Coaching intake questions vs pre-sales screening

Some coaching websites send new visitors straight to a long intake form. It asks about goals, history, routines, and sometimes health, before the person has talked to the coach. That form is trying to do two jobs at once, and it does neither well.

What is the difference between a screening form and an intake form?#

A screening form answers one question: should you and this person talk? It comes before any sale. The person filling it in is a stranger who is still deciding.

An intake form answers a different question: how do you start working with this client? It comes after they say yes. The person filling it in has chosen you and expects to share more.

If an answer does not change whether you offer a call, it does not go on the screening form.

Which questions belong on a pre-sales screening form?#

Only the questions that tell you whether this is a fit. For a coach, that is usually the goal, the start date, how to meet, and sometimes the budget. Here is an example for a career coach. The questions and answers are samples, not a template.

Each answer points to a next step. A goal you do not coach gets a kind reply, and maybe the name of someone who does. A start date you cannot meet gets an offer of a later one. Asking for budget is optional. The post on whether a contact form should ask for budget covers when it helps and when it costs you.

Which questions should wait for intake?#

Anything you need to do the work, but not to decide whether to start it. A client shares these more easily once they have chosen you. Asked early, they make the screening form long, and they ask a stranger for more than they have reason to give.

Save these for intake:

1. The full story. What they have tried, what worked, and what did not.
2. Detailed goals. What success looks like in three months, in their words.
3. Working style. How they like feedback and how often they want to check in.
4. Schedule. Their time zone and the times that suit them each week.
5. Agreements. Your terms, your cancellation rules, and their OK for you to take notes.

A good test: picture a visitor who never books. Would you be glad you asked them this? If not, the question belongs on intake.

Why do health questions never belong on a pre-sale form?#

A health answer does not help you decide whether to offer a call. A stranger has no reason to share it, and you have no reason to ask.

Here is what goes wrong when a pre-sale form asks about health:

1. It asks for private details too early. Illnesses, medicines, and mental health history are some of the most private things a person can share. A visitor checking your prices should not be asked for them.
2. It sorts people by their health. If a health answer can change whether someone gets a call, the form is ranking people by their health. That is not a coaching decision.
3. It invites stories a form cannot answer. A question about mental health may get a reply from someone having a very hard day. A form on a website is not the right place for that reply to land.
4. It keeps data you do not need. Every answer you collect is one you have to look after.

This holds even for coaches whose work touches health. The screening form asks what they want help with. The health details wait.

When does a coach need health information at all?#

A fitness coach may need to know about an injury before planning a workout. A nutrition coach may need to know about an allergy. Leaving these out completely could put a client at risk.

Ask at the right moment, in the right way:

1. After they become a client, on the intake form.
2. Only what the work needs. An injury that affects training, not a full medical history.
3. With a clear reason. Say why you are asking and who will see the answer.
4. Somewhere private. Keep health details where only the people who need them can read them.

Some coaches also need visitors to know whether coaching is the right kind of help. A clear line on your site, such as "Coaching is not therapy," does that better than a health question on a form. A person can then decide for themselves before they write anything.

What happens if someone shares health details anyway?#

People sometimes do, without being asked. "What would you like help with?" might get an answer about burnout or an illness. You cannot stop that, and you should not hold it against them.

Handle it kindly:

1. Do not score it. A health detail should never move anyone up or down your list.
2. Do not ask more about it. Leave it until you speak, or until intake.
3. Reply as a person. If it sounds like they need more than coaching, say so gently and suggest a qualified professional.

In Qualiform, the rule that tells a visitor they are not a fit is off until you switch it on, so a low score alone never tells anyone they are not a fit. Qualiform has no setting yet for a visitor in crisis, which is one more reason a coaching form should not invite those stories. Qualiform saves the lead after every message, so whatever a visitor types is kept with their lead.

The post on how to reply kindly to inquiries that are not a fit has more on wording that reply.

How do you check your own forms?#

Read every question on your pre-sale form and ask: does this answer change whether I offer a call? Move each question that fails to your intake form. Delete any health question.

Screening decides whether to talk. Intake decides how to work together. The guide to contact form qualification questions walks through choosing the screening questions step by step.