Asking the right questions before the first appointment

The first appointment with a new client often starts with a clipboard and five minutes of questions. Asking those questions while the client books means you know what you need before they walk in, the appointment starts on time, and the client feels you were ready for them.

How intake questions work

Turn on questions while booking, and clients answer them as part of the booking steps. Their answers are saved with the appointment, so when you open it in your calendar you see what they told you.

Questions are part of booking, not an extra form sent later, so they are answered at the moment the client is already thinking about the appointment.

Intake questions are useful for more than health details. A business that travels can ask for gate codes or where to park. A photographer can ask what the session is for. A tutor can ask what the student is studying.

Ask only what changes what you do

The best intake questions are the ones whose answers change how you prepare. A massage therapist needs to know about injuries and areas to avoid. A groomer needs to know the dog's breed and temperament. A hairdresser needs to know about recent colour. A trades business needs the job details and access.

If an answer would not change anything you do, leave the question out. Every question you add is a small reason for someone to stop booking.

If you have a team, think about whose work each question helps. A question only one person needs may be better asked in that person's service description or at the appointment itself.

A useful way to choose is to think about the last few first appointments. What did you have to ask at the door, and what would you have liked to know before the client arrived? Those are your questions.

Write questions people can answer quickly

Use plain language and keep each question to one thing. "Any injuries or areas you would like me to avoid?" is easy to answer. "Please describe your full medical history" is not.

Say why you are asking when it is not obvious. "Is your dog comfortable with dryers? (So we can plan the groom)" gets a more useful answer than the question on its own.

Where a question has a few common answers, say so in the wording, such as "Short, medium or long hair?". People answer faster when they can see the kind of answer you are after.

Test your questions by booking yourself. Answering them as a client would shows you quickly which ones are unclear, which are too long, and which you would not have bothered to answer.

Use the answers

Read the answers before the appointment. It sounds obvious, but the value of asking is entirely in reading. A quick look through the day's appointments each morning is enough.

If an answer tells you something you will need again, add it to the client's notes after the appointment, so it is there for every future visit, not just this one.

If someone's answer raises something you cannot help with, contact them before the appointment. It is far kinder to sort it out ahead of time than at the door.

Be thoughtful with personal information

Health and personal details deserve care. Ask only for what you need, keep it to the people who need to see it, and never share it outside the appointment. Clients answer more openly when they can see you only ask what matters.

Review your questions every few months and remove any you no longer use.

Let clients know why you ask. A sentence in your service description or confirmation explaining that the questions help you prepare makes people more comfortable answering.