Coaching intake form template
Use this coaching intake form before a discovery call. It works for life coaching, business coaching, and executive coaching. Each question shows why you ask it, so you can remove what you do not need.
Short answer
A coaching intake form should cover the client's goal, the obstacle, what they have tried, their commitment and timing, and practical fit such as budget and format. Thirteen questions are enough for a first call.
The 13 questions, and why to ask each one
Contact details
1. What is your name, email address, and time zone?
Why ask: Lets you reply and offer call times that work.
Answer: short answer, three fields
2. What do you do for work?
Why ask: Gives context for the goal and for the examples you use.
Answer: short answer
Goals and obstacles
3. What is the main thing you want to change or achieve?
Why ask: Defines the coaching goal in the client's words.
Answer: long answer
4. Why is this important to you now?
Why ask: Shows motivation and urgency.
Answer: long answer
5. What is in the way?
Why ask: Names the obstacle you will work on first.
Answer: long answer
6. What have you already tried, and what happened?
Why ask: Shows what did not work and how the client reflects.
Answer: long answer
7. What will be different in six months if coaching works?
Why ask: Gives you a result to measure progress against.
Answer: long answer
Commitment and fit
8. Have you worked with a coach or therapist before? What worked well?
Why ask: Sets expectations and shows preferred working style.
Answer: short answer
9. How much time can you give to this each week?
Why ask: Checks if the client can do the work between sessions.
Answer: choice: under 1 hour, 1 to 2 hours, 3 to 5 hours, more than 5 hours
10. How do you prefer to be challenged: directly or gently?
Why ask: Helps you match your style to the client.
Answer: choice: directly, gently, depends on the topic
11. When do you want to start?
Why ask: Separates ready clients from early research.
Answer: choice: this month, in 1 to 3 months, later
12. Have you seen my programs and prices? Which one fits?
Why ask: Confirms budget fit before the call.
Answer: choice: list your programs, plus 'not looked yet'
13. Is there something else I should know before we talk?
Why ask: Gives room for context that the form did not cover.
Answer: long answer, optional
Coaching is not therapy or medical care. If an answer suggests a mental health need, refer the person to a qualified professional.
How to use this form
When to send it
Send it when someone asks for a discovery call, before the call is in the calendar. The answers decide whether the call should happen and what it is about.
What to write when you send it
Thanks for reaching out. Before we pick a time, could you answer a few questions? It takes about ten minutes. Write as much or as little as feels right, there are no wrong answers, and it means we can use the call for you instead of for background.
Three answers that decide fit
- Question 4, why now: a change they can name (a promotion, a breakup, a business that stalled) means they are ready to work. "I have thought about coaching for years" usually means not yet.
- Question 9, time per week: an honest number, even a small one, beats "as much as it takes". The small honest number does the homework.
- Question 12, programs and prices: "I looked, the three-month one fits" means book. "I have not looked yet" means send the link and wait for the answer.
Two answers that mean stop
- An answer that describes a mental health need rather than a coaching goal. Refer to a qualified professional and say why.
- The goal belongs to someone else: a partner or employer wants them coached and they do not. Coaching without their own goal rarely holds.
What does not belong on an intake form
The coaching agreement, payment, session schedule, confidentiality terms and any assessment forms. After the yes.
What a thin answer looks like
Question: What is the main thing you want to change or achieve?
Thin
Be more confident.
Enough to decide
I was passed over for a team lead role in March. The feedback was that I do not speak up in leadership meetings. I want to run those meetings myself within a year.
Ask one follow-up before the call: "Where does the lack of confidence show up most, and what happened last time?" The answer usually carries the real goal.
Run this form as a conversation
A form waits until the visitor fills in every field. A MadeAgentic website agent answers the visitor's questions from your approved content, asks these intake questions by voice or text, and sends your team a summary. For good-fit visitors it can open your Calendly or Cal.com calendar inside the chat; the visitor picks the time.
- Generate a first agent from your website address.
- Add the questions above as qualification objectives and remove the ones you do not need.
- Test the conversation, then add the embed code to your site.
About 60 seconds
$99 per agent per month after a 30-day free trial. No credit card needed.
FAQ
Intake form questions
What should a coaching intake form include?
Contact details, the main goal, why it matters now, the obstacle, what the client has tried, the time they can commit, their preferred coaching style, start date, and budget fit.
Should I send the intake form before or after the discovery call?
Before. The answers let you decide if the call is worth both sides' time and let you start the call on the client's real problem.
Is this template free to use?
Yes. Copy the questions, print the page, or save it as a PDF from your browser. No signup is needed. Change the wording so it matches your services.
How many intake questions should I ask?
Ask only what changes your next step. Most firms need 8 to 15 questions before a first call. Move anything you only need after the client signs to an onboarding form.
Can an AI agent ask these questions instead of a form?
Yes. In MadeAgentic you add the questions as qualification objectives. The website agent answers the visitor's questions from your approved content, asks your intake questions in conversation by voice or text, sends your team a summary, and can open your Calendly or Cal.com calendar for good-fit visitors. It does not answer phone calls, and the visitor picks the meeting time.