So you've landed a new client, don't lose them at the first interaction. You'll never mess up the onboarding process again, thanks to our simple guide and downloadable client intake forms. Plus, we share a little secret about making your onboarding extra slick. 🙃 🎊
Have you ever wondered if there is a way to make the onboarding process more efficient while simultaneously maintaining a great first impression?
Every agency understands the struggle of spending hours in the hope of landing a potential client.
In fact, the initial onboarding steps are arguably the most difficult part of doing business. Not only do you have to maintain a reputable image, but you also need to offer flawless, streamlined communication.
A client intake form can do just that! 🙌
Along with creating a personalized intake experience and ensuring the prospective relationship is the right fit for both parties, intake forms are a must for all service providers looking to maximize the efficiency of their workflow.
In this guide, we will explore the benefits of client intake forms and teach you how to write them for each prospective client that comes your way.
BONUS: At the bottom of this article you will find a selection of free templates! 😄
A client intake form is a document used by a service provider to collect essential information from prospective clients at the very start of the onboarding process.
Although the client questions may vary from business to business, relevant details such as the client’s background, needs, and expectations are standard information most providers require before initiating an official relationship.
This is a great way to cast a positive light on the business by promoting an image of a trustworthy, well-organized provider that can tailor their service based on the needs of each client.
Incorporating client intake forms into your strategy can offer several long-term benefits for both agency and client.
Trust was ranked by the Drum as one of the top four behaviors clients value in their client-agency relationships.
Why not build this trust at the very beginning of the intake process?
You can do this by creating intake forms that are clear, comprehensive and user-friendly.
Not only will it encourage more clients to move forward with your agency, but it will present you as a well-organized vendor that is committed to offering great customer service.
Thus, a high quality intake form can serve as a solid foundation for a long-standing relationship.
This automated process of gathering critical information at the outset of a business relationship is a guaranteed way to quickly receive all the relevant details you need without the back-and-forth interactions that may slow down the client intake process.
For instance, the use of standardized intake forms reduces the likelihood of human error and/or missing information from either party.
Similarly, opting for digital forms means that you can integrate them with CRM systems; consequently reducing the number of administrative tasks and automating workflow.
This maximizes both the agency’s time and money, as they are able to focus on the more important aspects of the agency-client relationship.
Targeted questions lead to customized solutions.
By asking the right questions, a client intake form can tell an agency what a prospective client’s goals and expectations are.
Each customer has their own goals and challenges, with great onboarding you can enter your first meeting with tailored solutions that will impress your prospective relationships.
This is also a great way to filter out incompatible partnerships and instead choose the ones that have goals that align with yours.
i.e. if a client’s budget is insufficient and they are unwilling to negotiate, there is no point in nurturing a relationship that does not match your needs.
After all, conflicting expectations have been shown to negatively affect client-agency relationships.
The main purpose of using a client intake form is to better understand prospective clients’ goals and expectations before establishing a long-lasting professional relationship.
This shared motivation allows for some components to stay the same across all types of client intake forms.
Let’s have a look at the key elements every intake form should have:
This includes important details for identification and contact purposes. Their personal and contact information are key parts of this section.
Acquiring basic company information can help you approximate the scale and type of aid the client needs from your agency. This is a good place to start assessing whether the size of their company is a good fit for your agency.
Knowing the client’s target market can help you establish a better apprehension of the company.
Not only will this make your strategy more relevant to their demographic, but it will allow you to offer specific tailored solutions.
Although this information can be easily obtained through some basic research, having the client personally describe how they view their work will minimize meanings being lost in translation.
In other words, instead of assuming what your potential clients means, you can offer services that closely match their brands values.
This is one of the most important sections of an effective client intake form.
Knowing what your client expects allows you to assess whether this is something you are able and/or willing to provide.
If not, you just saved a ton of time by using an automated method of data collection instead of spending hours on end trying to determine if the fit is right- just to find out it’s not! 😤
Knowing what strategies are already in place means that you can offer personalized tactics that build on the already existent ones.
Similarly, if any gaps are identified within their current strategy, solutions can be addressed more effectively.
Budgets can vary dramatically from business to business.
Discovering this key information at the beginning of the client intake process means that you can assess your compatibility with the client and decide if the relationship is feasible.
As an agency, your purpose is to provide tailored services that help deal with some of the issues potential clients are experiencing.
Remember, you are the expert here!
Knowing their weaknesses means that you can suggest direct solutions to their problems.
Make them a tailored offer they can’t refuse! 🤝
Often when you sign a new client, you will want to do an audit of their current marketing assets so you have a better understanding of their business.
Asking which assets you'll need access to on the intake form will avoid any surprises later down the line.
Often as part of the onboarding process, agencies will send a huge document filled with information about how the client can grant access to their marketing assets. Do you think your new client has time for this?
Leadsie solves this problem, and makes getting asset access speedy, secure and seamless so you can focus on getting your client results.
Great news! You have successfully landed a client.
Most marketing agencies will be able to answer this question in an instant:
Getting access to your client’s marketing assets.
A client intake form can save you a ton of time at the start of onboarding. Why not simplify the second step of the process too?
Most service providers have to deal with the back-and-forth that comes with access requests.
We created Leadsie for this very reason. With our tool you can get access to our client’s assets with just 1 link.
In fact, Megaphone (Australia’s number #1 digital agency) found that they onboarded clients 25% faster after using Leadsie.
Here’s how it works:
Sign up for a free 14-day trial by entering your email below!
Making use of a client intake form is a simple way to streamline data collection at the start of onboarding.
Intaking clients is a time-consuming process. However, a quality intake form allows agencies to focus on other aspects of onboarding that will lead to more revenue.
After all, time is money.
Here at Leadsie, our aim is to help our users focus on the tasks that matter most.
With instant access requests, Leadsie can save you from the hassle of back-and-forth emails that come with new clients.
Client intake forms along with Leadsie’s access tool can make onboarding a breeze.
Nina is an SEO content writer who has a passion for helping SaaS businesses grow their organic traffic. She has produced web content in various niches, the most prominent being e-commerce, workflow automation, and marketing. When she’s not focused on making content that ranks, she loves to travel across the Mediterranean and come up with creative recipes to try out in the kitchen.
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