4 things to know from this article
- An application form is a filter before the sale. A coaching intake form is a starting point after the sale.
- Use an application for high-ticket one-to-one work and for group programmes where the wrong person spoils it for everyone.
- When we scored 10,954 coaching websites, an application counted as a bigger ask than booking a call directly, because it's more work for someone who doesn't know you yet.
- Keep it to about six to eight questions, and make them questions that help the person think, not a script.
A coaching application form is a short set of questions someone fills in before they can book a call or join your programme. It makes sense for expensive one-to-one work and for group programmes, where you need to know someone's a good fit before you both spend time on it. For lower-priced coaching it usually just puts people off, so let them book directly instead.
A coaching intake form is a slightly different thing. That's the form a client fills in after they've said yes, so you know where they're starting from. I'll give you both, written out, further down.
What is a coaching application form for?
It does two jobs. It tells you whether this person is someone you can help, and it tells them you're picky about who you work with. That second part is why people like them for high-ticket programmes, because it makes the place feel worth getting into.
But here's what people forget. Every question you put between a stranger and a conversation with you is a reason for them to close the tab. When we scored 10,954 live coaching websites, we gave credit for a clear next step, and an application form counted as higher friction than letting someone book directly. Someone who's never met you is being asked to do homework before you've done anything for them.
So before you add one, think about two things. Is what you sell worth that extra effort for the buyer? And do you genuinely need to filter people out?
When should you use a coaching application form?
High-ticket one-to-one coaching
If you're selling something that costs thousands and takes months, an application makes sense. You'll spend a proper chunk of time on the call, and you want to spend it with people who've already thought about it. The buyer expects a bit of a process too, the same way you'd expect more than a "buy now" button on a kitchen extension.
Group programmes and masterminds
This is where I'd use one every time. In a group, one wrong person affects everyone else.
I ran a mastermind once where one woman took over. She went off the subject, talked about whatever was on her mind, and ran the others out of time week after week. I had private chats with her about respecting the group's time, because it wasn't talk therapy, and the others had paid for their share of it. A decent application wouldn't have caught everything, but a couple of the right questions would have told me what she wanted from it, and that it wasn't what the group was for.
If you're putting a group together, how to build a group coaching program covers the rest of it.
When you're properly fully booked
If you've got a waiting list, an application is a decent way to decide who comes off it first. That's a nice problem to have.
When does a coaching application form just add friction?
When you're new and you need clients. When your coaching costs about what a nice meal out does. When you're selling single sessions. And when the form's only there to look exclusive.
In all of those, a stranger who was ready to talk to you has to stop, think, write answers and wait, and plenty of them won't. You'll never know they were there.
My best clients have always come from taking people offline for a real conversation, sometimes even before a discovery call. I don't want people feeling like they're in a process, being moved through stage two to stage three. An application form, done badly, is exactly that feeling. So if you're not sure, let people book a short call, and do your filtering in the conversation. Showing a price helps here too, because people can rule themselves out before they ever book. Coaching pricing: should you show your prices? covers that.
What questions should be on a coaching application form?
Here's what I'd put on one. Six to eight questions, no more. Each one should tell you something useful, and the best ones make the person stop and think. When I sold high-value work, the thing that won it was questions that felt like advice, the kind where someone says "I hadn't thought of that". The thing that lost it was giving my advice away on the call.
And please, no "what's your biggest challenge?" or "what keeps you up at 3am?". I can't stand those. When a coach asks me that, I'm looking for the exit. They're scripted, everyone knows they're scripted, and they tell you nothing a better question wouldn't.
Here's an example application for a made-up coach, Helen, who runs a six-month group for women setting up their first business after leaving a corporate job. She's made up and so is the programme.
Application: First Year Out (group programme)
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1. Your name and email.
2. What did you do before, and when did you leave (or when are you leaving)?
3. What's the business, in a sentence or two? It's fine if it's still rough.
4. What's happened so far? Have you made any sales, built anything, told anyone?
5. If we're talking in six months and it's gone well, what's different?
6. What have you already tried to get there, and what got in the way?
7. The group meets every other Tuesday at 7pm UK time for 90 minutes. Can you make most of those?
8. The programme is £2,400, or six payments of £400. Is that workable for you right now?
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I read every application myself and reply within two working days.
Look at what's in there. Question 4 tells Helen where someone really is, not where they'd like to be. Question 5 tells her what result they want, in their words. Question 6 shows whether they've done anything yet or are hoping the group will do it for them. And 7 and 8 save everyone's time, because if they can't make Tuesdays or can't afford it, both sides know before a call.
There's no "describe your dream life" and no question about their biggest fear. Helen can find that out properly on the call if it comes up.
What goes on a life coaching intake form?
The intake form comes after they've said yes. You use it so your first session doesn't start from scratch. Here's a plain one for one-to-one life coaching.
Before our first session
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1. Name, email, phone, and the time zone you're in.
2. In your own words, why now? What made you decide to get some help?
3. What would you like to be different by the end of our time together?
4. Is there anything you'd like me to know about how you like to work? (For example, you like homework, or you hate it.)
5. Are you currently seeing a therapist, counsellor or doctor about anything that might affect our work? You don't have to give details. I'm asking because coaching isn't therapy and sometimes the two work best side by side.
6. Anything else you'd like me to know before we start?
Question 5 is the one people skip and shouldn't. Coaching isn't therapy, and if someone needs medical or mental health help, you want to know early so you can point them to the right person. This isn't legal advice, and if you're storing personal or health details, check the data protection rules where you live, because health information is usually treated more carefully.
The intake form also pairs well with your agreement. The coaching contract template post covers what goes in that, so both are ready to send the moment someone says yes.
Where should the application form go on your site?
Behind a clear button with honest wording. "Apply to join" is fine for a group. Under it, say what happens next, how long it takes to fill in, and when you'll reply. People hate filling something in and hearing nothing.
And don't hide your offer behind it. The page should already tell a stranger who it's for, what they get and roughly what it costs, before they ever reach the form. The application should be a step forward, not the only way to find anything out. If you're not sure your page does that, the free website check will score it against the 10,954.
For everything else about getting people to that button in the first place, start with how to get coaching clients.
Questions coaches ask about this
What is the difference between a coaching application form and an intake form?
An application form comes before the sale and helps you decide whether someone's a good fit. An intake form comes after they've signed up and gives you the background you need for the first session.
How many questions should a coaching application form have?
About six to eight. Enough to know whether you can help and whether the practical bits work, like time and price, but short enough that someone can fill it in within ten minutes.
Should I put the price on my coaching application form?
Yes, if you haven't shown it elsewhere. Asking "is this price workable for you?" saves both of you a call that was never going to go anywhere.
Do I need an application form for a free discovery call?
Usually not. A free call is already a small step, and adding a form in front of it puts people off. Ask a couple of questions on the booking page if you need to, and keep the rest for the conversation.
The figures here come from our own corpus of 10,954 scored coaching websites and 918 mapped coaching markets. How we built and scored it.