 | 4 | 0.9 |
| Technical Evaluator | 15 | 2 | 1 | 1.3 |
| End User | 10 | 8 | 5 | 0.7 |
This view helps identify systemic patterns --- for example, if economic buyers are consistently going dark across many deals, it may indicate a messaging or timing issue.
Configuration
Window Size
The rolling window size affects sensitivity:
| Window Size | Sensitivity | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| 14 days | High | Fast sales cycles, transactional |
| 30 days | Medium | Standard B2B cycles (default) |
| 60 days | Low | Long enterprise cycles |
Activity Scoring
Activities in the heatmap windows are scored using the same quality hierarchy as Engagement Scoring. A demo request contributes more to the window score than a page view.
Use the heatmap alongside the completeness score for a full picture. A buying group can be 90% complete (all key roles filled) but still at risk if the champion has gone dark.
Actionable Insights
| Heatmap Signal | Recommended Action |
|---|---|
| Champion going dark | Immediate outreach, executive sponsor intervention |
| Economic buyer cooling | Send ROI content, request exec-to-exec meeting |
| All members cooling simultaneously | Re-evaluate deal stage, consider timeline slip |
| New member discovered with high velocity | Investigate role, add to buying group |
| Technical evaluator very active | Ensure technical resources are aligned |
Related Pages
- Buying Groups --- Role detection, templates, and completeness
- Engagement Scoring --- How activity signals are scored
- Matrix Visualization --- Alternative visualization at the account level
- Tier Assignment --- How entity scores map to tiers