Practice Development Gap Analysis

The purpose of this exercise is to identify gaps in your practice to help prioritize the
areas that need the most attention. There are a total of 36 questions. Each question
has 5 possible responses. You are asked to select one response for each question. To
truly benefit from this exercise, it is important that you answer all questions in terms
of what you actually think and/or do not what you believe is the right answer. So
please answer each question honestly.

Importance Level
Each statement below expresses the importance of some aspect of making a practice
effective. You are to decide how important you believe that statement to be. Then
circle the number that best represents your decision using the following scale:

5= Extremely important
4=Quite important
3=Somewhat important
2=Not very important
1= not at all important

Que
s.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

How important is it for you to

Circle your answer

Quit trying to live from transaction-to-transaction

and find an effective way to build long-term
relationships with the clients you want to serve.
Clearly envision your future and create a longrange business plan that you really want to (and
believe you can) achieve
Use a system that keeps you focused on the
strategies and tactics that will really make you
successful.
Understand your target markets and penetrate
them effectively.
Develop an ideal client profile to refine how you
obtain high-end recommendations and focus
resources more efficiently.
Project the right image to your target market using
a promotional piece that clearly communicates the
benefits of working with you.
Develop a network of committed strategic alliance

8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18

partners (i.e., CPA, attorney, P&C firms, et.al.)

Maximize your time on revenue producing
activities
Have a good balance between work and family.
Expand your expertise so you can offer solutions to
multi-dimensional financial needs of affluent
clients.
Use a step-by-step financial needs process that
enables you to cover the basics plus adapt it to the
unique needs of each client.
Interview clients in a way that educates them and
gets them to provide critical information- and do so
in a way that earns their trust.
Coordinate everything with a focus toward
providing value-added service to my A and B
clients.
Improve client impact through day-to-day
communication, keep-in-touch meetings, social
events and other strategies.
Build long-term client loyalty as opposed to simply
trying to satisfy clients with each transaction.
Know exactly where you are and what you need to
do to gain and maintain the loyalty of each client.
Working so well with your team and staff that you
are able to match Ritz-Carlton quality of service
and FedEx efficiency.
Enable team members to establish and achieve
professional development goals that are tied to
improving specific areas of responsibility.

1
1

2
2

3
3

4
4

5
5

Performance Level
Each statement below describes the effective performance of some aspect of making
your practice effective. You are to decide how WELL you perform each item as
stated. Then circle the number that best represents your decision using the following
scale:

5= Extremely well
4=Quite well
3=Moderately well
2=So So
1= not at all well

Que
s.
19
20
21
22
23
24
25

26
27
28
29

How well are you performing in your

efforts to

Circle your answer

Build long-term relationships with the clients you

want to serve so that you no longer are trying to
live from transaction-to-transaction.
Follow the long-range business plan that you really
want and are demonstrating that you can
achieve.
Follow a system that keeps you focused on
strategies and tactics that are really making you
successful.
Utilize marketing tactics that are highly successful
in attracting clients within your target markets.
Use vital information that you have gathered about
your target market to develop an ideal client
profile.
Always project the right image to your target
market using a promotional piece that clearly
communicates the benefits of working with you.
Have a formal network of committed strategic
alliance partners (i.e., CPA, attorney, P&C firms,
et.al.) that provide you quality referrals on a
regular basis.
Create a structured week in order to maximize
your time on revenue producing activities
Have a good balance between work and family.
Offer solutions to multi-dimensional financial needs
of affluent clients.
Use your step-by-step financial needs process to
cover the basics plus adapt it to the unique needs
of each client.

1
1

2
2

3
3

4
4

5
5

30
31
32
33
34
35
36

Interview clients in a way that educates them while

they provide critical information- and, in the
process, also earns their trust.
Coordinate everything so well that you see clear
evidence of providing value-added service to my A
and B clients.
Improve client impact through day-to-day
communication, keep-in-touch meetings, social
events and other strategies.
Build long-term client loyalty rather than simply
trying to satisfy clients with each transaction.
Create a Client Profile that records exactly where
you are and what you need to do to gain and
maintain the loyalty of each client.
Work so well with your team and staff that you are
able to match Ritz-Carlton quality of service and
FedEx efficiency.
Improve specific areas of responsibility through
your efforts to establish and achieve professional
development goals.

Identify Performance Gaps

The purpose of this exercise is for you to calculate the gap that exists between what
you judged to be IMPORTANT and your PERFORMANCE.
For each of the questions above, transfer the scores you circled for the Importance
and Performance questions. Next, subtract the second score from the first score to
determine your GAP score.

Performan
ce

Importan
ce

GAP

Building long-term relationships

with the clients you want to
serve so that you no longer are
trying to live from transactionto-transaction.

Q19 score:

minus

Q1 score:

Following the long-range

business plan that you really
want and are demonstrating
that you can achieve.

Q20 score:

minus

Q2 score:

Following a system that keeps

you focused on strategies and
tactics that are really making
you successful.

Q21 score:

minus

Q3 score:

Utilizing marketing tactics that

are highly successful in
attracting clients within your
target markets.

Q22 score

minus

Q4 score:

Using vital information that you

have gathered about your
target market to develop an
ideal client profile.

Q23 score:

minus

Q5 score:

Always projecting the right

image to your target market
using a promotional piece that
clearly communicates the
benefits of working with you.

Q24 score:

minus

Q6 score:

Having a formal network of

committed strategic alliance
partners (i.e., CPA, attorney,
P&C firms, et.al.) that provide
you quality referrals on a

Q25 score:

minus

Q7 score:

regular basis.
Creating a structured week in
order to maximize your time on
revenue producing activities

Q26 score:

minus

Q8 score:

Having a good balance between

work and family

Q27 score

minus

Q9 score:

Offering solutions to multidimensional financial needs of

affluent clients.

Q28 score:

minus

Q10 score:

Using your step-by-step

financial needs process to cover
the basics plus adapt it to the
unique needs of each client

Q29 score:

minus

Q11 score:

Interviewing clients in a way

that educates them while they
provide critical information- and,
in the process, also earns their
trust.

Q30 score:

minus

Q12 score:

Coordinating everything so well

that you see clear evidence of
providing value-added service
to my A and B clients.

Q31 score:

minus

Q13 score:

Improving client impact through

day-to-day communication,
keep-in-touch meetings, social
events and other strategies

Q32 score:

minus

Q14 score:

Building long-term client loyalty

rather than simply trying to
satisfy clients with each
transaction.

Q33 score:

minus

Q15 score:

Creating a Client Profile that

records exactly where you are
and what you need to do to gain
and maintain the loyalty of each
client.

Q34 score:

minus

Q16 score:

Working so well with your team

and staff that you are able to
match Ritz-Carlton quality of
service and FedEx efficiency.

Q35 score:

minus

Q17 score:

Improving specific areas of

responsibility through your
efforts to establish and achieve
professional development goals.

Q 36 score:

minus

Q18 score: