I think every coach knows that before they work with a client there are two crucial things to do. One is to receive the client’s payment and the other is to help the onboarding process with a smart intake packet. That’s when the co-creative relationship becomes official and professional. Find the full transcript for this episode with helpful links at prosperouscoach.com/194
When I first started as a coach, I didn’t have a smart intake packet. I had copied another coach’s documents with their permission, and honestly, with so many other things to learn, I didn’t give it a lot of thought.
That way until I was asked to develop certification curriculum for Coach Training Alliance and I buttoned up a lot of my practices. CTA still uses my finessed intake packet and the curriculum 21+ years later and I’m honored.
By the way, that’s one of the benefits of stepping into a leadership role — you rise to the occasion. Think of your coaching business as a leadership role and you’ll be inspired to higher degrees of professionalism. It’s for you as much as it is for your clients.
So why is an intake packet important?
I’ve never been more certain of an intake packet’s value for the client than after hiring a social media coach who had a minimal onboarding process. She asked me to set up our first session and that was all the due diligence there was — no questions about me, my background or anything more than getting my payment.
I ended up asking for a prorated refund after one session because we weren’t a good fit and she wasn’t modeling good coaching practices in her services. I did not feel seen or safe, which are critical in coaching.
Onboard Your Coaching Client with Care
A critical benefit of a good intake packet is to help your client onboard smoothly into your services. Show them you care about them and want to understand who they are. It helps them feel seen and safe. Episode 186 is called 4 Ways to Help Your Coaching Clients Feel Safe. It’s a good listen, if you haven’t heard it already.
People feel safe when you take time to understand them. But that’s not the only value of a smart intake packet. Here are 4 other reasons to show you care with your intake packet:
- Gather important data about the client
- Convey policies and procedures
- Make clear your role and their role
- Learn what makes them tick
Let’s go through each of these …
Get a Profile of Your Coaching Client
One of the 3 documents in my intake packet is a simple Word document with fillable spaces to capture their:
- Name
- Email address
- Phone number
- Time zone
- Physical address
- Website
- When they finished coach training (which is germane to my niche)
- Their partner’s and and kids names & ages, if any
- Their current employment & title
- Plus, a catchall question – What else would you like to share with me at this time?
You might have a few other things you’d like to know on this document. This is meant to be a Client Profile and no more. There are other documents for other purposes.
Make Firm Agreements with Your Coaching Client
Some coaches have a formal contract and there is debate about whether this is necessary. I don’t have a legal contract with my clients even though my husband is a lawyer! The 2nd of 3 documents in my intake packet is a 2-page agreement that I ask clients to read and sign that they understand. The agreement includes:
- A description of the co-creative relationship
- The client’s role and responsibilities and my role and responsibilities
- Session procedures, my phone number for both US and international clients
- What to do if they get my voice mail when they call in for a session
- Policies about session cancellation and session loss if they are more than 15 minutes late
- A statement that I am not a licensed therapist and my clients are responsible for all their decisions, actions, results and feelings. (But of course I am responsible for my impact.)
I’ve used this agreement for 20 years without the need for a legal contract. You need to decide what’s right for you along these lines.
A note about payment … when I started as a coach, I took monthly payments because that’s what most coaches did so my intake packet included a credit card form. I shredded that after all payments were made.
Now, when a coach hires me, I send my intake packet in a Post Discovery Call email that details their next steps to fully enroll and reserve their space in my 5-month VIP Signature Program. Separately, I send a PayPal invoice. My clients pay the full fee up front and I ask for the completed intake documents too before we start the program.
I recommend this approach to all coaches. It saves having to chase the fees throughout the program, which is hard on the professional relationship. No client wants to be constantly reminded of what they are paying you.
Learn What Makes Your Coaching Client Tick
The 3rd document in my intake packet is called 10 Big Questions. Episode 36 lists the 10 powerful questions I ask my clients to answer in writing to get a sense for their philosophy and greatest lessons in life, what success means to them, how they might sabotage themselves and how they would like me to respond if I witness that. It’s worth the short listen or read.
Include Your Coaching Prep Form
There is one more thing that I send with the intake packet and that’s my Session Prep Form for the client to complete and send me 48 hours before each session. Master coach trainer, Laurie Cameron, and I talk about that in Episode 193. Check out that interview for many insights about coaching skills as well.