Stop Winging It: Why Your Coaching Sucks Without Proper Intake
Here's a hard truth that'll make some coaches uncomfortable: Most of you are basically expensive guessers.
You meet a client, they tell you they want to "lose weight and feel better," and boom — you're already designing meal plans and workout routines. It's like a doctor prescribing surgery before taking your temperature.
I learned this the embarrassing way.
My $2000 Wake-Up Call
Three years ago, I had this client — let's call her Sarah. Successful marketing executive, paid my premium rate upfront. Said she wanted to lose 30 pounds for her wedding.
Simple, right? I crafted this beautiful nutrition plan. Macro-calculated perfection. She followed it religiously for two weeks, then... radio silence.
When she finally called, she was crying. Turns out, she was stress-eating because her mom had cancer, she was planning a wedding alone, and she hadn't slept more than 4 hours a night in months. My pristine meal plan? Completely irrelevant.
That's when I realized something most coaches won't admit: We're terrible at asking the right questions.
The Guessing Game That's Killing Your Results
Look, I get it. You went to nutrition school, learned about macros and metabolic pathways. But here's what they don't teach you: your client's biggest obstacle isn't knowing that vegetables are healthy.
According to Precision Nutrition (and they've certified over 150,000 coaches, so they know a thing or two), the coaches who consistently get results do one thing differently — they stop guessing.
But here's where most coaches screw this up...
They either:
- Skip intake entirely and jump straight to solutions
- Use intake forms as glorified sales tools (rookie mistake)
- Ask surface-level questions that miss the real story
What Intake Forms Actually Are (Hint: It's Not What You Think)
Forget everything you think you know about client assessments. A proper intake form isn't paperwork — it's business intelligence for coaches.
Think about it like this: would Amazon recommend products without knowing your browsing history? Would Netflix suggest shows without understanding your preferences? Of course not. Yet coaches try to transform lives with less data than it takes to recommend a movie.
A strategic intake form is your client's operating manual. It tells you:
- What's actually driving their behaviors (spoiler: it's rarely what they say initially)
- Where they're already winning (so you can build on success instead of focusing on failures)
- What'll sabotage your plan (like the night-shift worker who wants to meal prep on Sundays)
- How to talk to them (some clients need tough love, others need gentle encouragement)
The Framework That Actually Works
Here's the system I wish someone had taught me from day one:
Step 1: Timing Is Everything
Never — and I mean NEVER — use intake as a sales tool. That's like asking someone to marriage on the first date. Weird and ineffective.
Do intake AFTER they've committed. Why? Because proper intake takes time, and you shouldn't be doing unpaid consulting for someone who might ghost you next week.
Step 2: The 8 Pillars of Real Assessment
Most intake forms ask about food and exercise. That's like trying to understand a business by only looking at the marketing department.
You need the full picture:
• Goals & Outcomes — What does success actually look like? (Be specific. "Feel better" isn't a goal, it's a wish.)
• Current Habits — What's already working? What's definitely not?
• Knowledge & Experience — What have they tried before? Why did it fail?
• Body Composition — The numbers, but also how they FEEL about the numbers
• Social Environment — Who's cooking? Who's supporting? Who's sabotaging?
• Health Limitations — Allergies, medications, medical conditions (stay in your lane here)
• Physical Function — Pain, energy levels, sleep quality
• Psychological State — This is the big one most coaches miss
Step 3: The Homework Strategy
Don't fill out the form together in your first session. That's interrogation, not assessment.
Send it as homework. People are more honest when they don't have to maintain eye contact while admitting they stress-eat entire sleeves of cookies.
Give them time to think. Some questions need marinating.
The Pitfalls That'll Tank Your Coaching
Rookie Mistake #1: The Righting Reflex
This is when you immediately jump to solutions. Client says they're tired? You prescribe earlier bedtimes. Client says they overeat? You suggest smaller portions.
Stop it. Your job isn't to be the answer machine. It's to be the question master.
Rookie Mistake #2: Information Overwhelm
Just because you have a 47-page assessment doesn't mean you use everything immediately. That intake form is a reference guide, not a to-do list.
Start with one or two high-impact areas. Rome wasn't built in a day, and your client's habits won't change overnight.
Rookie Mistake #3: Ignoring the Uncomfortable Stuff
Sometimes clients reveal heavy information — divorce, trauma, depression. You're not their therapist, but you can't pretend you didn't hear it either.
Acknowledge it: "Thank you for sharing that with me." Then redirect: "How is this showing up in your relationship with food right now?"
Making It Actually Work
Here's what happens after they submit their intake:
First: Acknowledge you got it. Reference something specific they shared. Make it personal.
Then: Schedule a kickoff call to dive deeper into what caught your attention.
During the call: Ask "tell me more about..." questions. Don't solve everything at once.
Finally: Use what you learned to prioritize. What's the ONE thing that, if improved, would make the biggest difference right now?
The Bottom Line
Look, you can keep winging it and hoping for the best. You can keep being that coach who gives everyone the same generic advice and wonders why half your clients quit after a month.
Or you can start treating coaching like the complex, nuanced practice it actually is.
Your clients aren't looking for another person with a nutrition certificate and a motivational Instagram account. They're looking for someone who actually understands them well enough to help.
The intake form isn't just paperwork — it's the foundation of everything that comes next. Get it right, and you'll stop being a guesser and start being a coach.
Get it wrong? Well, keep wondering why your clients aren't getting results.
Question for you: When was the last time you really dug deep with a client before jumping to solutions? And if you're not doing systematic intake... what's stopping you?
P.S. — If you want to see what a proper intake form looks like, Precision Nutrition has a free template that's actually worth using. Don't reinvent the wheel when you're still figuring out how to make it roll.
