No matter the sector or industry that you work in, onboarding new clients is one of the most important processes that your business undertakes. It sets the tone for the entire relationship going forward, and the greater the impression you make at the start, the more successful and positive the relationship will be.
The right client intake form is an essential requirement for any organization and will provide your team with everything that they need to know to hit the ground running and make every project a success. Yet, despite its importance, it can be tough to know where to start when creating the very best client intake form possible.
Here at HolaBrief, we understand how confusing it can seem, which is why our mission is to help you save time and money by providing comprehensive intake questionnaire templates that you can use and a guide to create your own intake forms.
Before we take a closer look at the many benefits that come from developing a client intake form and how you can create the perfect example, it is first important to understand the definition.
A customer intake form is exactly as the name suggests and is a template that is designed to help you make the onboarding process as smooth and as efficient as possible.
The more comprehensive and in-depth you are with your questions, the greater insight you will have into your client. With this information, you will be able to secure all of the information you need to ensure that you serve your client as well as possible. When you understand as much about your client as possible, it will allow you to develop a solid and meaningful relationship with them, ensuring a strong and prosperous future.
A client intake questionnaire should cover a wide array of topics, from basic information about their business and working practices to detailed insight into the project. However, a customer intake form is not just about developing relationships with new clients. It can also be a valuable tool for building on initial inquiries from potential new clients or even used as a questionnaire for possible sales calls.
The concept of a client intake form means it can be used for almost any industry or business, including:
Create your own intake form with HolaBrief for free!
A comprehensive client intake form is not an essential requirement for businesses, but it should be a part of any onboarding process. The more thorough you are with your intake document, the greater the results will be.
There are a wide array of benefits that can come from incorporating an intake questionnaire template into your business, including:
Every business will know the frustration of engaging with potential new clients only for communication to break down or finding the client does not want to progress. The time your team spends undertaking this process could be spent better approaching stronger leads, and a customer intake form helps to expedite this process.
The more thorough you are with your intake document, the better you will be able to understand a potential client, allowing you to filter out anyone who might not be serious.
Once you have been able to identify strong leads, a customer intake form will also support you in streamlining your onboarding process. The template will have all of the insight you need to understand exactly who your client is and what it is that they are looking for. Using this information will allow you to hit the ground running and create the very best impression possible on your new client.
Incorporating a client intake form is also a great way t demonstrate to clients that you are a professional and trustworthy partner for their operations. A well drafted intake questionnaire will showcase that you understand the industry and what it is that clients are looking for.
A client intake sheet is also a great way to help your team to save time. Those endless email chains with clients trying to ascertain the necessary information can be incredibly time-consuming and leave your team and the client feeling frustrated.
Having a broad document with all of the information you need will speed up the process.
Not only that, but it will also reduce the risk of miscommunication, ensuring that your team is not having to undertake costly and time-consuming edits.
Above all, incorporating a customer intake form into your business will help you to ensure that every project you undertake is a success. By having all of the information you need from the client upfront, you will be able to tailor and plan your work accordingly and exceed your customer’s expectations.
In order to get the very best from your client intake form, it is crucial that you are being as detailed as possible. The more you are able to learn and understand about your client, the better the overall results will be.
In order to enjoy the best results possible, you want to ensure that your intake document includes the following:
This should include the basics, such as who the company is, what it is that they do, and its mission and vision for the future. This will allow your team and any new employees to look back and understand exactly who the client is.
Alongside the information on the company, you should also have them include the primary point of contact and their details.
When creating a customer intake form, you should set aside a number of questions that will allow you to understand what challenges they are currently facing. This information should be existing issues in the market, competitors, and potential issues that could arise in the future. This insight will allow you to create a bespoke plan for their requirements.
Alongside the challenges that they are currently facing, a good intake form will also ask the client about their goals and ambitions. When you understand what it is that they want to achieve not only in the short-term but also in the long term, it will allow you to develop a holistic approach that will enable you to support them in achieving those aims.
Another important aspect of any intake form is to understand the client’s expectations for budget and timescale. This will ensure that you are not having to waste time with clients whose expectations do not match your current availability or pricing structure.
While there can be no denying the huge array of benefits that come from creating a client intake questionnaire, it can be tough to know where to start when creating one. Here at HolaBrief, we understand how complex it can seem.
That is why we have created a detailed templates for our customers to use. Whether you are looking for a business consultation form, a new service provider form, a new gym membership form, or an interior design form, you will be able to edit our intake document to meet your needs. Get started for free now!
So, what questions should you be incorporating into your intake document? We have put together some of the top questions that you should include in yours:
One of the first questions that you should include on the client intake form is who the company is. This will let your team understand what it is that the company does and the services or products that they offer clients.
Asking this question to your potential clients will help you to understand what it is that your client is looking for and how you can help them. This will allow you to establish if they are a good fit for your client.
This is another important question to ask any new client as it will help you to understand what their past experiences might have been. You should encourage them to list what they liked and what they did not like.
When you know who your client is and what it is that they are looking for, it is then important to understand their current situation. By identifying their current market position, you will be able to develop a plan that has been designed bespoke to them.
Alongside finding out what their current situation is, you should also ask them to identify what their goals for the short-term and long-term future are. You will then be able to find solutions that will help them to achieve this.
Although achieving their goals would constitute a successful program, this kind of question will help your team to ascertain what else it is that your client is looking for. For some customers, it might be strong communication or regular leads, so make sure you understand what a successful project will be.
Finding out who your client’s competitors are will allow you to review what is currently working in the industry as well as what might not be, ensuring you can adapt your techniques accordingly.
You will also want to find out who their target audience is. This will allow you to tailor your services to ensure that you are always targeting the audience and maximizing the results that you achieve.
This is always a vital question on any customer intake form. When you know the budget and the timeline, you will quickly ascertain if their expectations match with your current pricing and availability.
Finally, you should establish who your primary point of contact will be. Having this information will help to ensure smooth communication throughout the entire project.
If you are designing your own client intake form, then these questions will help you. However, there are also some top tips to remember to ensure that you are getting the best results possible:
The first tip to remember is to keep your customer intake form concise and to the point. If it is too complicated or takes too long to complete, then it will out clients off from finishing the document.
Alongside being concise, you also want to make sure that your questions are user-friendly. That means not using any jargon or complicated wording; the clearer you are, the better the results you will achieve.
You should also make sure that you are regularly reviewing your intake document. Customer expectations change, so this will ensure that you are always asking the right questions to relate to your services.
If you do not have the time or the confidence to create your own client intake form, then HolaBrief is here to help you. We have produced a comprehensive intake questionnaire that will help you to secure all of the information you need from your clients as quickly and as efficiently as possible.
Completely editable, you can tailor our customer intake form to suit your needs. So access HolaBrief today, and get started right away.
